HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

A Chain of Thunder: A Novel of the Siege of…
Loading...

A Chain of Thunder: A Novel of the Siege of Vicksburg (edition 2013)

by Jeff Shaara

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
4382456,623 (3.87)8
Fiction. Literature. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Continuing the series that began with A Blaze of Glory, Jeff Shaara returns to chronicle another decisive chapter in America??s long and bloody Civil War. In A Chain of Thunder, the action shifts to the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. There, in the vaunted ??Gibraltar of the Confederacy,? a siege for the ages will cement the reputation of one Union general??and all but seal the fate of the rebel cause.
 
In May 1863, after months of hard and bitter combat, Union troops under the command of Major General Ulysses S. Grant at long last successfully cross the Mississippi River. They force the remnants of Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton??s army to retreat to Vicksburg, burning the bridges over the Big Black River in its path. But after sustaining heavy casualties in two failed assaults against the rebels, Union soldiers are losing confidence and morale is low. Grant reluctantly decides to lay siege to the city, trapping soldiers and civilians alike inside an iron ring of Federal entrenchments. Six weeks later, the starving and destitute Southerners finally surrender, yielding command of the Mississippi River to the Union forces on July 4??Independence Day??and marking a crucial turning point in the Civil War.
 
Drawing on comprehensive research and his own intimate knowledge of the Vicksburg Campaign, Jeff Shaara once again weaves brilliant fiction out of the ragged cloth of historical fact. From the command tents where generals plot strategy to the ruined mansions where beleaguered citizens huddle for safety, this is a panoramic portrait of men and women whose lives are forever altered by the siege. On one side stand the emerging legend Grant, his irascible second William T. Sherman, and the youthful ??grunt? Private Fritz Bauer; on the other, the Confederate commanders Pemberton and Joseph Johnston, as well as nineteen-year-old Lucy Spence, a civilian doing her best to survive in the besieged city. By giving voice to their experiences at Vicksburg, A Chain of Thunder vividly evokes a battle whose outcome still reverberates more than 150 years after the cannons fell silent.
BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Jeff Shaara's The Smoke at Dawn.
Praise for A Chain of Thunder
 
??[Jeff] Shaara continues to draw powerful novels from the bloody history of the Civil War. . . . The dialogue intrigues. Shaara aptly reveals the main actors: Grant, stoic, driven, not given to micromanagement; Sherman, anxious, high-strung, engaged even when doubting Grant??s strategy. . . . Worth a Civil War buff??s attention.???Kirkus Reviews
 
??Searing . . . Shaara seamlessly interweaves multiple points of view, as the plot is driven by a stellar cast of real-life and fictional characters coping with the pivotal crisis. . . . [A] riveting fictional narrative.???Booklist
??Shaara??s historical accuracy is faultless, and he tells a good story. . . . The voices of these people come across to the reader as poignantly as they did 150 years ago.???Historical Novels Review
??The writing is picturesque and vib
… (more)
Member:majuromike
Title:A Chain of Thunder: A Novel of the Siege of Vicksburg
Authors:Jeff Shaara
Info:Ballantine Books (2013), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 592 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

A Chain of Thunder: A Novel of the Siege of Vicksburg by Jeff Shaara

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 8 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 25 (next | show all)
Well done ( )
  ibkennedy | Mar 26, 2019 |
Shaara continues with his Civil War series with the second novel in the Western Theater. As with other books by the author, every chapter is told from the point of view of a different character, most historical figures, but others not. The cast of characters is varied, from Generals Grant, Sherman, and Pemberton to simple soldiers and civilians. I particularly enjoyed the perspective of the Union Soldier, Fritz Bauer and the Vicksbug civilian, Lucy Spence...but, their contributions would be less effective without the dialogue from the leadership of both sides. The novel could have been improved by providing a perspective of David Porter, the commander of the Union fleet in the Mississippi River; however, the book was already 22 hours long and required long periods of intense listening to get the theme and plot ( )
  buffalogr | Aug 28, 2017 |
A Chain of Thunder (Civil War: 1861-1865, Western Theater #2) by Jeff Shaara is a historical fiction book from this bestselling author. I have read several of Mr. Shaara’s books previously and was delighted to find this one in my local library even though I did not read the first book in the series.

Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton took his army and retreated to Vicksburg fortifying it and getting ready to defend it.

Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant, after finally crossing the Mississippi River pushing Pemberton’s army into Vicksburg. The Union sustains many casualties during their attempts to enter the city and General Grant reluctantly lays siege to Vicksburg.

A Chain of Thunder (Civil War: 1861-1865, Western Theater #2) by Jeff Shaara takes place in and around Vicksburg, Mississippi during the American Civil War. The first book, I understand, focuses on the Battle of Shiloh, which is referenced in A Chain of Thunder, however I did not feel I missed anything by not reading it first.

As with other books by the author, every chapter is told from the point of view of a different character, most historical figures, but others not. The cast of characters is varied, from Generals Grant, Sherman, and Pemberton to simple soldiers and civilians.

I enjoyed the dialog Mr. Shaara puts in the mouth of his characters, especially the local dialect and local flavors. The characters in the book are well written, both historical and fictionalized come to life, we learn about their struggles, their demons, and their success. The author describes very well what it is like to be under siege, and the ones trying to break the siege, the small communities within communities the form whenever a dark turn takes a whole population, whether citizens or soldiers, into a place they’ll never thought they’ll be.

The research in this book, as with the author’s other books, demands special recognition. While the book is condensed, almost like a history book, it is very readable and interesting. The Battle of Vicksburg is one that I knew very little about, so it was very interesting to learn more about the battle.

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com ( )
  ZoharLaor | Jul 8, 2017 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I think Jeff is running out of steam...or my tastes are changing. Either way, this was just boring. I actually couldn't even finish it. ( )
  Neilsantos | Mar 15, 2015 |
A Chain of Thunder picks up where Shaara's previous book, A Blaze of Glory, left off. In the aftermath of the battle of Shiloh, General Grant turns to finishing the job of securing the whole course of the Mississippi River for the Union, which means capturing the last Confederate stronghold there: the town of Vicksburg.

Leading up to the siege, and of even greater historical interest, Shaara shows us Grant's Mississippi campaign, in which he successfully employs the strategy, thereby demonstrating its merits to an initially skeptical General Sherman, that the two of them will go on to use to win the war for the Union over the next couple of years.

On the Confederate side is General Pemberton, a Northerner fighting for the Southern cause whom Shaara somehow nevertheless manages to make one of his least interesting characters. I was left with the feeling that Shaara didn't quite know what to make of him, because the way he portrays him does not satisfactorily explain his actions (or more to the point, his inaction).

Shaara also continues to portray the experience of the soldier in the ranks, this time again through Union private Bauer (whom he introduced in A Blaze of Glory). Some of Bauer's story here seems a bit redundant from the previous book, but his character arc does develop somewhat.

And finally, a first for Shaara, he introduces a storyline from the perspective of a civilian, Vicksburg resident Lucy Spence. Through Lucy Spence's work as a nurse, Shaara gives us an all-too-vivid picture of the barbaric state of medicine at the time. But her story is apparently mainly intended to show us the hardships civilians were exposed to by the harsh tactics of Grant and Sherman, as Vicksburgers are reduced to eating mule and rat meat. But I had a hard time sympathizing with them, knowing too much about the imperialistic Southern slave culture that led to the war and continued to glorify and support the war until Grant and Sherman quite literally brought the war home to them with such tactics.

Anyway, the blame for the suffering of civilians lies squarely at the feet of Pemberton, who could have ended their suffering at any time by surrendering, which he ought to have done sooner given that he was apparently thoroughly convinced of the hopelessness of his position pretty early on. And although Grant is somewhat infamous for his demand for unconditional surrender, once he received it he actually treated his opponents quite well (especially by the standards of the time). To Shaara's credit, all of this does come through his narrative to some extent.

So in some ways, Shaara's work keeps getting more interesting, and in others, less satisfying or even more frustrating. Still, on the whole this was definitely worth reading, like everything of his I've read.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3UCQC3KX2XGQZ ( )
  AshRyan | Dec 12, 2014 |
Showing 1-5 of 25 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Jeff Shaaraprimary authorall editionscalculated
Zucker, Christopher M.Designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

Belongs to Series

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Verily, war is a species of passionate insanity.
--Mary Ann Loughborough
Civilian, Vicksburg, Mississippi
Dedication
First words
The ball was a glorious affair, the Confederate officers in their finest gray, adorned with plumed hats and sashes at their waists.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Fiction. Literature. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Continuing the series that began with A Blaze of Glory, Jeff Shaara returns to chronicle another decisive chapter in America??s long and bloody Civil War. In A Chain of Thunder, the action shifts to the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. There, in the vaunted ??Gibraltar of the Confederacy,? a siege for the ages will cement the reputation of one Union general??and all but seal the fate of the rebel cause.
 
In May 1863, after months of hard and bitter combat, Union troops under the command of Major General Ulysses S. Grant at long last successfully cross the Mississippi River. They force the remnants of Confederate Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton??s army to retreat to Vicksburg, burning the bridges over the Big Black River in its path. But after sustaining heavy casualties in two failed assaults against the rebels, Union soldiers are losing confidence and morale is low. Grant reluctantly decides to lay siege to the city, trapping soldiers and civilians alike inside an iron ring of Federal entrenchments. Six weeks later, the starving and destitute Southerners finally surrender, yielding command of the Mississippi River to the Union forces on July 4??Independence Day??and marking a crucial turning point in the Civil War.
 
Drawing on comprehensive research and his own intimate knowledge of the Vicksburg Campaign, Jeff Shaara once again weaves brilliant fiction out of the ragged cloth of historical fact. From the command tents where generals plot strategy to the ruined mansions where beleaguered citizens huddle for safety, this is a panoramic portrait of men and women whose lives are forever altered by the siege. On one side stand the emerging legend Grant, his irascible second William T. Sherman, and the youthful ??grunt? Private Fritz Bauer; on the other, the Confederate commanders Pemberton and Joseph Johnston, as well as nineteen-year-old Lucy Spence, a civilian doing her best to survive in the besieged city. By giving voice to their experiences at Vicksburg, A Chain of Thunder vividly evokes a battle whose outcome still reverberates more than 150 years after the cannons fell silent.
BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Jeff Shaara's The Smoke at Dawn.
Praise for A Chain of Thunder
 
??[Jeff] Shaara continues to draw powerful novels from the bloody history of the Civil War. . . . The dialogue intrigues. Shaara aptly reveals the main actors: Grant, stoic, driven, not given to micromanagement; Sherman, anxious, high-strung, engaged even when doubting Grant??s strategy. . . . Worth a Civil War buff??s attention.???Kirkus Reviews
 
??Searing . . . Shaara seamlessly interweaves multiple points of view, as the plot is driven by a stellar cast of real-life and fictional characters coping with the pivotal crisis. . . . [A] riveting fictional narrative.???Booklist
??Shaara??s historical accuracy is faultless, and he tells a good story. . . . The voices of these people come across to the reader as poignantly as they did 150 years ago.???Historical Novels Review
??The writing is picturesque and vib

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

LibraryThing Early Reviewers Alum

Jeff Shaara's book A Chain of Thunder was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.87)
0.5
1
1.5
2 3
2.5 1
3 11
3.5 7
4 29
4.5 1
5 13

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,188,331 books! | Top bar: Always visible