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Publisher:
Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press |
Release
Date: June, 2004 |
ISBN:
0312309376 |
Awards:
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Format
Reviewed: Hardcover |
Buy
it at Amazon |
Read
an Excerpt |
Genre:
Fiction / Alternative History |
Reviewed:
2004 |
Reviewer:
Jeanette Clinkunbroomer |
Reviewer
Notes: |
Copyright
MyShelf.com |
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Grant Comes East
By Newt Gingrich
and William R. Forstchen
Last
year, Gingrich & Forstchen offered their version of “Gettysburg,”
a fictional what-if of that famous Civil War battle, but they gave
the victory to the Confederates. This year, in “Grant Comes
East,” the writing team builds on that victory, as General
Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia march on Washington,
D.C., and other Yankee strongholds. And while Union General Ulysses
S. Grant does, indeed, come east to meet the Confederates, he never
quite gets his army into motion over the course of this novel.
This second installment
is more introspective than the first, suggesting the thoughts and
attitudes of characters that include Abraham Lincoln and General
Dan Sickles, as well as Confederate President Jefferson Davis and
his Secretary of State, Judah Benjamin. Benjamin, who was Jewish,
introduces Lee to a rabbi who argues the case for using black slaves
to fill the thinning ranks of the rebel army. Lee begins questioning
the morality of slavery, and, more practically, seriously ponders
making up for his army’s horrendous casualties by recruiting
slaves by promising them freedom. Of course, there are battles,
entirely fictitious, but carefully contrived and explicitly bloody,
even difficult to read at times.
Author Newt
Gingrich is a former Congressman and history professor; William
Forstchen has written more than 30 novels in various genres. Both
are well-versed in military science and provide a thought-provoking
look at the Civil War and what might have happened, had leaders
made different decisions. A must-read for those interested in the
Civil War, “Grant Comes East” sets the scene for what
will likely be a decisive confrontation between Grant and Lee...
Perhaps next year?
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