History is made by the people who lived it, not just the generals. For a raw, unfiltered look at the home front, dive into March by Geraldine Brooks. It imagines the life of the absent father from Little Women during the war. You’ll get the Civil War through the eyes of a chaplain who is desperately trying to be good in a world gone bad.
Another must-read is Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Yeah, it’s a doorstop of a book, but it’s also a masterclass in leadership. Abraham Lincoln kept his political enemies in his cabinet. Imagine that for your next work meeting. Fun fact: Goodwin spent years researching Lincoln’s team, and Steven Spielberg used her book as the blueprint for the movie Lincoln.
Must-Read American Civil War Books for the History Buff | Penguin
