The Coming Fury

The Centennial History of the Civil War, Volume 1

De: Bruce Catton

Narrado por: Nelson Runger

The New York Times hailed this trilogy as “one of the greatest historical accomplishments of our time”. With stunning detail and insights, America’s foremost Civil War historian recreates the war from its opening months to its final, bloody end. Each volume delivers a complete listening experience. The Coming Fury (Volume 1) covers the split Democratic Convention in the spring of 1860 to the first battle of Bull Run.

©1961 Bruce Catton (P)1989 Recorded Books, LLC

fascinating!

So much info I never knew! Narrator was very clear. my favorite part is the battle of Bull Run.

Brilliant

Covering the period from the election of 1860 to the First Battle of Bull Run, this is without doubt the best book on the Civil War I’ve read/listened to yet. Bruce Catton’s books are 60+ years old yet they have a very modern understanding of the causes and motivations of the war. No Lost Cause mythology to be found here: slavery and the south’s attachment to that institution committed them to secession and a war in which their lack of modernization would eventually doom them.

Clarity and detail

A wonderful detail storytelling with lots of facts, amazingly clear and insightful few dated references, but still a very good book

Freeing the Slaves Was Not the First Idea

What did you love best about The Coming Fury?

I learned more about the complicated underpinnings of the beginnings of the Civil War and the reasons for 13th and 14th Amendments to our constitution. That there were other candidates for the Presidency in 1860 and their perspectives is not well known. That free and enslaved Blacks had a role and aspirations and took actions to gain their freedom is lifted up. The considerable economic importance of the free labor to the US and world economies is another part of our history that is documented. I graduated from Middlebury College, where Bruce Catton was a tough and widely respected history professor. I hadn't taken his courses, but experiencing this history in this way was important and addative to my understanding of American History. Having just visited the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, this text put several of the important exhibits on the C1 and 2 Levels in bold relief. I recommend the Coming Fury and will now proceed with Catton's other two volumes on the Civil War.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Coming Fury?

Republican and Democratic politics (and the behind the scenes players) leading up to the Civil War was provided in good detail and contrasted with the 2016 Presidential election.

What about Nelson Runger’s performance did you like?

The narration is highly engaging. I was sorry to come end and desired more.

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

The descriptions of the early battles and the loss of life was moving. The fact that conscripts had three month commissions and very little training, but so much passion -- on both sides was moving as well. The young men did not know what they were getting into. Neither did our nation.

Any additional comments?

Bruce Catton is an excellent historian and should be widely read.

A great writer.

There is nobody better to write about history, then Bruce Catton. He approaches history from a very human perspective and has art and poetry in his writing. He also has great command, not only of the facts, but of the meaning of the facts explaining, in a way that ordinary readers have no problem, understanding his point. It’s a refreshing history and well worth reading, if you want to see what led up to the Civil War in detail, the personalities the assumptions, the conflicts the egos, and how it all played out on the grand stage of America