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    The Smoke at Dawn: A Novel of the Civil War, Book 3
    Unavailable
    The Smoke at Dawn: A Novel of the Civil War, Book 3
    Unavailable
    The Smoke at Dawn: A Novel of the Civil War, Book 3
    Audiobook19 hours

    The Smoke at Dawn: A Novel of the Civil War, Book 3

    Written by Jeff Shaara

    Narrated by Paul Michael

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    Jeff Shaara returns to the Civil War terrain he knows so well, with the latest novel in the series that started with A Blaze of Glory and A Chain of Thunder. In The Smoke at Dawn, the last great push of the Army of the Cumberland sets the stage for a decisive confrontation at Chattanooga that could determine the outcome of the war.

    Summer, 1863. The Federal triumph at Vicksburg has secured complete control of the Mississippi River from the Confederacy, cementing the reputation of Ulysses S. Grant. Farther east, the Federal army under the command of William Rosecrans captures the crucial rail hub at Chattanooga. But Rosecrans is careless, and while pursuing the Confederates, the Federal forces are routed in north Georgia at Chickamauga Creek. Retreating in a panic back to Chattanooga, Rosecrans is pursued by the Confederate forces under General Braxton Bragg. Penned up, with their supply lines severed, the Federal army seems doomed to the same kind of defeat that plagued the Confederates at Vicksburg. But a disgusted Abraham Lincoln has seen enough of General Rosecrans. Ulysses Grant is elevated to command of the entire theater of the war, and immediately replaces Rosecrans with General George Thomas. Grant gathers an enormous force, including armies commanded by Joseph Hooker and Grant's friend, William T. Sherman. Grant's mission is clear: Break the Confederate siege and destroy Bragg's army.  Meanwhile, Bragg wages war as much with his own subordinates as he does with the Federals, creating dissension and disharmony in the Southern ranks, erasing the Confederate army's superiority at exactly the wrong time.

    Blending evocative historical detail with searing depictions of battle, Jeff Shaara immerses readers in the world of commanders and common soldiers, civilians and statesmen. From the Union side come the voices of Generals Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and George Thomas—the vaunted "Rock of Chickamauga"—as well as the young private Fritz "Dutchie" Bauer. From the Rebel ranks come Generals Bragg, Patrick Cleburne, and James Longstreet, as well as the legendary cavalry commander, Nathan Bedford Forrest. A tale of history played out on a human scale in the grand Shaara tradition, The Smoke at Dawn vividly recreates the climactic months of the war in the West, when the fate of a divided nation truly hangs in the balance.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 3, 2014
    ISBN9780449008706
    Unavailable
    The Smoke at Dawn: A Novel of the Civil War, Book 3
    Author

    Jeff Shaara

    JEFF SHAARA is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of seventeen novels, including Rise to Rebellion and The Rising Tide, as well as Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure - two novels that complete his father's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, The Killer Angels. Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

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    Reviews for The Smoke at Dawn

    4/5

    27 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Great read.
    • 4/5
      In The Smoke at Dawn, Jeff Shaara continues to follow the western theater of the Civil War. This time, the story is about the battle for Chattanooga, 1863. Normally, I don't enjoy stories about movement of this battalion or that battalion on the field. However, this story is told well and as the author points out, it's necessarily a novel because it has dialogue that can't be supported. Regardless, it's all about the people. The reader will learn a lot about them in the telling. I particularly enjoyed the author's interpretation of Braxton Bragg...unsure of himself to the point that he mistrusts his subordinates so much that it affects his military decisions.
    • 4/5
      With this volume, Shaara veers away from tactics, more towards characterization. It isn't a bad thing to do, just somewhat different. Still, for the major characters, the shortcomings seem to be over emphasized. Given his many and huge failings, it is surprising that Braxton Bragg did not suffer a fatal "accident" in the field. Things learned by the major characters seem to insinuate themselves into the consciousness of the characters. I continue to believe that Shaara is doing a great service in putting flesh and bone on the history of our Civil War.