Catton, Bruce

Mr. Lincoln's Army with: Glory Road with: A Stillness at Appomattox (The Army of the Potomac Trilogy)

Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1951-1953. First Edition. Hardcover. Michigan native (Charles) Bruce Catton (1899-1978) was born only 34 years after the end of the Civil War, and he grew up in a community in Northwest Michigan with veterans of the war sharing their experiences. Catton himself served in the Navy briefly during World War I before becoming a reporter and editor, eventually landing a syndicated column in Washington by 1939. He became director of information for the War Production Board, a civilian agency that regulated manufacturing and rationed materials, inspiring his first book The War Lords of Washington published in 1948. This set him off on his pioneering career of narrative history writing, reimagining the way history is told through the vignettes of individual experiences within larger events rather than simple facts and data, beginning with The Army of the Potomac Trilogy here in 1951, 1952, and 1953. A Stillness at Appomattox won the National Book Award for Nonfiction and the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1954. He is arguably the most prolific and popular historian of the Civil War. The famous 1990 PBS documentary mini-series The Civil War directed by Ken Burns was in part based on Catton’s writing, and the Bruce Catton Prize was awarded for a lifetime achievement in the writing of history 1984-2006. After only briefly attending college before entering the Navy, Catton never earned a college degree, but he was awarded 26 honorary degrees from colleges and universities across the U.S. and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 from Gerald R. Ford, who said he "made us hear the sounds of battle and cherish peace."

(1) Mr. Lincoln’s Army: The Odyssey of General George Brinton McClellan and the Army of the Potomac highlights Gen. George B. McClellan during the Peninsula Campaign, Second Bull Run. Hardcover in clipped dust-jacket: First Edition, First Printing, though neither is indicated as such on copyright page. Book is in Very Good condition with only very minor shelf-wear to fine-edges and corners of front, back covers and spine; otherwise commendably clean. Unrestored dust jacket is in Near Fair condition with significant shelf-wear, bumping, closed tears (& accompanying restoration-related tape, applied variously throughout) on front, back covers and spine, especially along fine-edges of same. General mild age-toning & yellowing throughout; previous owner’s signature reading “Arthur Allen Smith” in top-right corner of front endpaper (see photos); pages otherwise crisp and unmarked.

(2) Glory Road: The Bloody Route from Fredericksburg to Gettysburg focuses on Autumn 1862 through midsummer 1863, the battles of Fredericksburg, Rappahannock, and Chancellorsville, and finally Gettysburg. Hardcover in clipped dust-jacket: First Edition, First Printing, though neither is indicated as such on copyright page. Book is in Very Good condition with only minute shelf-wear to fine-edges and corners of front, back covers and spine. Previous owner’s signature near top-right hand corner of front endpaper (see photos); pages otherwise crisp and unmarked. Unrestored dust-jacket is in Near Fair condition with significant shelf-wear, bumping, closed tears (and accompanying restoration-related tape, applied variously throughout) to front, back covers and spine, especially along fine-edges of same; similar mild age-toning and yellowing likewise present throughout.

(3) A Stillness at Appomattox: The Fateful Last Chapter of the Army of the Potomac’s Dramatic Saga recounts the final year of the Civil War, describing the campaigns of Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia 1864-1865. References include letters and personal diaries of soldiers, spouses, and relatives, and official war records. Hardcover in clipped dust-jacket: First Edition, First Printing, though neither is indicated as such on copyright page. Book is in Very Good condition with only minute shelf-wear to fine-edges and corners of front, back covers and spine. Unrestored dust-jacket is in Very Good condition with mild shelf-wear, bumping to the corners and fine-edges of front, back covers and spine, and a small closed tear with accompanying restoration-related tape. Pages show generally mild age-toning and yellowing throughout; interior pleasantly unmarked.
An extra handling fee will be adding for shipping due to the weight of this bundle. Good-Near Fine / Near Fair-Good. [Item #5452]

Price: $110.00