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29 Best Civil War Books of All Time


Our goal: Find the best Civil War books according to the internet (not just one random person's opinion).

    Here's what we did:
  1. Type "best civil war books" into our search engine and study the top 5+ pages.
  2. Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
  3. Rank the results neatly for you here! 😊
    (It was a lot of work. But hey! That's why we're here, right?)

(Updated 2024)

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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024

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  1. Home
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  3. Best Civil War Books
  1. MOST RECOMMENDED!
    1
    Battle Cry of Freedom

    Battle Cry of Freedom

    James M. McPherson

    Appears in 5 articles
    2recommenders
  2. 2
    Confederates in the Attic

    Confederates in the Attic

    Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War

    Tony Horwitz

    Appears in 4 articles
  3. 3
    This Republic of Suffering

    This Republic of Suffering

    Drew Gilpin Faust

    Appears in 4 articles
  4. 4
    Race and Reunion

    Race and Reunion

    The Civil War in American Memory

    David W. Blight

    Appears in 4 articles
  5. 5
    The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

    The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

    Ulysses S. Grant

    Appears in 3 articles
    2recommenders
  6. 6
    The Killer Angels
    i

    The Killer Angels

    The Civil War: 1861-1865, Book 2

    Michael Shaara

    Appears in 3 articles
  7. 7
    Cold Mountain
    i

    Cold Mountain

    A Novel

    Charles Frazier

    Appears in 3 articles
  8. 8
    The Civil War

    The Civil War

    Vintage Civil War Library, Book 1

    Shelby Foote

    Appears in 3 articles
  9. 9
    Landscape Turned Red

    Landscape Turned Red

    The Battle of Antietam

    Stephen W. Sears

    Appears in 3 articles
  10. 10
    The Fiery Trial

    The Fiery Trial

    Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery

    Eric Foner

    Appears in 3 articles
  11. 11
    Mr. Lincoln's Army

    Mr. Lincoln's Army

    Army of the Potomac Trilogy, Book 1

    Bruce Catton

    Appears in 3 articles
  12. 12
    Mary Chesnut's Civil War

    Mary Chesnut's Civil War

    Mary Chesnut

    Appears in 3 articles
  13. 13
    The Destructive War

    The Destructive War

    William Tecumseh Sherman, Stonewall Jackson, and the Americans

    Charles Royster

    Appears in 3 articles
  14. 14
    Gone with the Wind
    i

    Gone with the Wind

    Margaret Mitchell

    Appears in 2 articles
    1recommender
  15. 15
    North and South

    North and South

    The North and South Trilogy, Book 1

    John Jakes

    Appears in 2 articles
  16. 16
    The March

    The March

    A Novel

    E.L. Doctorow

    Appears in 2 articles
  17. 17
    A Stillness at Appomattox

    A Stillness at Appomattox

    The Army of the Potomac Trilogy

    Bruce Catton

    Appears in 2 articles
  18. 18
    For Cause and Comrades

    For Cause and Comrades

    Why Men Fought in the Civil War

    James M. McPherson

    Appears in 2 articles
  19. 19
    The Confederacy's Last Hurrah

    The Confederacy's Last Hurrah

    Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville

    Wiley Sword

    Appears in 2 articles
  20. 20
    The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861

    The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861

    David M. Potter

    Appears in 2 articles
  21. 21
    Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom

    Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom

    Or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery

    William Craft

    Appears in 2 articles
  22. 22
    Company Aytch

    Company Aytch

    Samuel R. Watkins

    Appears in 2 articles
  23. 23
    The Black Flower

    The Black Flower

    A Novel of the Civil War

    Howard Bahr

    Appears in 2 articles
  24. 24
    Lee's Lieutenants

    Lee's Lieutenants

    A Study in Command

    Douglas Southall Freeman

    Appears in 2 articles
  25. 25
    Mothers of Invention

    Mothers of Invention

    Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War

    Drew Gilpin Faust

    Appears in 2 articles
  26. 26
    The Life of Johnny Reb

    The Life of Johnny Reb

    The Common Soldier of the Confederacy

    Bell Irvin Wiley

    Appears in 2 articles
  27. 27
    The Lost Cause

    The Lost Cause

    A New Southern History of the War of the Confederates

    Edward Pollard

    Appears in 2 articles
  28. 28
    Forged in Battle

    Forged in Battle

    The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers

    Joseph T. Glatthaar

    Appears in 2 articles
  29. 29
    Sherman's March

    Sherman's March

    Burke Davis

    Appears in 2 articles

Sources

  1. 11 Best Books on the American Civil Warwww.thedailybeast.com
  2. The top 12 Civil War books ever written | Salon.comwww.salon.com
  3. The Best Civil War Books of All Time | Analysis | Civil War Monitorwww.civilwarmonitor.com
  4. Essential Civil War Booksexplorethearchive.com
  5. Best Civil War Bookspennbookcenter.com

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