Currently Reading

From time to time I am going to post what I am currently reading, or in this case rereading. This time I am rereading A Strange and Blighted Land Gettysburg: The Aftermath of a Battle by Gregory A. Coco.

So often books on the Civil War focus mostly on battles, leaders, or politics of the era but, rarely if ever, on the human cost of war. I can think of few books that do a better job of giving the reader a sense of the horror and destruction that was left in the wake of Civil War battles than this one. It also sheds light on the unsung heroes of the war such as the civilians and medical staffs, who were tasked with the enormous job of cleaning up the battlefield and caring for the dying and wounded. Most importantly it helps to remind us of the terrible and horrific cost of battle on all those it impacts. I highly recommend it.