The Civil War
by Shelby Foote
78% recommend11% neutral11% critical
Why HN recommends it
A narrative history of the American Civil War, written as an engrossing and excellent story. It is a strong first read on the war and suits those who enjoy long, story-driven histories.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…Wars Schom Napoleon Bonaparte Heidler & Heidler Old Hickory's War Babbage On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures de Toqueville Democracy in America Darwin On the Origen of Species Foote The Civil War: A Narrative Maurois Disraeli Twain Life on the Mississippi Spector Admiral of the New Empire, The Life and Career of George Dewey Cardwell The Norton History of Technology Abbott Flatland, A Romance…
on “PG's Rarely Asked Questions” ↗…theory: History of Warfare by Keegan Intel: Intelligence and War by Keegan Counterinsurgency: "Ghost Wars" by Steve Coll. For a really enjoyable experience read "The Great Game" by Hopkirk first. The Civil War deserves it's own category. Watch the PBS dvds, actually buy them. If you're hungry for more dig into "The Civil War" by Shelby Foote is hefty but it's satisfying. 1776 is a classic. "Blind mans bluff"…
on “Ask HN: good books about military strategy?” ↗Grover Gardner is a terrific narrator. If you’re into grand-scale, multi-volume histories, I highly recommend his readings of Shelby Foote’s The Civil War: A Narrative and Robert Caro’s The Years of Lyndon Johnson.
on “Ask HN: Which audiobooks did/do you like?” ↗…maybe it's somebody else's turn. IMO, it's important to retain the capacity for grace in these things. Not least for your own sake, much less you're career. I would read the parts of Shelby Foote's "Civil War" surrounding Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. It helped. Whatever else may be said of Lee, he was a master of grace under pressure.
on “How to Survive an Acquisition” ↗…a subject in 4-6 hours. Want to learn about the Cold War? Read Gaddis' seminal book on it. Want to learn about WWII? Read Winston Churchill's five book series that won the Nobel prize for literature? Civil War? Shelby Foote. If history is not your thing what about biography? There are biographies of practically every founder of great tech companies. (Jobs, Gates, Musk). How about ideas? Malcolm Gladwell (Tippingpoint),…
on “Ask HN: Are books worth it?” ↗…of fiction. Some random recommendations: Tolstoi: "War and Peace", Solzhenitsyn: "The Red Wheel" cycle, Yourcenar: "Memoirs of Hadrian", Brecht: "The Business Affairs of Mr. Julius Caesar", Foote: "The Civil War: A Narrative" (non-fictional narrative history).
on “Choosing what to read” ↗The Civil War narrative Shelby Foote. It’s excellent.
on “Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2024?” ↗…Euclid, Newton's Optiks and Principia (I slogged through the Motte transaltion before the first modern English translation became available), The Wealth of Nations, Shelby Foote's 3-volume history of the Civil War, and The Origen of Species. (It's real easy for me to spot folks who spoot-off about Wealth or Origen who have not actually read the books.) My program culminated with Tragedy and Hope, which being such…
on “PG's Rarely Asked Questions” ↗That's because he had hacks like Shelby Foote trying to convince people that the Civil War wasn't caused by slavery.
on “3D Ken Burns Effect from a Single Image” ↗Is there just two examples or is the page not loading for me? Shelby Foote’s Civil War history and Robert Caro’s LBJ biography come to mind. They also make me think I may have to work on READING them for decades.
on “People that worked on the same idea for decades” ↗