Matthew Bartlett, Author Gettysburg Chronicle
The Gettysburg You Never Knew
  • Book Reviews
  • Gettysburg Lunchbreak
  • Blog
  • Board Game Reviews
  • Contact Me
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Gettysburg Pictures
  • Drastic Change in Command
  • The Bloody Pit
  • Eternal Light of Peace

Mackowski Gives Us Another Excellent Work

7/15/2015

2 Comments

 
Picture
Strike Them a Blow: Battle along the North Anna River, May 21-25, 1864

Chris Mackowski

Savas Beatie, 2015, 170 pp. + 22 pp. introduction, $12.95

ISBN: 978-1-61121-254-9

Image courtesy of amazon.com

The Emerging Civil War Series has been a pleasure to read since its inception and now, Chris Mackowski gives us the new installment Strike Them a Blow about the Battle along the North Anna River.  While this book it not titled as a sequel, Strike Them a Blow follows the action of A Season of Slaughter which was about the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse.  The period of May in 1864 for the armies in the eastern theater of the war was grueling and this book adds to the toll which both armies of Lee and Grant took during that infamous month. 

                Chris Mackowski is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Emerging Civil War.  He is also the historian-in-reference at Stevenson Ridge which is part of the Spotsylvania battlefield.  On top of all his work with the Emerging Civil War, he is a professor of journalism and mass communication at Saint Bonaventure University in western New York.  Some of his other works in the Emerging Civil War Series are That Furious Struggle, Simply Murder, and The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson.  He has also authored other books outside of the series: Chancellorsville’s Forgotten Front, The Dark, Close Wood and Seizing Destiny: The Army of the Potomac’s Valley Forge and the Civil War Winter that Saved the Union.

                One of the best things about the Emerging Civil War Series is the way in which they can be used to help tour the battlefield.  After the narrative in every chapter, there are touring tips and this is incredibly useful in a battlefield such as along the North Anna River.  Not only do the chapters help with the tour by sectionalizing parts of the days from May 21-25, but they also provide photographs of the commanders and the locations themselves with some excellent battle maps.  After the guide within the narrative is over, there are a great number of appendices, six to be exact, which explain more about the battle and other aspects of the combat not deeply covered in the narrative.  The best part of the narratives written by Mackowski was the humanity which he brought to the commanders, soldiers and the people of the battle.  One such occasion was a human interest story about a woman who was so staunch in her opinion of Sherman never taking the field.  She claimed that she knew the country better than anyone else and stated that no army could ever take it.  Those small bits of humanity is what makes not only this book, but the Emerging Civil War Series quite excellent.

                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Battle along the North Anna River and anyone who is touring the battlefields of Virginia.  This book is essential to understanding what happened there and offers many tips and stops while you tour the field.  In the myriad of battle tour guides throughout the Civil War world, Strike Them a Blow will give you the best tour and descriptions about this combat more than any other.  Mackowski should be praised for what he has accomplished here.


2 Comments
Michele Sams link
7/20/2015 02:00:54 am

Thank you for the review on "Strike Them a Blow" by Chris Mackowski. We appreciate the review and are glad to hear you enjoyed the book! Those interested in checking out this book can read more at the Savas Beatie website here: http://tinyurl.com/lmvmeh7

Reply
Chris Mackowski link
7/20/2015 02:39:04 am

Thanks for the kind words, Matthew. The books are so much fun to write and edit. It's all about getting people hooked on the Civil War!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Want your book reviewed?  Please contact me at gettysburgchronicle@yahoo.com or on facebook at Gettysburg Chronicle.  Review the disclaimer before contacting us.
    _

    Archives

    August 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.