Product Description

This remarkable biography traces the life and times of Joshua L. Chamberlain, the professor-turned-soldier who led the Twentieth Maine Regiment to glory at Gettysburg, earned a battlefield promotion to brigadier general from Ulysses S. Grant at Petersburg, and was wounded six times during the course of the Civil War. Chosen to accept the formal Confederate surrender at Appomattox, Chamberlain endeared himself to succeeding generations with his unforgettable salutation of Robert E. Lee's vanquished army. After the war, he went on to serve four terms as governor of his home state of Maine and later became president of Bowdoin College. He wrote prolifically about the war, including The Passing of the Armies, a classic account of the final campaign of the Army of the Potomac.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #628790 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-27
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .2 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 569 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In 1861 Joshua Chamberlain was an obscure college professor. In 1863 he led the 20th Maine regiment ?/I've lc since I'm not sure regiment is the official title, referred to only as 20th Maine.gs in the defense of Little Round Top at Gettysburg. In 1865 he commanded a division in the Army of the Potomac with such skill that he was chosen to conduct the surrender ceremonies for since it was surrenner OF southern army the Army of Northern Virginia. Freelance writer Trulock presents a definitive biography of this distinguished citizen and Union officer. Chamberlain emerges from Trulock's pages as an unusually brave man who could think quickly and rationally under extreme stress. He was not a "born soldier," but he eventually became a master of war. Neither his presidency of Bowdoin College nor his four terms as governor of Maine seem to have defined him as did a few minutes at Gettysburg and a few hours in Virginia. In this, Chamberlain was an archetype of the generation that dismembered, then reknit, a country. He died at age 86 in 1914.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Chamberlain's extensive, informative, and often moving letters provided a unifying thread for Ken Burns in his PBS documentary on the Civil War (Video Reviews, LJ 8/91) and for Geoffrey C. Ward in the companion book, The Civil War ( LJ 9/15/90). Typical of many soldiers in his mixture of patriotic resolve and stoic resignation, Chamberlain proved extraordinary in his observational skills and persistence at recording not just historical events but also his emotional reaction to them. The author fashions this rich material and supporting research into a solid biography that does not concern itself much with the broader context of the events in which Chamberlain was caught up. Although the book can stand on its own, it will be enjoyed more by those with some understanding of Civil War chronology. It does full justice to an astonishing life. Highly recommended.
- Charles K. Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
The recent movie Gettysburg and the PBS documentary The Civil War have revived interest in Maine's Joshua L. Chamberlain and his spectacular battle record for the Union, especially with the Twentieth Maine. Popular reader Tom Parker has a newscaster's voice, and the story rolls along as if he weren't there. He reads with moderate pacing, intelligently, but not flamboyantly. D.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine