It's time for winter reading again and I'm looking for a good volume on the Appomattox campaign.  There's a lot of them out there and I don't want to make a mistake by getting something that might not be up to snuff.

Can anyone give me some pointers on a good read?

Mark,

I would suggest two books. The first would be "Lee's Last Retreat" by William Marvel. The book was published in 2002 by the University of North Carolina Press. The book is not only well written, there is a a good bit of new research that conflicts with some of the earlier books about the Appomattox Campaign.

The second book would be "April 1865, The Month That Saved America", by Jay Winik. Published in 2001, by Harper Collins.  While not specifically about the Appomattox Campaign, it covers April, 1865, one of the most monumental months in the Nation's history. Mr. Winik's thesis is that decisions made during this period avoided years of guerrilla war that could have distroyed the Nation, as we know it.    

Thanks, Bill