Product Description

24 b/w photos 12 maps 5 x 8 A fully revised and updated classic Perfect for both tourists and armchair visitors Originally published in 1960, this guidebook combines the drama of the battle with complete information about each tour stop. Clear directions and knowledgeable commentary on the town of Gettysburg work in conjunction with the day-by-day narrative of the skirmishes and pitched fights that make up the Battle of Gettysburg. By including the order of battle, then and now photographs, concise battle maps, and a suggested reading list, this small but comprehensive introduction to Gettysburg will be invaluable to any Civil War buff, amateur and professional alike. General Edward J. Stackpole, the founder of Stackpole Books, wrote several classic texts on the Civil War. Colonel Wilbur S. Nye, graduate of West Point and noted cartographer, has produced numerous maps for Stackpole in years past. Bradley Gottfried is Dean of Academic Affairs at Montgomery County Community College and has had a life-long interest in the Civil War.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97201 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 124 pages

Customer Reviews

Concise yet complete tour guide with great graphics
The editorial reviews on this paperback are right on the mark. It is an excellent 124-page booklet that follows the formal tour guide route.
The front tour section starts by providing just the right amount of "selected" detail (with some well-cropped and selected photos)on each of the 16 stops (36 pages). I was able to take the book out and use it as a quick stop tour. I found the positons easily (as they were concisely marked), then read the short, but complete narrative. I really got the context of the complete battle by putting all the tour stops together because the "important details" were included at each stop.

After the tour, an account of the fighting is described by day, hours and short descriptor, e.g."Action of Buford's Calvary, 8:00 to 10:00 am, July 1" (78 pages). Superb graphics that clearly sketch out positions with key topography markers help you fix on the formations. They are very distingushable as they are marked with reference to the modern day road structure in he park (e.g. you can tell the bulk of Pickett's division-by brigade-was originally lined up much farther south than the positon of Lee's statue in their charge by the Spangler house).

The final pages of the book summarize the strength and losses by unit (i.e. numbers by brigade level, but specifying the regiments included) and a good one-page suggested reading list (that shows the better Gettysburg books).

I have been to this field five times. It is a very good book for new and repeat visitors.