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What books/authors are recommended reading about civil war? Not only the war, but the underlying reasons, and politics, behind it? What about Shelby Foote?

I picked up Foote’s trilogy in hardcover at a yard sale about 30 years ago, for $6 IIRC. Knew of him from the tv series on PBS. Took a while to digest, but I liked it a lot.

Lincoln and the Tools of War by Robert Bruce is interesting.

Lincoln was a statist pig and got what he had coming.

Before he died U.S. Grant wrote his memoirs. It is a good read because he writes about the decisions he made with the info he had at the time. History has a habit of second guessing decisions decades after they happen based on info that came out long after the fact. As a military leader Grant had to make quick decisions as events were happening.

In his memoirs he talks about both the good and the bad decisions and why he made the decisions he did. He doesnt apologize or make excuses. He owns up to the bad (such as the 2nd assault at Cold Harbor) and accepts responsibility.

I fully suggest this be read by anybody interested in the Civil War. It is too bad that Lee never wrote his memoirs so we can get his side as well.

"The myth of the Lost Cause" Edward Bonekemper is pretty good. It is footnoted and researched with primary source material.

A Disease in the Public Mind: A New Understanding of Why We Fought the Civil War


https://www.amazon.com/Disease-Public-Mind-Understanding-Fought/dp/0306822954

I was amazed at how young all the generals were back then. Lee, the "Old Man," was only 57. He had two heart attacks (maybe more) during the war. After Gettysburg he wanted to resign but Davis wouldn't let him.

I like the story about Christopher Spencer showing up at the White House with a Spencer rifle and firing it with Abe Lincoln on the White House lawn.

Shelby is top shelf along with Bruce Catton. I would start with Army of the Potomac trilogy.

Making a list. Thanks so far.

This...
It can be reread again and again and again....

I would 2nd Grants book.

Interesting in how many Union political favors/appointee Generals became Cluster Fugs..

I’ve always liked Shelby Foote. He was, to my mind, the quintessential southern Gentleman. Intelligent and well spoken with the strong air of empathy and understanding was how I saw Mr. Foote and I was saddened when he passed.

There are countless great books about the Civil War but Grants Memoirs deserve another endorsement. It’s been years since I’ve read it and beyond time for me to read them again. I just started Supreme Commander by Stephen Ambrose about Dwight Eisenhower so after I’m done with this one I think I’ll begin on Grants Memoirs again.

These threads are always illuminating. The suggestions are for the OP but us readers are the winners of these great suggestions. 👍🏼

ETA…Mark Twain spent quite awhile with Grant and stayed with him to help him finish writing his memoirs. Iirc Mark Twain spent around a month living with the Grants and he said that U.S. Grant was driven to finish his memoirs despite the substantial pain he was dealing with. He’d bitten into a peach a month or so earlier, his favorite treat, and said he felt a sharp sting in the back of his throat. That was the first indication that he had throat cancer. He chewed and smoked upwards of 2 dozen cigars a day. After his picture in the paper showed him with a cigar people from all over sent him boxes and boxes of the best cigars.

The Civil War: A Narrative

Shelby Foote

Check out:

Pryor's Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee (examines Lee through his own correspondence)

Paludan's Victims (about the Shelton Laurel Massacre)

Wiley's The Life of Johnny Reb and The Life of Billy Yank (classic soldier studies)

Cozzens's Shenandoah 1862 (Jackson's Valley Campaign)

Alford's Fortune's Fool (a very well done and interesting bio of John Wilkes Booth)

Freeman's Lee's Lieutenants

Nelson's The Three-Cornered War (about the war in the Far West and Indian involvement in the Civil War)

Faust's This Republic of Suffering (about death and how Americans adjust to unprecedented loss of life away from home)

Potter's The Impending Crisis (if you really want to understand the politics of the sectional crisis and the lead up to secession, this one is old but still holds its ground)

Both sides had a fair number of appointees. In many cases, they're weeded out of important roles before the campaigns in '64-65. (You could also make a pretty strong argument that many of the commanders with actual military educations weren't much better.) One problem that persists, though, is Davis openly playing favorites with his pre-war friends. (Bragg is the most notorious case, but there were others in the Trans-Miss and the Far West, too.)

The Real Lincoln and/or Lincoln Unmasked. Non fiction on the monster that drove it.

Another vote for Shelby Foote. I’ve read those books probably 5 times or more!
I always said Bruce Catton set the bar, but Shelby raised it!
As to the causes, I suggest “Lincoln’s Little War”, by Webb Garrison. This book explains how Lincoln painted the South into a corner at Ft Sumter, forcing them to fire the first shot.
By making the Confederacy appear the aggressor, the divided northern states united behind the government. It’s an excellent read!
I’ve read Catton’s trilogy of the Army Of The Potomac several times as well, and have Big Hunter working on it now.
There are several others on my list, and I’ll consult my list and post some more later.
I’ve been hooked on the Civil War since The Old Man bought me “The Golden Book Of The Civil War” at the Cyclorama Visitors Center when I was 8, and American History has become a passion for me!
7mm

"Paludan's Victims (about the Shelton Laurel Massacre)"

Happened in Madison County, NC. AKA "Bloody Madison."

I live in Madison County. Thanks for the tip, clockwork 7mm, I just bought a used hardcover from Amazon for $7.84