A Blaze of Glory - A Novel of the Battle of Shiloh

Zusatztext “Brilliant . . . riveting . . . a work to be embraced.”—Bookreporter   “[An] exciting read . . . [Jeff] Shaara returns to the U.S. Civil War in this first book of a new trilogy. . . . This novel is meticulously researched and brings a vivid reality to the historical events depicted.”— Library Journal   “Dynamic portrayals [of] Johnston! Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman.” —The Wall Street Journal   “A stunning achievement by an outstanding writer.”—Huntington News Informationen zum Autor Jeff Shaara Klappentext "[An] exciting read . . . [Jeff] Shaara returns to the U.S. Civil War in this first book of a new trilogy. . . . This novel is meticulously researched and brings a vivid reality to the historical events depicted."-Library Journal NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Spring 1862. The Confederate Army in the West teeters on the brink of collapse. General Albert Sidney Johnston is forced to abandon the critical city of Nashville and rally his troops in defense of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. Hot on Johnston's trail are two of the Union's best generals: Ulysses Grant and Don Carlos Buell. If their combined forces can crush Johnston's army and capture the railroad, the war in the West likely will be over. There's just one problem: Johnston knows of the Union plans and is poised to launch an audacious surprise attack on Grant's encampment-a small settlement in southwestern Tennessee anchored by a humble church named Shiloh. Drawing on meticulous research, Jeff Shaara dramatizes the key decisions of the commanders on both sides of the conflict-and brings to life the junior officers, conscripts, and enlisted men who gave their all for the cause. With stunning immediacy, Shaara takes us inside the maelstrom of Shiloh as no novelist has before. "Brilliant . . . riveting . . . a work to be embraced."-Bookreporter Includes a preview of Jeff Shaara's next Civil War novel, A Chain of ThunderCHAPTER ONE SEELEY NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE february 22, 1862 “Keep those men out of there! They will not pass!” Seeley’s words were harsh, loud, the men around him doing all they could to obey. The shotguns hung by each man’s side, and the lieutenant felt a shaking nervousness, was not ready to give the order that would point the long guns at these civilians. Like him, most of these troopers had never fired their weapons at anything but crude targets. Now the targets were men, surging toward him through the darkness, pushing their way toward the gaping doorways of the supply depot, a massive warehouse close to the river. Seeley had positioned his six horsemen in an even line, to block the way of the crowd, but the crowd was a mob, desperate and mindless, their goal the precious food and bundles of supplies that lay in the warehouse. A few cavalry meant nothing at all, and quickly the mob pushed into them, some slipping past, between the horses. He felt his own frustration rising, could feel the tinder­box explosiveness of the mob, and he shouted out again, could not help the higher pitch, his voice betraying the fear. “You will stand away! These are government stores!” Close between him and the next man, a civilian shoved hard, jostling his horse, punching it. “Get out of my way! Damn you!” Seeley steadied the horse, his outrage more of instinct, protective of the animal. He drew his saber, but the man ignored him, punched the horse again, and the saber rose high, came down hard against the man’s shoulder, flat-­sided, the man collapsing right below him. The civilian rolled over, crying out, shielding himself with one hand above his face. There was no blood, not yet, the lieutenant trying to get control, the horse calmer, the man crawling out through the horse’s legs. The lieutenant felt relief, did not want blood. He raised the saber again, mostly for show,...

Product details

• Authors: Jeff Shaara, Shaara Jeff
• Publisher: Ballantine
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 09.04.2013
• EAN: 9780345527363
• ISBN: 978-0-345-52736-3
• No. of pages: 480
• Dimensions: 132 mm x 203 mm x 27 mm
• Series: Civil War in the West; The Civil War in the West
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature