The reason for the slow blogging

...is that I've just finished reading The Coming Fury, the first book in Bruce Catton's American Civil War trilogy. I've never been much of a Civil War buff, but I can say that this series may very well turn me into one.

The Coming Fury covers the period from the fateful 1860 Democratic Party Convention in Charleston through the first major battle of the War at Bull Run the following year. It was a terrible - and sometimes shameful - time in the nation's history. The opportunities for compromise were abundant, even after the first shots were fired at Ft. Sumter; but, in an atmosphere in which threats and provocations pervaded, few were in the mood for compromise, and in the end, all opportunity was lost. The descendants of those who fought the Civil War could learn quite a few lessons from that.

This is one of the first complete histories of the War that I've attempted to read all the way through, and if the final two books (Terrible Swift Sword and Never Call Retreat) are as good as the first, it shouldn't take me long to finish. Like most popular historians, Catton has the gift of being a master storyteller. Yes, I know that he was a Yankee; nonetheless, if you're interested in brushing up on your Civil War history, then I'd highly recommend his trilogy as a good place to start. (On that note, it would be interesting to compare his work to that of Southern historian Shelby Foote, who died earlier this year.)

Anyway, if sometime in the course of the next few weeks I launch into a rant about "damned Yankee carpetbaggers" and "sellout scalawags," you'll know why.