The Illustrated Gettysburg Reader: An Eyewitness History of the Civil War?s Greatest Battle Hardcover – Illustrated, June 10, 2013

Detailed chronological account and an easy read. Includes excellent information on the lead up to the battle and its aftermath as well. Details the main characters, from their backgrounds and decisions during the battle, as well as descriptive details of the individual actions, in some cases minute-by-minute, supported by eyewitness accounts from both sides, including the actual words of participants from personal letters, memoirs, after-action reports, etc. I was so engrossed at times I felt I was actually there on the ground amid the chaos of battle.I was surprised to learn how key the positioning and application of Union artillery was to the outcome of the battle, as well as the heroics of various artillery crews who continued to man their guns even while being over-run, such as those who fought hand-to-hand on Cemetery Hill preventing their guns from being captured. Also the accounts of Alonzo Cushing, who was actually awarded the Medal of Honor just weeks ago, as well as other artillery officers I never heard of who continued to direct fire after being wounded multiple times, and one who applied his own tourniquet and his knife to cut off the the remaining part of his mangled leg during battle.Was surprised at the amount of costly infighting among the Confederate senior officers and the major mistakes made on both sides. Also the suicidal bayonet charge of the 1st Minnesota regiment into the much larger rebel force rushing up a gap on Cemetery Ridge on day 2 after getting through Sickle's Salient, resulting in about 80% casualties in less than an hour, but effectively stopping the breakthrough. No less heroic than the 20th Maine's actions on Little Round Top, and perhaps no less important.While the book provides much verbal detail on the locations of individual actions and placement of forces, it lacks sufficient maps/illustrations, and you can get lost spatially unless you are already intimately familiar with the battlefield. I rectified this by purchasing "Gettysburg, The Story of the Battle with Maps" for a very reasonable price also on Amazon. An excellent companion piece. I was also a bit disappointed by the lack of information on cavalry actions other than the initial holding actions, including Buford's dismounted troops covering the retreat of Union infantry through town the afternoon of day 1, the oversight in replacing Buford's troops SW of the Round Tops on day 2 after they were sent back to be refitted, and other Union cavalry actions blocking Stuart's forces trying to get at the Union rear on day 3. Some minor editing oversights such as referring to Col Strong Vincent as "Col Strong" on some pages, then as "Col Vincent" on others. Overall, not enough to downgrade this excellent book to four stars in my opinion.

I read at least 5 books per year on the subject of the Civil War. I visit Gettysburg almost every year to survey the various features of the landscape and examine the battlefield to better understand why things happened the way they did in terms of what the participants saw from the various vantage points. Because I now have a visual memory of the battlefield topography it all makes much better sense. When I read someone's comments about their part of the event I can visualize the exact location where the event took place. Many of the writings on Gettysburg are flawed because of the writer's biases and the historical pattern set by early historians views. When one actually examines things closely an entirely different perspective emerges. This book helps fill in some of the vacancies not seen in other works on the battle. There is nothing like the words and views of the collective experience to bring the whole matter into full focus. Questions like why Ewell didn't pursue the offensive late in the day of July 1st. are answered by the lay of the land. Given the limited knowledge of the landscape, the condition of his troops at that hour, and the ambiguous wording of Lee's directive it Ewell was not remiss in his decision but rather an excellent general doing the best he could with the circumstances he faced. If you are a Civil War fanatic or a casual investigator on the subject I believe this is a must read book.

My library of books on antebellum America, the American Civil War and reconstruction number in the hundreds. Through the years, there are many books I've picked up, began reading and then shelved them, wondering why I bought the book in the first place. THIS BOOK IS NOT ONE OF THEM! The book is very readable and has a style unlike others: it begins telling part of the story and then breaks into a "first person" account or letter. The unique thing is, this is done without detracting from the flow of the story.I do have a very minor quibble and that is the word illustrated in the title leads one to believe the book to have many pictures, etc. There are illustrations, but mainly smaller pen/ink drawings and at best, only 1/8th page size, every 2 or 3 or 4 pages. But I found the notations under the drawings to be very readable and useful to the story line (I'm not delving into the storyline, as it is about the Gettysburg campaign). The quibble would not take away anything from my recommendation to read this book.

Having read all the Schaara novels about the civil war, I was most interested to read the personal experiences of people who actually participated in the battle of Gettysburg. This is such a monumental turning point in American history that you want to know what the participants thought and felt. The Illustrated Gettysburg Reader puts you there and expresses those thoughts and feelings in the vernacular of the 1860's with its heroism, gore, and romantic valor. It is a truly memorable book that I will treasure in my library for the rest of my days. It brings those 3 days of 150 years ago to life.

Great read. In time to visit Gettysburg in the 150th year celebration....This book brought tears to my eyes when I read the letters that soldiers wrote to their loved ones at home. Col. Joshua Chamberlain stood out as a hero for the Union as did Gen. Robert E. Lee for the Confederacy. I highly recommend this book. Reading this book inspired me to visit more battlefields to learn about each particular battle and to honor both sides for their commitment to their cause. Not too many pictures but "illustrated" can mean word pictures as well.

This is a very accurate chronicle of the day by day events of the Battle of Gettysburg, with lots of photos. After reading this book, you should also watch the movie "Gettysburg" which stars Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee. The actors in the movie were made up to very closely resemble the main participants in this historic battle, and really added anaother dimension to the book.