An alternate career path that I did not follow was to be a high school social studies teacher.  I did get the degree for that path while at Purdue University.  History can be amazing reading and research.  I am especially fond of the Civil War in its shaping of who we are as a country.

Jeff Shaara's book, A Blaze of Glory, is a retelling of the Battle of Shiloh.  This battle in Tennessee involved over 100,000 soldiers and amassed over 24,000 casualties over two days of hard fighting.  A devastation wrought that had not been seen by our country previously.

Shaara is a compelling author who does well in portraying a battle with lines that were miles long.  I found the dialogue that he created in this historical fiction to be wanting at times, especially early in the book.  The real strength of the book is how Shaara provides at least three perspectives:  of generals overseeing vast armies on a chaotic battle field, of the man with the musket who could barely see the enemy charging let alone the map of advance or retreat, of the historians who have interpreted the impact of this battle upon the war.

I recommend this book very much.  Thankful to my mother who loaned it to me.