A Novel of the Civil War (The Gettysburg Trilogy)

Always heard about Gettysburg, and have been through the town, but never fully understood the background and implications of the battle. So many ways it could have gone one way or the other, but that is not uncommon in the friction of war. Excellent book with great detail about both sides from an impartial viewpoint...refreshing!!

This is an interesting alternative history. What would have happened had Lee not pushed his troops to mount Pickett's charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. Read to see what happens. Very interesting.

The old man finaly takes the advice of Longstreet and doesn't attack Cemetery Ridge. He sort of wins the battle, but he and the Confederacy are still in trouble, because Secretary of War Stanton has brought Ulysses Grant east ot take on Lee.

Having read many novels of this topic, I was very surprised with this one. Very well written and a refreshing new twist to the historical facts surrounding this battle of the War Between the States. I highly recommend it to any history buff who wants an entertaining tale.......

The author keeps the historical characters within their biographical parameters, but changes the decisions of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Lee always forced the enemy to react to him so when the author has him choose a different course of action it naturally forces the Union Commanders to react differently then they did in reality. This story has a very plausible scenario.

As a U.S. History Teacher I have fun reading these "what-if" alternate history stories. Some authors who write alternate history stories end up in the realms of pure fantasy, but Newt Gingrich stays so close to reality that when you are done reading it that if you know your history you find you have a greater depth of understanding into how our leaders effect the world around us.

Went to Gettysburg this past September for the first time, I was so tremendously impressed by the level of sacrifice and heroism that I purchased this book to serve as a foundation for my return to the park this May. It’s unfortunate that this book and others like it on the topic of the war are not required reading at some point in our school system.

This is one of the best alternate history books I've read. Harry Turtledove, the master of the genre in my humble opinion, may have some competition here. I highly recommend it to any alternate history buff. The book does indeed read like "Killer Angels;" repetition of some points is only mildly annoying and Lee does seem to be portrayed a bit "larger than life", but hey, these are two historians writing this, so I'll accept their interpretation. I just hope they complete the trilogy. I'm still waiting for the sequel to "1945."

I picked up this book not knowing it was alternate history. Wow! Gingrich and Forstchen take the well known battle of Gettysburg and add some great twists.

I won't rephrase what has been said in earlier reviews, you can get the general plot outline there. What I loved about this book is how the characters came alive in all their humanity...this is raw war, and it shows the reaction to war, the shock, the digust, the nerves, the vomiting, the loose bowels (sorry, but it is reality). This is not a caricature of heroes past, but showing them in all their honor, fear, glory, and humanity.

I also found myself thinking a lot ....what if? What if Lee had flanked at Gettysburg instead of Pickett's charge? What if he had won a large battle south of Gettysburg and threatened DC while essentially destroying the Army of Potomac? And what if after the fall of Vicksburg US Grant had been called east? (the next book I am reading now).

A great read, whether Civil War buff, looking for a good read, or military expert.

"Gettysburg" was perfect for my purpose: we were visiting Gettysburg as tourists and I wanted a thorough understanding of what happened. I wanted to understand the various battlefield locations as we were visiting them. With the reading of this very detailed study, I felt totally prepared and got 3 to 4 times the value from the tour.

Counterfactual history is always great fun to read, and the idea of re-writing the history of the pivotal battle in American (and in some sense, World) history is obviosly attractive to Civil War buffs - praise to Mr. Gingrich on that account. However, the execution af that great idea leaves a little to be desired.

The best counterfactual histories usually make the smallest possible alterations to the actual historical circumstances and events, yet this book is counterfactual regarding allmost every aspect of the Gettysburg campaign. To credibly describe an alternative outcome of the battle, the book obviously needs to "improve" on the generalship of Robert E. Lee as exercised on the first day of the battle - but Mr. Gingrich does not leave it at that, he also makes substantial changes to the factual quality of the leadership on the Union side of the battle. Portraying poor old general Meade as incompetent really isn't necessary, Lee might have won the battle on his own, had he brought some of his earlier brilliance to Pennsylvania that summer. However, the worst and least credible change to the factual circumstances is the portraying of that complete lunatic general Daniel Sickles as not only competent, but indeed a visionary. Perhaps Mr. Gingrich just cannot bring himself to join the many critics of this "political general"....

Still, the book is well-written and provides good entertainment. I will look for the sequel.

When writing a "what if" it is necessary by implication to alter the scenario while keeping the story within historical realism. In this book the authors have done a very good job but in certain respects have gone a little too far. For example they have altered Lee's personality from the tired, uninspired fatalism of Gettysburg to a dynamism that closely resembles Jackson. Perhaps this is necessary as it is no coincidence that with Jackson the Army Of Northern Virginia never lost a battle and without him never won one. That said this is an exciting and well written alternative history and well worth a read.

A well written and detailed account of this most important battle in American history. There are just enough maps in the book to keep you oriented but it is best to have a detailed book of maps such as "Gettysburgh: The Story of the Battle With Maps" as an accompaniment to it.

Probably the book is a bit confusing for people who are not in details with regards to this episode of the Civil war, but from a scientific point of view Stephen Sears has done a great book, based on fundamental research. A bit more passion in the narrative and the book would have been perfect.

What a tremendous accomplishment for these two well known writers. I received this book on a Saturday evening and have read it almost straight through. It is a book you just can't set down. I have studied the battle extensively and visited Gettysburg many times. It is so accurate and also explains a lot about the character of the generals and soldiers that I had not imagined before. It is just as good as "The Killer Angels".
I can not wait to read "Grant Comes East".

Very good book, very detailed in every aspect. The only thing I thought was bad was the fact that I did no know this was an alternate history book. I had to do a project on Gettysburg and read a book about it. It was difficult to use this book. Other than that it was amazing

How many books have been written about this battle? Forget all that. This book puts all others to shame. Sears is a master. The research put into this book was impressive. The only book on Gettysburg you will ever need to read.