Southern Storm - by Noah Andre Trudeau (Paperback)

About the Book

Award-winning Civil War historian Trudeau has written a fascinating new history of Sherman's legendary and devastating march through Georgia. Told through diaries and letters of Sherman's soldiers, this work paints a vivid picture of an event that changed the course of America. 16-page b&w insert.

Book Synopsis

New York Times Bestseller

A gripping, definitive account of Sherman's legendary and destructive march through Georgia.

"Mr. Trudeau's narrative is peppered with trenchant observations from Sherman, one of history's more quotable military leaders. . . . Mr. Trudeau accomplishes what he set out to do: march through the experience in all its detail." -- The Wall Street Journal

In Southern Storm, award-winning Civil War historian Noah Andre Trudeau has written a fascinating account that will stand as the last word on General William Tecumseh Sherman's epic march--a targeted strategy aimed to break not only the Confederate army but an entire society as well. In rich detail, Trudeau explains why General Sherman's name is still anathema below the Mason-Dixon Line, especially in Georgia, where he is remembered as "the one who marched to the sea with death and devastation in his wake."

Told through the intimate and engrossing diaries and letters of Sherman's soldiers and the civilians who suffered in their path, Southern Storm paints a vivid picture of an event that would forever change the course of America.

From the Back Cover

Award-winning Civil War historian Noah Andre Trudeau has written a gripping, definitive account that will stand as the last word on General William Tecumseh Sherman's epic march--a targeted strategy aimed to break not only the Confederate army but an entire society as well. Sherman's swath of destruction spanned more than sixty miles in width and virtually cut Georgia in two. He led more than 60,000 Union troops to blaze a path from Atlanta to Savannah, ordering his men to burn crops, kill livestock, and lay waste to everything that fed the Rebel war machine.

Told through the intimate and engrossing writings of Sherman's soldiers and the civilians who suffered in their wake, Southern Storm paints a vibrant picture of an event that would forever change America's course.

Review Quotes

"Mr. Trudeau's narrative is peppered with trenchant observations from Sherman, one of history's more quotable military leaders. . . . Mr. Trudeau accomplishes what he set out to do: march through the experience in all its detail." -- The Wall Street Journal

"A sprawling and mesmerizing account of 'the March' that reminds the reader that General Sherman had no intention of waging a 'total war' against Confederate Georgia." -- Library Journal (starred review)

"Excellent ... Rich in detail ... Remarkably even-handed ... (Trudeau) imbues the narrative with a sense of immediacy, without sacrificing his view of the big picture." -- CNN

"The march to the sea was in many ways "the day of jubilo," and in Trudeau it has found its Xenophon." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Trudeau develops a myth-busting theme, that Sherman's march was not a lark but a complex and risky military operation. Maps of daily marching routes let Civil War buffs follow the action in this detailed narrative." -- Booklist

"In Southern Storm, Noah Andre Trudeau relies on journals and letters written during the march, rather than memoirs written years later, to peel back the layers of lacquered mythology and offer a realistic, detailed, on-the-ground view of the campaign. . . . Civil War buffs will delight in this." -- The Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Vivid and fascinating. . . . Trudeau deserves praise for recongnizing the need to revisit in detail this seemingly familiar chapter in American military history." -- The Washington Post Book World

"Trudeau is an able veteran of the military side of the Civil War, and his latest book lives up to its predecessors. The research is thorough, the judgments mature and objective, and the writing crisp and moving. . . . Perhaps most interesting of all is the portrait of Sherman that emerges." -- William C. Davis