Bearss obviously knows his material, and for those familiar with the Civil War his almost endless recitations of every brigade commander involved in every battle may be useful, but for someone trying to get a grasp on events, the endless recitations seriously bogs down the narrative. The book also suffers from weak writing. A good book, it just could have been so much better.

Ed Bearss is quite simply a phenomenon! Ed is in his 80s but still going strong on leading almost 300 historical tours each year to Civil War and other historical sites. He is the retired historian emeritus of the National Park Service, a combat wounded veteran of the Pacific theatre in World War II and holds a Master's Degree in History from Indiana University where his thesis was on General Pat Cleburne C.S.A.
In this 400 page guide to major Civil War battlefields such as Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Grant's Virginia Overland Campaign and the Appomattox battles we follow in Ed's footsteps as he tells us the story of the battle as the soldiers from general officers to privates saw it unfold. Ed recounts anecdotes about the leading figures in the battles, gives troop movements and explains the battle easily understandable to someone who has never been on a real battlefield or read one book on the Civil War. Ed has the ability to make military history come alive!
This battlefield guide is published by the National Geographic Society and is quite useful as a handbook to take with you on your own battlefield tour. The book includes several black and white period photos and maps of each battle. The maps could be much better so get a good Civil War Atlas to supplement your study of the Bearss book!
Ed is the Pied Piper of Civil War military historians but don't read this book thinking you will get a sociologica or political study of the American Illiad. This is strictly a blow by blow military history tour of major battles. I would suggest Ed consider a second volume and include more battles from the Western theatre of the War Between the States such as Perryville, Chickamauga, Franklin and Brice's Crossroads. This book along with the American Heritage book on the Civil War would be an excellent gift for the neophyte in Civil War studies.

I've never had the pleasure of hearing the Grand Old Man of Civil War history in person, although I have watched videotapes of him. His knowledge of the Civil War is encyclopediac, and he's an absolute master story teller. His facial expressions, the inflections of his voice, at times an almost poetic cadence, and an extraordinary talent for the dramatic, make him spellbinding on tape. I can only imagine what he's like in person.

But it's not always the case that what sounds good will come across as equally intelligible when transcribed word for word on paper, and I'm afraid that this is true of the battlefield tour recordings transcribed in Fields of Honor. There's just too much of a gap here between the spoken and the written word for the transition to be comfortable.

Most of the battlefield descriptions transcribed here are in present tense, and the sentences are staccato, almost choppy--all of which was doubtlessly captivating when listened to but a distracting and eventually annoying when read. Other reviewers have lamented the book's lack of good maps. Maps are essential here because Bearss goes into such intricate detail, and the flow of his descriptions of tactics is so fast paced, that it's often difficult (for me at least) to visualize what's going on. One imagines that it was all much easier to absorb standing alongside Bearss on the actual battlefields, and that descriptions which sometimes come across as almost incomprehensible on paper were easily illustrated by a gesture on his part towards a hillock or fence or valley.

This doesn't mean that Fields of Honor isn't worth reading. But it does mean that the book is, if you will, incomplete. It attempts to transpose one medium into another, and the outcome is only partially successful. This is more a tribute to Ed Bearss' skills as a master of oral tradition than a criticism of the book.

This book would have been so much better if the authors included many more battle maps!! Showing only one or 2 of each battle was not enough. It can be difficult to follow the battles, as well as who is who and who do they fight for. If they couldn't include maps it would have helped immensely if after they mentioned a solider, which they do quite frequently, they should have put which army he fought for. For example, Lt. General John Smith (CSA) or Colonel William Jones (USA). As written without these and a lack of battle maps this book was very confusing. I would often get on Wikipedia to look at the battle maps on there while trying to follow this book.

I enjoyed this book. It is clear and easy to understand. A very interesting read.

Have been a huge fan of Ed since my first tour w/Chicago CW R/T to Vicksburg w/Ed as guide in either 1963 or 64...unbeliveable presentations on the trip.
This current volume is an "adequate" attempt to provide a flavor of Ed's dynamic style, but his expertise in limited by the volume's production standards. First, the font size used for the index is too small for the average reader, Secondly, more detailed maps should have been prepared for the individual battles, i.e. especially the three/days at Gettysburg. The overview maps are nice, but the one for the final days covering the abandonment of Richmond to Appomattox is grossly inadequate. Yes, these all cost $$$, but do a proper job and add $2.00 to the cost of the book.
Sadly, there is no coverage of the Atlanta Campaign> Sherman vs. Joe Johnson. I've been with Ed twice on this campaign and he simply does an outstanding presentation of not only the various battles, but the personalities, i.e. Sherman's reluctance to lauch attacks, et al. Despite the production short-comings the volume is an excellent one to take along while visiting a CW battlefield to "taste the flavor" as only can be done by Ed, with one will need some other books, i.e. map atlas, to augment for fullercoverage. Bill Grant

Edwin C. Bearss is an American Treasure. His Civil War commentary is "History with Flavor". His ability to understand the complexities of this nation's more difficult time and then bring it to the American people in a succinct and entertaining way is a true delight.
Fields of Honor is Mr. Bearss's insight into 14 of the Civil War's pivotal battles. He brings his unique perspective and understanding of how these battles were fought and why they turned out as they did.
His asides and interesting writing style makes for a fun read.
My only fault of this master is that the review of the individual battles was so short. I would enjoy a more in depth analysis by Mr. Bearss as he is one of the foremost Civil War authorities today.
Side note: This summer, August, I will participate in a 5 day private tour of the Gettysburg battlefield of which 2 of the days will be spent with Mr. Bearss. I eagerly look forward to his commentary and unique insights on this great field of battle. He is indeed an American Treasure.
Recommended as an overview of the Civil War battles covered. Not an in depth analysis but a splendid little review with some interesting insights into these pivotal battles. Civil War history with a dash of Bearss flavor. Very good if one is going to visit the battlefields in question.

In the Preface to his recent book "Fields of Honor" Ed Bearss describes himself as a "man of the battlefields" and so he is. For over fifty years, Bearss has been introducing Americans to the Civil War on the ground and in the trenches - by offering tours of both the great and the little-known battlefields of the conflict. With his booming voice, charisma, encyclopedic knowledge, love for his subject, and gift for the telling detail, Bearss is an inspiring teacher and historian indeed. Bearss is a former Chief Historian of the National Park Service, and he is familiar to many Americans who have never studied the Civil War or visited a battlefield from his appearances on PBS.

"Fields of Honor" is a collaborative effort between Bearss and the Blue and Gray Education Society, a nonprofit Civil War educational organization which sponsors tours, lectures and other efforts to teach people about the Civil War and its significance. Bearss has frequently led tours for the group. The book was prepared by transcribing tapes of the many tours Bearss has given over the years at key battlefields. The tapes were transcribed, edited, and placed into a coherent narrative, supplemented by many period photographs and maps.

The book begins in 1859, as Bearss guides the reader through John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry and its aftermath. He then narrates by year the key battles of the Civil War beginning with Fort Sumter and First Bull Run in 1861, proceeding through Shiloh and Antietam in 1862, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga in 1863, Grant's bloody overland campaign in 1864, and Sherman's march through the Carolinas and Appomattox in 1865.

The concluding chapter of the book details the history of the ironclad "Cairo" which was sunk by a Confederate mine in the Yazoo River in 1862. Bearss discovered the Cairo while working as a historian in Vicksburg in 1956, and, after a great deal of effort, the Cairo was raised in 1965 and finally put on display at Vicksburg in the mid-1980s. Bearss takes a great deal of justifiable pride in his efforts in recovering and restoring the Cairo.

The battlefield narratives are fast-paced, informal, and full of action and story. The individuals who collated Bearss' tapes did an excellent job in keeping the oral and immediate character of Bearss' battlefield presentations. Thus, these tapes do not present a full, detailed account of the battles they describe. There is a voluminous literature on each of the individual battles discussed in this book. Further, Bearss' focus is on military activities. He spends little time on the causes of the war or on its political, social or economic impact. (Bearss does discuss Lee's surrender at Appomattox in the context of an effort towards the reconciliation of North and South. And he also frequently points out the role of African American soldiers in the battles.) Again, there is a vast and accessible literature on these matters available to interested readers.

In reading these narratives, I tried to imagine myself on the battlefields with Bearss leading a group as we moved from place to place with Bearss recounting stories of movements, encounters, and persons. There is a cumulative impact in Bearss' narratives. They convey a feel for combat. More important, Bearss conveys to his readers or listeners a sense of the historical importance of the Civil War. It was a harsh, bitter conflict fought valiantly by soldiers both North and South. The meaning of the conflict for our country remains to be determined and expanded upon by each generation of Americans. Bearss' efforts throughout the years and this book are inspiring beginnings to teach Americans to think about this crucial period in our history.

Robin Friedman

Mr. Bearss is a wonderful treasure trove of information and many people, myself included, enjoy his battlefield tours. This volume offers an encore of those tours, but little else. I suspect it is aimed at the Civil War book buying audience who purchase most anything with the names Bearss and McPherson attached.

For some reason the text shifts font between historical narrative and Bearss' tour guide transcript. One supposes this is to spread the blame.

Considering Mr. Bearss' emphasis on the 'ground' and that the National Geographic Society is the publisher, the maps are amazingly poor and undetailed.

Similarly, the book makes poor use of photographs: why use an 1850s photo of Lee, retouched to add a beard, when so many others exist?
Another photo of 'Winfield S. Hancock' sure looks an awful lot like Ambrose P. Burnside.

A typical Civil War buff will glean little from this publication and a novice will not have the prerequisites for filling in the narrative's many gaps.

In brief, even though I can 'hear' Mr. Bearss wonderful voice speaking the words, the book itself falls well short of expectations.