Great Gambles of the Civil War

This is an informative and well-written book. It covers 13 gambles (actions taken with less than guaranteed success). It covers both Union and Confederate gambles, ranging from ones taken at a regimental level to those involving a whole army. Most of those covered were successful, but several were not. A previous reviewer has listed some of them, so there is no need to repeat the list of battles that are covered. I enjoyed this book and was torn between giving it 4 or 5 stars. I settled on 4 stars because I feel that, while very good, it does not come up to the level I think is required for 5 stars. The coverage is not comprehensive and I do not think that "gambles" is a very strong basis to use as a unifying theme because to some degree most successful military engagements involve some sort of gamble. I also had some concern regarding what audience this book was aimed at. The general reader may find the episodic nature of the battles that are covered to be unsatisfying, whereas the expert may not find enough new material. I found all of the sections very interesting and I learned something from every one.

Philip Katcher has written many outstanding books about the Civil War, and this is one of his best yet. It is basically a collection of magazine articles that cover some of the riskiest gambles of the war, with clear maps in each chapter. There's a good mixture of well-known gambles like the 33rd Virginia's attack at First Manassas, the 20th Maine's charge at Gettysburg, and J.E.B. Stuart's famous ride around McClellan's army, as well as lesser-known battles like Secessionville, Lexington, Yorktown, Port Gibson, and Monocacy (the battle that saved Washington D.C. from being captured). Even Sherman's March is included as an "army-level" gamble. This is a very informative and gripping book and is highly recommended for all Civil war buffs.