Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Booknotes III (June '09)

Acquisitions or review copies received this month:

1. The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff, June-October 1861 by Bradley M. Gottfried (Savas Beatie, 2009).
FBR is my favorite eastern theater battle so I am diving into this one right away. I'll pass on giving first impressions and just save it for the review.

2. From Cape Charles to Cape Fear: The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War by Robert Browning, Jr. (Fire Ant Books, 2003).
Originally published in 1993 by University of Alabama Press, this is the paperback reprint from their Fire Ant imprint. I hold Browning's work in high esteem (his awards are much deserved), and hope he goes on to do the Gulf squadrons someday.

3. The Complete Gettysburg Guide: Walking and Driving Tours of the Battlefield, Town, Cemeteries, Field Hospital Sites, and other Topics of Historical Interest by J. David Petruzzi and Steven Stanley (Savas Beatie, 2009).
I haven't removed the shrink wrap yet, but J.D.'s Complete Gettysburg Guide website for the book gives you all the information you need. I bet a paperback edition will be in the offing for those summer trampers who won't want to expose perspiring brows and palms to their the nice hardcover copy.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the mentions, Drew, and the reviews sure to come.

    On "The Complete Gettysburg Guide" . . . don't wait for paper. I do not mean that as promotion, but simple truth: We won't be printing paper for the foreseeable future.

    We built this book very well (320pp, 7 x 10, heavy coated stock paper, full color, sewn binding, real black cloth, head and foot bands, gold stamping, and 70 original maps), and we priced it inexpensively at $39.95. We believe it will remain in hardcover for many printings.

    I appreciate the fact that battlefield stompers (like me) would like a paperback, and we have discussed it. But it would not be considerably cheaper (maybe $29.95 at best), so it might be best to just pick up two copies of the hardcover--one for hard use and one for the recliner. Several people have already called to do so, and for this very reason. (BTW, our distributor is 90% through the first edition already.)

    -- Theodore P. Savas
    Savas Beatie

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  2. Ditto on your comments about Robert Browning and his books. He was keynote speaker for a symposium I put together a few years ago, and is a very likable fellow.

    Andrew @ Civil War Navy

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