A Novel of the Siege of Vicksburg (the Civil War in the West)

A typical Jeff Shaara novel...WELL RESEARCHED and well written in the narative format. Anytime you can read a book on American History that is well laced into an interesting page turner novel you the reader is the ultimate winner.
Well done as usual.

Jeff Shaara's writing gets better and better. His descriptions of the Civil War battles are correctly depicted, while his characters and their actions and motivations bring the story to life. The exhaustive research he does for accuracy is evident. I eagerly await his next book.

Well written and interesting account of the siege of Vicksburg. Hadn't really been familiar with this important part of the Civil War. Like most people, I suspect, I was far more familiar with the war in the "east".

THE DETAILS OF THESE SOLDIERS LIVES IS TOLD IN INTIMATE DETAIL. THEIR EXISTENCE IS SO HARSH AND BRUTAL ITS' HARD TO BELIEVE ANYBODY WOULD BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND IT, BUT THEY DID AND DO. SOMETIMES I HAVE TO TAKE A BREAK FROM READING TO BE ABLE TO ABSORB THE TERRIBLE EVENTS THAT ARE OCCURRING IN THE STORY. I HAVE READ MANY BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR AND HIS FATHER AND HAVE ENJOYED EVERY ONE. I SURE AS HELL WOULD'NT HAVE WANTED TO A CHARACTER IN THEM THOUGH.

Jeff Shaara has done it again. A Chain of Victory not only tells about Vicksburg from both the Union and Confederate perspectives, it also tells about what it was like for the civilians as well. The horror of the constant shelling, living in man-made caves, and eating things like mules, dogs, and rats were all brought out in the book. I am looking forward to his next book, which will be about the battles around my home town, Chattanooga.

The characters are real and believable. While the battles and those fighting them
are complicated, it is not hard to follow the story line. I have read a good bit about
the Civil War, but this battle was a whole new aspect in its detail. Very enjoyable.

Jeff Shaara's book was very enjoyable. He skillfully provides the military leadership's perspective as well as the experience from the front line soldier's point of view. This book also provides a glimpse of the battle from a civilians observations. Very well done!

Jeff Shaara is a terrific story teller. He is great a drawing you into the story and making you feel like you're right there. I didn't understand the strategic importance of Vicksburg, nor the gruelling battle that it took to take the city for the Union. I understand it much better now. I'm anxiously looking forward to his next book.

I have been a student of Gettysburg for many years. I knew little about Vicksburg.

This book in the Shaara style, breathes life into an intense battle and a very important battle.

I visited Vicksburg recently , while I was reading "Chain." Both the book and the battlefield

were informative and fun(?).

With this book, I have read everything that Jeff Shaara has written. I also attended a seminar with him and was very impressed. He says that he is NOT a historian NOR does he read anything dealing with history. His writings are completely based on source material and NOT any other interpretation. His work makes history come alive with all the human emotion that goes with it.

Once again, Jeff Shaara takes the reader away from stuffy history books and places him/her into the middle of the action. His thoughtful, well-researched writing places us in the midst of the lives of the generals, sergeants, privates and civilians to obtain a "feel" for real life during this dark time of our nation's history.

Jeff Shaara continues his masterful development and characterization of the major players in the battle, with a very interesting portrayal of the citizens of Vicksburg and the problems they encountered in the face of artillery and mortar fire, depleted food sources, and military occupation.

Jeff Shaara does another excellent job describing the famous campaign of Grant and the ultimate seige of Vicksburg. The strengths and weaknesses of the individual leaders of both the Union and Confederates are shown in human terms, not just historical perspective. The juxtaposition of the besiegers and the besieged, well fed vs starvation, is shown well, along with the suffering of the civilians.

I am an avid follower of Shaara's novels and would include A Chain of Thunder among his best.

I particularly enjoyed the character descriptions as unfolded via personal commentary and inter-character interactions. The full impact of Grant's leadership in the face of withering slander and corrosive politics is noteworthy. The view of Sherman during his early years (before his "March to the Sea") fills out a dimension of his development that was new for me. The agony of Pemberton was similarly fascinating.

As a reader much interested in the history of the Civil War, I found this particular book about Vicksburg very good and its tie in with what had happen at Gettysburg. The discussion about the various Generals also was outstanding and really added to the situation at that time

As usual, Jeff Shaara captures the moods and feelings of the siege both before and after. He captures is from the eyes of the generals, the officers, the privates and the civilians who were involved. The book is a must read for anyone even vaguely interested in the Civil War or interested in inter-human relationships in times of stress.

A good read, especially for those interested in what it was like to live through the Civil War era. One gets a feeling of what it was like to live in a city under siege as well as what the soldiers involved in the actual military action had to endure. Great for those who like historical fiction.

Jeff Shaara brings to life a much overlooked and overshadowed battle of the Civil War. Not as glamorous as Gettysburg, which played out at the same time, but much more signficant strategically. And it showed the Grant was the man to finish the job.

This is another excellent read by Shaara and adds the perspective of a young woman in Vicksburg to give a new view to the horrors of war in general. The typical cast of characters are back and make this another excellent historical fiction.

This second civil war novel in this series by Jeff Shaara gives a very good account of the siege of Vicksburg. I have read nearly all of Shaara's books and have enjoyed every one of them. His characters come alive and he puts the reader in the middle of the conflict. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

Jeff Shaara brings to life a much overlooked and overshadowed battle of the Civil War. Not as glamorous as Gettysburg, which played out at the same time, but much more signficant strategically. And it showed the Grant was the man to finish the job.

This is another excellent read by Shaara and adds the perspective of a young woman in Vicksburg to give a new view to the horrors of war in general. The typical cast of characters are back and make this another excellent historical fiction.

This second civil war novel in this series by Jeff Shaara gives a very good account of the siege of Vicksburg. I have read nearly all of Shaara's books and have enjoyed every one of them. His characters come alive and he puts the reader in the middle of the conflict. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

I really enjoy the readability of Jeff Shaara's books. Again, he has presented history accurately and with interesting incites into the people he's writing about. I'm looking forward to his next release.

Vicksburg was a long,brutal and, critical campaign and Jeff Shaara makes sense of what was a number of blunders and horrible conditions. As usual with his books, one feels as though there were on hand to watch it all unfold. This is a really good read.

Having read the many tomes about the Civil War, it's a true treat to get involved in this novelized version of the events surrounding Vicksburg. It is exceptionally written and a simple treat to read. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Oscillating between the the generals and the common man on each side Shaara recreates the emotions, thoughts, suffering and the occasional exultation as Grant and Sherman grind their way (accompanied by death suffering and destruction) to a pivotal success in the long cruel War of the States.

Jeff Shaara is brilliant at digging out of history the story of Vicksburg and the siege it underwent and also tells the "rest of the story" on both sides. Like the writing and especially like the story. Will likely reread this book several times

Shaara takes you into the battle again but more importantly, into the minds of the generals and the people affected by their choices. You feel like you were there when reading his work. I have enjoyed them all.

Jeff Shaara has proven over and over again that he can transform history into an exciting moving story. Once agin he accomplishes this task in 'Chain of Thunder.' Mundane facts garnered from history books are told as stories from the points of views of the soldiers, the generals, and the civilians involved in the siege of Vicksburg. Stories that will move the reader to a greater understanding and a deeper feeling of the tragedy that was Vicksburg.

In this historical account of the Siege of Vicksburg and events leading up to it, the reader not only feels the union and confederate sides through the characters but also experiences what the people in the city endured. Well written-again!

Excellent. Well researched and written. Looking forward to the next one. I thoroughly enjoyed the views from both sides of the battle and the drilling down into the individual characters on the field.

I have read everything he has written, but here he takes on a very different task and writes history with a Fiction Twist. He puts his ideas of how the Generals "probably" thought and felt in the actions. Different for Jeff indeed!

Another great book by Jeff Shaara. Following his dad's footsteps (Killer Angels was a must read at Ft Leavenworth Command and Staff College) he has penned another "can't put it down" book that makes history come alive. Well done Mr. Shaara.

This book was okay, but I wondered how Shaara would inject drama into a siege. I thought there were far too many pages of introspective "thought" on the part of the key players instead of vivid, detailed writing of what might actually have happened. This was the first Shaara book I looked forward to ending.