Booknotes: A Long and Bloody Task

New Arrival:
• A Long and Bloody Task: The Atlanta Campaign from Dalton through Kennesaw to the Chattahoochee, May 5-July 18, 1864 by Stephen Davis (Savas Beatie, 2016).

The first of two volumes [for some reason, I thought it was a trilogy originally] covering the Atlanta Campaign, Davis's book is part of the Emerging Civil War series, with the target audience mandate and presentation style that that inclusion entails. It takes the reader on a long stretch from the beginning of the campaign all the way to the gates of Atlanta. In addition to the narrative and maps, there's a driving tour and a collection of brief appendices addressing a variety of issues (ex. federal campaign logistics, the Chattahoochee river line, and commentary on the current state of the Hood historiography).