On Great Fields

The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

De: Ronald C. White

Narrado por: Ronald C. White

From the New York Times bestselling author of A. Lincoln and American Ulysses comes the dramatic and definitive biography of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the history-altering professor turned Civil War hero.

“A vital and vivid portrait of an unlikely military hero who played a key role in the preservation of the Union and therefore in the making of modern America.”—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of And There Was Light

Before 1862, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had rarely left his home state of Maine, where he was a trained minister and mild-mannered professor at Bowdoin College. His colleagues were shocked when he volunteered for the Union army, but he was undeterred and later became known as one of the North’s greatest heroes: On the second day at Gettysburg, after running out of ammunition at Little Round Top, he ordered his men to wield their bayonets in a desperate charge down a rocky slope that routed the Confederate attackers. Despite being wounded at Petersburg—and told by two surgeons he would die—Chamberlain survived the war, going on to be elected governor of Maine four times and serve as president of Bowdoin College.

How did a stuttering young boy come to be fluent in nine languages and even teach speech and rhetoric? How did a trained minister find his way to the battlefield? Award-winning historian Ronald C. White delves into these contradictions in this cradle-to-grave biography of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, from his upbringing in rural Maine to his tenacious, empathetic military leadership and his influential postwar public service, exploring a question that still plagues so many veterans: How do you make a civilian life of meaning after having experienced the extreme highs and lows of war?

Chamberlain is familiar to millions from Michael Shaara’s now-classic novel of the Civil War, The Killer Angels, and Ken Burns’s timeless miniseries The Civil War, but in this book, White captures the complex and inspiring man behind the hero. This gripping, impeccably researched portrait illuminates one of the most admired but least known figures in our nation’s bloodiest conflict.

©2023 Ronald C. White (P)2023 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A vital and vivid portrait of an unlikely military hero who played a key role in the preservation of the Union and therefore in the making of modern America. From his bookish days as a professor at Bowdoin to the fields of Gettysburg, Joshua Chamberlain was a man of principle and of action, a surprising officer whose conviction and courage made all the difference. A marvelous book.”—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of And There Was Light

“This evocative biography of Joshua Chamberlain manages to be both dramatic and understated—like the great war hero himself. Readers hoping for a rousing account of Chamberlain’s heroics at Little Round Top will get not only a riveting, but a definitive, version of that battle-changing moment at Gettysburg. But White also opens a window onto the nineteenth-century worlds of military service, politics, and academia, which Chamberlain bestrode with a unique combination of drama and dignity fully reflected in the narrative.”—Harold Holzer, winner of the Lincoln Prize

“Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is one of the most famous soldiers who fought at the battle of Gettysburg. Ronald C. White chronicles that story and Chamberlain’s other Civil War exploits, but the distinguishing feature of this fine biography is its in-depth account of the varied achievements of this extraordinary American hero in a lifetime that ranged over more than eight decades.”—James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

Unknown facts on a Maine and Civil War hero. Very well written

Narrator never pronounced Bangor correctly. He called it Banger. Hard to listen to as a Mainer.

there was more to Chamberlain than Little Round Top. much more.

the narrator would at times read the text very softly where it became hard to hear

Great Bio

I loved this biography! White's writing is detailed but smooth. Thorough but not cumbersome. Educational and entertaining. This work is as much about Chamberlain's academic life as much as his Civil War heroics.

Worth your time

An truly enjoyable account of an extraordinary man. A man who believed he could help bridge the America that was and the America it could be, after the Civil War.

Civil War Hero Comes to Life

Ronald C. White's wonderful biography of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain brings to life this once forgotten but now celebrated Civil War hero who was also an outstanding Governor of Maine and President of Bowden College. And this story is greatly enhanced by Ronald C. White 's competing narration of his book.

A true American hero

After several trips to Gettysburg and Little Round Top, and after an annual watching for the last 15 years of the Gettysburg movie, Joshua Chamberlain is one of my favorite of all American heroes. He demonstrates the true nature of the hero, who, first and foremost, gives his utmost devotion to God, and secondly, his care and service to his fellow man

A Preacher Teacher Professor Policitiction and General.

Great book I strongly recommend the book of how a man that started in a small town in Maine that rose to become and one of the great heros of the Civil War that saved the second day of Gettysburg that little was known about until the movie Gettyburg and the PBS series on the Civil War. There is a lot more to his story than that that is was a great American

They did hold off the Alabamians a while, it wasn’t just a charge.

A few misplaced quotes on the action at little round top which could confuse the reader (listener) but the author offers balanced insight.

Great story - not great narrator

The narrator was so quiet and slow it was distracting. Even turning the volume up and speed, I found I was having to restart a lot and turn the volume up to the max. Really poor performance. I may buy it and read it to make amends.

The whole story

I have read many books on JLC but none have spanned the entire life of my hero as Ron White has with this book. We need men like JLC today! My only criticism is the reader’s pronunciation of Bangor. In Maine we call the city Bang-Gore. Hearing it pronounced like the city in Washington state was like nails on a chalkboard.