Some good reading

What have you read lately, while waiting for the next campaign? Maybe some fiction or historical fiction? Sports? Biography? The culturally popular how-to books? I'll bet you have read a few from these genre, but I'll also guess you stuck with the tried and true history selections that you cut your teeth on, those topics that have allure for the reenactor.

When you read history, is your preference the War Between the States, or do you venture into other time frames as well? I have my favorites, like Freeman's Lee's Lieutenants, especially the final fifty pages of volume three, in which the reader is treated to a pass-in-review of all the ghosts of the Army of Northern Virginia. I'm also fond of Confederate autoboigraphy such as the admittedly flawed From Manassas to Appomattox, by General Longstreet, and the excellent Fighting For the Confederacy, by Colonel Alexander.

When craving tactical studies, I gravitate to a few of the more modern volumes such as Shenandoah 1862, by Peter Cozzens, about Jackson's Valley Campaign, and the solid analysis of Gordon Rhea's fine works on the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. Strategically speaking, I enjoy still, the myriad volumes by Bruce Catton, which I read as a kid. To each his own.

I also enjoy reading Napoleonic works, and have a special interest in the German Army in Russia, 1941-1944. Field Marshall von Manstein's Lost Victories is a particular favorite of mine, as are Paul Carrell's works, Hitler Moves East and Scorched Earth.

For each of these I prefer a good set of maps to accompany the reading and study. I can be found sprawled out on the floor of my library, awash in pulpwood, oblivious to the world and its status. What about you? What do you read? Please drop me a line and we'll compare notes. I'm sure we can recommend some more good reads to each other and our comrades.

Respond to this blog, or e-mail me at colgallioncos@longstreetscorps.com. I'll be glad to hear from you. Until next time.

Respectfully,
Colonel Gallion