AGEOD Forums

I seem to remember Bruce Catton being thought of as the civil war historian for the masses during those (ugh) long ago days of my youth.

Now, when perusing threads with titles like "What ACW history books should I read?" Catton rarely gets mentioned.

Is it because Shelby Foote rocketed to such fame after the Ken Burns documentary that Catton is merely forgotten, or is there something flawed in Catton's work to more modern readers?

I like Catton, he was my introduction to the Civil War many years ago.

When I read his work back to back with Foote, I saw a difference. Foote is much more detailed. Catton had his biases regarding some generals and either was unaware of or omitted some details that didn't support his views. All historians do this; In my opinion Foote does it less.

Of course, it could be said that Catton simply didn't generate the page count needed to go in to the detail that Foote did.

I think Catton might be the ticket for those wanting the narrative style of history without having to invest the time it takes to wade through Foote (something I'm doing again, BTW).