A Field Guide to Gettysburg, Second Edition - 2nd Edition by Carol Reardon & Tom Vossler (Paperback)

About the Book

Presents a guide to the Gettysburg battlefield with comprehensive maps and descriptions of the action, narratives about key figures and events, and a variety of contemporary and postwar source materials offering stories and interpretations.

Book Synopsis

This second, updated edition of the acclaimed A Field Guide to Gettysburg will lead visitors to every important site across the battlefield and also give them ways to envision the action and empathize with the soldiers involved and the local people into whose lives and lands the battle intruded. Both Carol Reardon and Tom Vossler are themselves experienced guides who understand what visitors to Gettysburg are interested in, but they also bring the unique perspectives of a scholar and a former army officer. Divided into three day-long tours, this newly improved and expanded edition offers important historical background and context for the reader while providing answers to six key questions: What happened here? Who fought here? Who commanded here? Who fell here? Who lived here? And what did the participants have to say about it later?

With new stops, maps, and illustrations, the second edition of A Field Guide to Gettysburg remains the most comprehensive guide to the events and history of this pivotal battle of the Civil War.

Review Quotes

"A very useful resource for making one's way intelligently across the battleground as well as a stirring account of the battle and its varied meanings in the past and present."--McCormick Messenger

"An important resource for readers to obtain an overview of the battle in general, and specific areas of interest in particular."--Civil War News

"The authors have gone far beyond [a battlefield guide]. . . . An excellent source for Civil War buffs and anyone interested in the history and locale of Gettysburg."--Library Journal 2013 Best Reference Book

"The most helpful book in understanding the field of battle at Gettysburg. . . . A superb and surprising addition to the library of Gettysburg books, valuable for the novice, the ardent Civil War buff, and the scholar alike."--Civil War Book Review

"The new standard for Gettysburg battlefield guides."--Civil War Monitor

"The University of North Carolina Press has hit another homerun. . . . [Reardon and Vossler's work] continues to set the standard for studies of Gettysburg and battlefield guides for every major battle of the Civil War."--Army History

Praise for the first edition:

"An extremely useful resource for making one's way intelligently across the battleground as well as a stirring account of the battle and its varied meanings in the past and present. . . . This unique book enables all readers to better comprehend the places, events, and memories that make up the battle of Gettysburg. As such, no matter how limited or extensive one's Civil War library, it deserves a special place on the shelf."--Civil War Monitor

About the Author

Carol Reardon is George Winfree Professor of American History at Pennsylvania State University. Tom Vossler is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army and former director of the U.S. Army Military History Institute in Carlisle, Pa. He is a licensed battlefield guide, leading some ninety battlefield tours each year.