The Landscape Turned Red

Author: Stephen W. Sears
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, 2005
Pages: 12 discs, 431 pages
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: The Civil War battle waged on September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek, Maryland, was one of the bloodiest in the nation's history: on this single day, the war claimed nearly 23,000 casualties. Here renowned historian Stephen Sears draws on a remarkable cache of diaries, dispatches, and letters to recreate the vivid drama of Antietam as experienced not only by its leaders but also by its soldiers, both Union and Confederate, to produce what the New York Times Book Review has called "the best account of the Battle of Antietam."

Review: I've been reading, and learning as much as I can, about the Civil War for as long as I can remember. It captured my imagination and I was fascinated with the stories even when I was in elementary school. I even majored in history in college.

What just recently struck me is how awful and how pointless this war was. Not pointless in the sense of what it ultimately did, freeing the slaves, reuniting the country, those were not pointless, but it's a shame that it came to such a bloody and destructive war.

Fortunately, we visited Antietam this past summer because without having seen some of the landmarks and their relationship with each other, I would have been lost listening to this book. The Dunker Church, Burnside Bridge, and the Sunken Road, as well as the various farms, those were all places we visited so I could picture what the author was describing.

The Landscape Turned Red is also information overload. The months and days leading up to the battle are discussed early on, and the conclusion, epilogue and appendix go into even greater detail on specific pieces unique to the battle.

It's a lot.

I recommend this novel only if you have a serious interest in this battle.