A Fierce Glory, Justin Martin
A Fierce Glory, Justin Martin
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A Fierce Glory
Antietam--The Desperate Battle That Saved Lincoln and Doomed Slavery

Author: Justin Martin

Narrator: James Edward Thomas

Unabridged: 10 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Published: 09/11/2018


Synopsis

On September 17, 1862, the "United States" was on the brink, facing a permanent split into two separate nations. America's very future hung on the outcome of a single battle--and the result reverberates to this day. Given the deep divisions that still rive the nation, given what unites the country, too, Antietam is more relevant now than ever.

The epic battle, fought near Sharpsburg, Maryland, was a Civil War turning point. The South had just launched its first invasion of the North; victory for Robert E. Lee would almost certainly have ended the war on Confederate terms. If the Union prevailed, Lincoln stood ready to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. He knew that freeing the slaves would lend renewed energy and lofty purpose to the North's war effort. Lincoln needed a victory to save the divided country, but victory would come at a price. Detailed here is the cannon din and desperation, the horrors and heroes of this monumental battle, one that killed 3,650 soldiers, still the highest single-day toll in American history.

Justin Martin, an acclaimed writer of narrative nonfiction, renders this landmark event in a revealing new way. More than in previous accounts, Lincoln is laced deeply into the story. Antietam represents Lincoln at his finest, as the grief-racked president--struggling with the recent death of his son, Willie--summoned the guile necessary to manage his reluctant general, George McClellan. The Emancipation Proclamation would be the greatest gambit of the nation's most inspired leader. And, in fact, the battle's impact extended far beyond the field; brilliant and lasting innovations in medicine, photography, and communications were given crucial real-world tests. No mere gunfight, Antietam rippled through politics and society, transforming history.

A Fierce Glory is a fresh and vibrant account of an event that had enduring consequences that still resonate today.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bonnye Reed on September 11, 2018

GNab Fierce Glory covers one battle - Antietam beginning on September, 17, 1862. Unlike a number of books covering this three day battle, this one stands alone. The step by step actions and movements of the troops have been well covered by many authors. Justin Martin chooses to tackle this historica......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on November 21, 2022

Part Bruce Catton, part dramatic narrative, this book delivers in a big way. The author takes us through the battle of Antietam; America's bloodiest battle. I found the book to be well structured; I wasn't sure which human interest story was coming next. Also, the author uses many first hand account......more

Goodreads review by Craig on May 30, 2018

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest battle ever on American soil. I was hoping for a greater development of the background story leading to the battle. The author has primarily spent the majority of his thesis tying the ba......more

Goodreads review by Lenora on August 31, 2018

I love stories about Lincoln and this is one of the better ones I have read. It is full of interesting facts and interested points of view. Another look at the history that held my attention from beginning to end.......more

Goodreads review by Sam on April 08, 2019

Justin Martin's "A Fierce Glory" is a brilliant recount of what many consider to be the most important battle of the entire American Civil War, The Battle of Antietam. Martin, here, has accomplished something that so many military historians never learn to do well: he put a human face on soldiers on......more


Quotes

"A colorful, deft, beautifully paced account of the bloodiest battle in American history. Justin Martin carefully tends Antietam's 'glowing embers,' approaching the day on the ground and from every angle."--Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cleopatra and The Witches

"More than the repulse of a Confederate invasion, the Union victory at Antietam paved the way for black freedom--thus proving, in its way, the most important battle of the Civil War. Appropriately, A Fierce Glory is more than a military history (although it depicts the actual fighting vividly). Martin has culled a vast array of sources to explore the political, religious, medical, and, ultimately, the societal impact of Antietam. A highly original work."--Harold Holzer, winner of the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize

"What an achievement! Both panoramic and intimate in scale, it situates Antietam within the context of Civil War history but also takes the reader in close, face to face with the personal reality of 19th century warfare."--Amanda Vaill, author of Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War

"With a great eye for colorful detail, Martin has pulled off the feat of contextualizing the battle for a general audience. I learned something new on every page--not just about Lincoln, McClellan, and Lee, but about medical pioneers Clara Barton and Jonathan Letterman, photographer Alexander Gardner, and the fates of average soldiers on both sides. An absorbing read."--Jonathan Alter, New York Times bestselling author of The Promise: President Obama, Year One

"Martin has given us an engrossing, important new look at Antietam, making a convincing case that the outcome had more impact on the course of the war, and on U.S. history, than any other Civil War engagement."--Marc Leepson, author of Desperate Engagement: How a Little-Known Civil War Battle Saved Washington, D.C., and Changed American History

"Martin takes you to the fabled Antietam battlefield in an engagingly written 'you are there' style that has you virtually feeling the bullets whizzing above your head. This is no dry military history or conventional Civil War book but a riveting group biography that delves into the hearts and minds of a number of colorful, larger-than-life characters, all of it placed in the context of the fateful deliberations of Lincoln over issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. A tour de force."--John Oller, author of The Swamp Fox and American Queen

"In this succinct, highly readable book, spiced with telling anecdotes and vivid character sketches, Martin seamlessly interweaves a clear, suspenseful account of the battle with a careful depiction of Lincoln's road to emancipation."--Michael Burlingame, award-winning Lincoln scholar and author of Lincoln: A Life (2 vols.)