The Smoke at Dawn: A Novel of the Civil War (the Civil War in the West) (utgåvan 2015)

In The Smoke at Dawn, Jeff Shaara continues to follow the western theater of the Civil War. This time, the story is about the battle for Chattanooga, 1863. Normally, I don't enjoy stories about movement of this battalion or that battalion on the field. However, this story is told well and as the author points out, it's necessarily a novel because it has dialogue that can't be supported. Regardless, it's all about the people. The reader will learn a lot about them in the telling. I particularly enjoyed the author's interpretation of Braxton Bragg...unsure of himself to the point that he mistrusts his subordinates so much that it affects his military decisions. ( )

Great read. ( )

In The Smoke at Dawn, Jeff Shaara continues to follow the western theater of the Civil War, as the Union forces attempt to follow up on their capture of Vicksburg (chronicled in A Chain of Thunder). But when the Confederates manage to defeat the Union army under General Rosecrans at Chickamauga, they retreat to Chattanooga, and Confederate General Braxton Bragg puts them under siege. When Lincoln removes Rosecrans and elevates Grant to overall command, Grant heads to Chattanooga, where he plans to break the siege if only Sherman will arrive with his forces in time. Meanwhile, Bragg has his own problems as his subordinates question and seek to undermine his leadership.

As usual, Shaara paints vivid portraits of these historical figures, as well as the men in the trenches, represented here again by Private Fritz "Dutchie" Bauer. He even gives us a glimpse of Confederate President Jefferson Davis (for a nonfiction treatment of whom, see James McPherson's recent Embattled Rebel), who has to make an appearance to try to sort out the command problems plaguing Bragg and his subordinate Generals including James Longstreet and Patrick Cleburne, who is particularly interesting as an Irishman fighting for the Southern cause and one of their finest commanders. On the Union side, he also better acquaints us with General George Thomas, who kept the Union defeat and retreat at Chickamauga from becoming a total rout.

This one is a bit slower than most of Shaara's other books, but still definitely worth reading. I'm eagerly anticipating the final book in this series.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R397KWH23F6VEU ( )

With this volume, Shaara veers away from tactics, more towards characterization. It isn't a bad thing to do, just somewhat different. Still, for the major characters, the shortcomings seem to be over emphasized. Given his many and huge failings, it is surprising that Braxton Bragg did not suffer a fatal "accident" in the field. Things learned by the major characters seem to insinuate themselves into the consciousness of the characters. I continue to believe that Shaara is doing a great service in putting flesh and bone on the history of our Civil War. ( )