Grant Comes East

by Newt Gingrich

Other authorsWilliam Forstchen, Albert S. Hanser (Editor)
Paperback, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Publication

St. Martin's Griffin (2005), Paperback, 416 pages

Description

"Grant Comes East," the sequel in the bestselling series by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen, continues the story of a Confederate victory at Gettysburg. Across 140 years, nearly all historians have agreed that after the defeat of the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, the taking of Washington, DC, would end the war. But was it possible?Lee knows that a frontal assault against such fortifications could devastate his army, but it is a price he fears must be paid for final victory. Beyond a military victory in the field, Lee must also overcome the defiant stand of President Abraham Lincoln, who vows that regardless of the defeat at Gettysburg, his solemn pledge to preserve the Union will be honored. Lincoln will mobilize the garrison of Washington to hold on no matter what the costs. At the same time, Lincoln has appointed General Ulysses S. Grant as commander of all Union forces. Grant, fresh from his triumph at Vicksburg, races east, bringing with him his hardened veterans from Mississippi to confront Lee. What ensues across the next six weeks is a titanic struggle as the surviving Union forces inside the fortifications of Washington fight to hang on, while Grant prepares his counterblow. The defeated Army of the Potomac, staggered by the debacle dealt at Gettysburg, is not yet completely out of the fight, and is slowly reorganizing. Its rogue commander, General Dan Sickles, is thirsting for revenge against Lee, the restoration of the honor of his army, and the fulfillment of his own ambitions, which reach all the way to the White House. All these factors will come together in a climatic struggle spanning the ground from Washington, through Baltimore, to the banks of the Susquehanna River. Once again, Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen create a brilliant story of how the Civil War could have unfolded. In "Grant Comes East," they use their years of research and expertise to take readers on an incredible journey.… (more)

Media reviews

It will be interesting, perhaps even thrilling, to see how the military strategy and political maneuvering play out in the next installment.
3 more
Unabashedly, this is a work of popular historical fiction; it aspires to entertain, first and foremost, but it has passages of genuine depth and poetry that elevate it above many other specimens of its peculiar subgenre.
Character depictions are vivid, detailed, and insightful. One of the best novels of the Civil War to appear in recent years.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Gingrich and Forstchen portray icons like Grant and Lee as very real humans, beset with very real problems demanding decisions.... This second volume is every bit as good as the first.

User reviews

LibraryThing member MikeD
part 2 of Gingrich's hypothetical Civil War series. What if Lee had won at Gettysburg and tried to finish the war by taking on Washington DC. Well researched by the authors
LibraryThing member wkelly42
Well researched alt history of the Civil War. Tough to do something new in this time period, but Gingrich and Forstchen do a good job.

Language

Original publication date

2004

Physical description

416 p.; 8.26 inches

ISBN

0312309384 / 9780312309381
Page: 1.3232 seconds