Essay on Shelby Footes Shiloh - 1669 Words

Shelby Footes Shiloh In the novel Shiloh, historian and Civil War expert Shelby Foote delivers a spare, unflinching account of the battle of Shiloh, which was fought over the course of two days in April 1862. By mirroring the troops movements through the woods of Tennessee with the activity of each soldiers mind, Foote offers the reader a broad perspective of the battle and a detailed view of the issues behind it. The battle becomes tangible as Foote interweaves the observations of Union and Confederate officers, simple foot soldiers, brave men, and cowards and describes the roar of the muskets and the haze of the gun smoke. The authors vivid storytelling creates a rich chronicle of a pivotal battle in American history. This†¦show more content†¦This is a really small book (just over 200 pages) and while the images are graphic and the characters accessable, the author just doesnt have the space to spread out and let the reader develop a real emotional response to these characters and their actions. Nor is he able to provide any perspective on the battle and what it means - even for the individual characters he has presented. I think it helps to have read the section in his narrative history of the Civil War that deals with Shiloh. But this means that the novel doesnt really stand on its own. The reader must come equiped with prior knowledge or be left with questions that will require some research. Perhaps not bad, but I would have preferred a more comprehensive treatment - something more like Tom Wickers Unto This Hour. Thats just personal taste. Foote did what he intended and did it well. I cant help it if I just want more. Fans of Shelby Footes massive three volume Narrative History of the Civil War, (and I am the works biggest fan), will surely find something they like in Footes earlier novel about the battle of Shiloh. I couldnt help thinking, however, that Footes real calling is as historian and commentator, and his effort to write a novel here seems to be a bit off the mark. Perhaps unfairly, novels of the Civil War tend to get compared to Michael Shaaras brilliant Killer Angels, a comparison that does not bode