Southern Storm

Sherman's March to the Sea

By: Noah Andre Trudeau

Narrated by: Eric Conger

Award-winning Civil War historian Noah Andre Trudeau has written a gripping, definitive new account that will stand as the last word on General William Tecumseh Sherman's epic march—a targeted strategy aimed to break not only the Confederate army but an entire society as well. With Lincoln's hard-fought reelection victory in hand, Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the Union forces, allowed Sherman to lead the largest and riskiest operation of the war. In rich detail, Trudeau explains why General Sherman's name is still anathema below the Mason-Dixon Line, especially in Georgia, where he is remembered as ""the one who marched to the sea with death and devastation in his wake.""

Sherman's swath of destruction spanned more than sixty miles in width and virtually cut the South in two, badly disabling the flow of supplies to the Confederate army. He led more than 60,000 Union troops to blaze a path from Atlanta to Savannah, ordering his men to burn crops, kill livestock, and decimate everything that fed the Rebel war machine. Grant and Sherman's gamble worked, and the march managed to crush a critical part of the Confederacy and increase the pressure on General Lee, who was already under siege in Virginia.

Told through the intimate and engrossing diaries and letters of Sherman's soldiers and the civilians who suffered in their path, Southern Storm paints a vivid picture of an event that would forever change the course of America.

©2008 Noah Andre Trudeau; (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Well Written and Well Narrated

Would you listen to Southern Storm again? Why?

The book is detailed yet is easy to follow both in how it is written as well narrated. This is the abridged version. If they ever put it an unabridged version I would most definitely read it.

What did you like best about this story?

What I liked best about the book is that it did not strike me as overly biased in a particular direction. The author did not come try to tear down or hold up Sherman as some paragon. Rather he was portrayed as a man who was willing to do what he felt was necessary but at the same time kept the rules of civility ever on his mind.

Have you listened to any of Eric Conger’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

To my knowledge I have not heard Eric Conger narrate before. It was

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not particularly. I am familiar with history of Sherman's March. While there was plenty of new things I learned, there was nothing I would consider 'moving' in a dramatic sense.

Any additional comments?

I did not like the double narration. The woman reading the diaries of the southern civilians felt odd to me. While there was consistent journal entries I felt they could have easily been handled by Mr. Conger.

Sherman's Webfeet

I've always been fascinated with Sherman's Army and their march to the sea. An excellent book, this book will not disappoint! It was a tolerable length and able to keep me interested even after reading countless memoirs and first hand accounts of the march prior to this. I'll probably listen to it again in the near future and will look forward to doing so. Enjoy!

Great Listen with Sleep Narration

What American High School students are not being taught due to the NTA, and their many agendas, that they perpuate to try and change our Republic.

Historical accurate, almost to a fault

this book gives an accurate account of the march, hood and bad. best book on this subject I have read.

Excellent as far as it goes

Excellent reading of a polished book. Would have preferred an unabridged edition. Civil War buffs want the whole meal - not "new cuisine ."

Solid

I hadn't realized this was the abridged version, but I'm glad it was. That's not a slight: I was looking for a solid overview, and it delivered. Some of the added background foley in the narration, and the occasional change of narrator, kept it lively. Worth the purchase for sure.

Sherman The Hero

Sherman has always been one of my Herod so another book about him is alway a must read for me. As with all historical books there are slow parts but the attention to detail was superb. A story that tells an accurate story with all the moral dilemma of the great general he was.

Ok, but not great

Seemed lacking in detail. Became boring halfway through. I didn't learn much new. there must be a better version of this story in another book.

was looking for more 1st hand accounts of pillage

The book is very thorough about all the movements of the troops but his very limited in its first hand accounts of all the rape and pillage by Lincoln's Army. very limited on the details of all the destruction of the personal property and how individuals were affected by that I would not recommend this book

Why would the mess up the narration so obnoxiously?

Whoever did the sound engineering sporadically added in moronic sound effects for battles or troop movements—but not for all of them! Just randomly and stupidly. The first time a sound effect appeared, the quality was so bad, I thought something was wrong with my car. You *do not* need to randomly dramatize history books.
THEN the narration suddenly switched narrators when the paragraph included writings by a woman or girl—but not in every instance! Just sometimes.
The flow was completely interrupted. And while I’m all for representation of my gender, good grief, this was poor decision making.
Altogether it distracted me enough from the actual writing that three hours in, I don’t know where the march was occurring—and I literally live around the cities where it happened and know the geography.

Fail, fail, fail.