These Honored Dead

How the Story of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory

By: Thomas A. Desjardin

Narrated by: Lewis Grenville

Ever since the guns fell silent in July 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg has emerged as the defining conflict in our nation's history. American memory has established Gettysburg as the most important, most heroic, most savage battle this nation has ever fought. It has become our Waterloo, our battle of Marathon, our siege of Troy. In this riveting historical reappraisal, esteemed Civil War historian, Thomas A. Desjardin, sets out to examine the truth behind the myth by probing how this battle became legend in American hearts and minds. What emerges from Desjardin's research is a fascinating biography of a story--the story of Gettysburg--as he highlights how flawed our knowledge of this enormous event is, and how Americans have fashioned the Battle as a reflection of, and testimony to, our culture and our nation.

©2003 Thomas A. Desjardin (P)2010 BBC Audiobooks America

Pompus

many conclusions reached by the author are simply conjecture, not fact. for example one "fact" he disputes cannot be true because 2 people didn't include it in a letter, therefore it must not be true. He comes off pompus in his agruments and conclusions. The author feels compelled to dispute "facts" accepted by many. He takes a contrarian view of everything. I realize he is a well respected author and loved by many, but not by me. I do not recommend this book.

This was a struggle.

I really want to like this book. I like refreshing looks at history. The author is extremely knowledgeable, but his writing style comes off very pompous. He forgets that works of fiction are often the catalyst for people to start the journey to learn more about history. His non stop mentioning of the Killer Angels was annoying. He could have covered this in a much shorter manner. Like many of the battles experts, he acts like everyone on the battlefield should already be a well versed expert. Ultimately I feel that this was not worth the cost and feel cheated by the author.