A couple weeks ago, I praised The Greatest Day in History for its close up and personal descriptions of the end of WWI. It had provided individual insights into a global event, making sure to represent viewpoints of people on both sides of the conflict. In much the same manner, Gods and Generals, by Jeff Shaara, attempts to follow the lives and actions of major figures of the American Civil War in the period directly leading up to the war and during its initial phases. He also attempts to portray both sides, mentioning both Union and Confederate perspectives.
While it is an incredibly interesting historical era that is ripe for better investigation on the individual scale, I pretty quickly realized a major issue. There was a lot of dialogue. On the surface, this may not seem significant. But it made me curious about the sources. And, well, whereas other non-fiction and historical books have long bibliographies after the text, Gods and Generals doesn't have one. There are no citations what so ever.
This puts me in a difficult position. On one hand, it's well written and interesting. On the other, I have no way to verify the source material. Actually, I don't even know if there is source material. While it might be an entirely true and well-researched account, I can't confidently rely say so. And as a result, I'm inclined to classify it more as a historical-literature sort of work, rather than a historical one. Definitely no must read, but mildly interesting.
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