It has been such a long time since my last entry! I have read many books since dec. of 2012 (over 20 in fact), but i have strayed away from CW non-fiction. i hope to continue my CW studies but have planned to expand this journal to include all my reading. i have just finished two books that seem polar opposites (and they are!). world war z and a new kind of christian. i did not design that, hehe; it just worked out that way. the zombie book is out of my normal zone of reading. a friend of mine recommended it. so i bought it on my kindle and could not put it down. it is an example of how my prejudices have limited my reading experiences. i never thought i'd enjoy a book like that. it is kind of like lincoln: vampire hunter. that is another read that i never thought i would actually read or actually like. both are fantastic! all i can say is that i will no longer judge a book by its cover (or genre). the other book, a new kind of christian is more in line with what i like to read in the spiritual section of my reading shelf. it stretches one's preconceived notions of theology: just like i like it. so it preached to the choir, so to speak. i need to re-read it so i can comment on it with some detail and analysis. i have a list of many of my reading adventures on my other blog: goodreads. so between that, this blog, facebook (with my comments on the many "like" pages i visit), and my photoblog, i am keeping an electronic trail one can follow. as most have nothing to with anything too personal, other than cogitations, i think they are safe enough. i love sharing my reading, likes, and photos with others!

1 December 2012
The Return!
It has been over a year since my last post. Much has occurred but not on here! I am still reading Lincoln President-Elect. I have put it down and been reading other things. Last spring I discontinued my Master's program. Lack of motivation, plus it was too time consuming. Being near the end of my career alo had something to do with it. I plan to start blogging regularly.

summer 2012

6-17-12
obviously, a long time since last entry. since then i have mainly been in a fiction mode and working on a master's degree (which i have suspended temporarily...maybe indefinitely).
i visited shiloh nmp last summer with my daughter and a close friend and his daughter. it was a trip of a lifetime! i obtained quite a few titles at the park.
i am now reading shiloh: the western campaign of 1862 by o.e. cunningham, a book acquired at the bookstore at the park.
i have read two cw books that i bought there: oxford in the civil war by s. enzweiler, and this great battlefield of shiloh: history, memory, and the establishment of a civil war national military park by t. smith. both are excellent, enlightening reads.
i liked oxford, as it relates the invasion of the town in the post-corinth campaign and smith's book about the genesis of shiloh nmp. i really enjoyed the second title as it illustrated how the memorial movement started and then continued through the post war years and the years leading into the 20th century. it analyzed the many obstacles and issues in memorializing a military park.
the book i'm reading now (cunningham's shiloh) is a recent publication of a doctoral thesis written in the 1960s that is surprisingly very readable. his style is engaging and clear. i will post my observations after the conclusion.
i hope to visit ft. donelson, nashville, and franklin battlefields this summer. we will see what develops...

I have been remiss in this blog, as a reader can see. It has been over a year since my last post. My master's class has been taking a lot of my time.
I am currently reading The President-Elect. It is well written, but I am also remiss in this book. I started it last fall and wanted to follow it along according to the nov-march window of the text. I will attempt to post more often. :)

Battle of Atlanta

I have finished the book on the Atlanta campaign. It took a while because of school. I liked the narrative and the writer's style. It was not too technical or detailed. It basically was a light read. I was disappointed it did not have an order of battle indexed.
Excellent bibliography included in the backmatter. I liked the way the author ended the book with "the rest of the story, following the major players, and the city of Atlanta, through the rest of the war and into the end of the 19th century. It peaked and interest into reading a campaign study that is detailed in depth.
Reading more about the West and the last year of the war is something I want to peruse as well. I recommend the book for anyone who wants "light" reading of an important campaign in the war. I liked how the author pointed to the importance of the battle of Atlanta. Because of it, in part, Lincoln was re-elected. So the cause and effect can be argued, it saved the Union. A lot of ifs there, but it (the campaign) was instrumental in ending the war.
I give the book a "thumbs up!"

Long Time Since My Last Entry

I'm reading War Like a Thunderbolt by Russell Bonds. It's about the Atlanta Campaign of 1864. Good so far. I will leave judgment until I finish.
What I like to this point: Nancy's ancestor was in the 147th PVA; the part of the battle of Atlanta I read today was when his unit was involved. I went to his diary and read what he went through that day. Pretty cool connection. Nancy gave me his GAR reunion medal, and I've seen his sword. His diary makes the story come alive.
I can't wait until school is over this week. Although I'm taking 6 hrs. this summer at TWU, I will have some time for reading and writing. I'm tired lately, for sure.
My shoulder hurts, I'm burnt out with school, my Jack Daniels therapy is getting to me, and I am not blogging enough. Time to write and photoblog more!

It has been awhile....

I finished a good book on Lincoln's role as commander-in-chief. The book by McPherson called Tried by War is an excellent book on Lincoln's evolving role in choosing and using his commanders for the armies. I enjoyed the book because it was a survey type study. The subject has been done before so this was a refreshing perspective that was revisited and thoroughly researched. One knows that a McPherson book will be as objective as can be expected. His scholarship is outstanding. No one is ever without error when writing history. But you can count on his work. Any mistakes that may be made will not occur because of laziness or lack of focus. I did not find any errors in it. Because of the survey nature of the study, only the major points of Lincoln's administration were covered. It is a great read that is short and accurate.
It has been too long since I have blogged. Unfortunately, my studies are taking a great deal of my time. Most of my limited free time is spent reading, not writing. I am going to make a diligent effort to write more. Both here and elsewhere. We'll see you soon!