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The Fateful Lightning: A Novel of the Civil War Audiobook
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Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From Jeff Shaara comes the riveting final installment in the Civil War series that began with A Blaze of Glory and continued in A Chain of Thunder and The Smoke at Dawn.
November 1864: As the Civil War rolls into its fourth bloody year, the tide has turned decidedly in favor of the Union. A grateful Abraham Lincoln responds to Ulysses S. Grant’s successes by bringing the general east, promoting Grant to command the entire Union war effort, while William Tecumseh Sherman now directs the Federal forces that occupy all of Tennessee.
In a massive surge southward, Sherman conquers the city of Atlanta, sweeping aside the Confederate army under the inept leadership of General John Bell Hood. Pushing through northern Georgia, Sherman’s legendary March to the Sea shoves away any Rebel presence, and by Christmas 1864 the city of Savannah falls into the hands of “Uncle Billy.” Now there is but one direction for Sherman to go. In his way stands the last great hope for the Southern cause, General Joseph E. Johnston.
In the concluding novel of his epic Civil War tetralogy, Jeff Shaara tells the dramatic story of the final eight months of battle from multiple perspectives: the commanders in their tents making plans for total victory, as well as the ordinary foot soldiers and cavalrymen who carried out their orders until the last alarum sounded. Through Sherman’s eyes, we gain insight into the mind of the general who vowed to “make Georgia howl” until it surrendered. In Johnston, we see a man agonizing over the limits of his army’s power, and accepting the burden of leading the last desperate effort to ensure the survival of the Confederacy.
The Civil War did not end quietly. It climaxed in a storm of fury that lay waste to everything in its path. The Fateful Lightning brings to life those final brutal, bloody months of fighting with you-are-there immediacy, grounded in the meticulous research that readers have come to expect from Jeff Shaara.
Praise for The Fateful Lightning
“Powerful and emotional . . . highly recommended.”—Historical Novels Review
“Outstanding . . . Shaara combines his extensive knowledge of military history with his consummate skill as a storyteller.”—Booklist
“Readers . . . looking for an absorbing novel will be well rewarded.”—The Clarion-Ledger
“A great accomplishment and a more than fitting conclusion to Shaara’s work on the Civil War.”—Bookreporter
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“How does an author make history interesting? By turning it into a historical novel read by a masterful narrator such as Paul Mitchell. This fascinating book about the final months of the American Civil War looks deeply into the minds and hearts of enemy generals William Tecumseh Sherman and his Confederate counterpart, Joseph Johnston. While many history books give only dry exposition of the battles, strategies, and events, this one gives the characters personality. They live through conversations and observations created by the author but based on what is known about the men and their characters. This third part of Jeff Shaara’s Civil War trilogy adds a great deal to one’s understanding of the war that divided the nation.”
— AudioFile
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“Outstanding…Shaara combines his extensive knowledge of military history with his consummate skill as a storyteller to vivify [Sherman’s March to the Sea]…The Union and Confederate strategies, tactics, and points of view are both represented, providing a measure of balance and clarity to a campaign that is often viewed through a lopsided lens. By concentrating on the western theater throughout this series, Shaara has opened a welcome literary window to some of the less familiar Civil War battles and campaigns.”
— Booklist -
Powerful and emotional . . . highly recommended.
— Historical Novels Review -
Outstanding . . . Shaara combines his extensive knowledge of military history with his consummate skill as a storyteller.
— Booklist -
Readers . . . looking for an absorbing novel will be well rewarded.
— The Clarion-Ledger -
A great accomplishment and a more than fitting conclusion to Shaara’s work on the Civil War.
— Bookreporter -
A Blaze of Glory
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[An] exciting read . . . This novel is meticulously researched and brings a vivid reality to the historical events depicted.
— Library Journal -
Dynamic portrayals [of] Johnston, Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman.
— The Wall Street Journal -
A Chain of Thunder
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Shaara continues to draw powerful novels from the bloody history of the Civil War.
— Kirkus Reviews -
Shaara’s historical accuracy is faultless, and he tells a good story. . . . The voices of these people come across to the reader as poignantly clear as they did 150 years ago.
— Historical Novels Review The Smoke at Dawn -
Beautifully written . . . Shaara once again elevates history from mere rote fact to explosive and engaging drama.
— Bookreporter -
Shaara’s mastery of military tactics, his intimate grasp of history, and his ability to interweave several supporting narratives into a cohesive and digestible whole . . . will appeal to a broad range of historical and military fiction fans.
— Booklist
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
The Fateful Lightning Listener Reviews
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ettore indiano, 5/11/2019
About the Authors
Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.
Jeff Shaara is the New York Times bestselling author of A Blaze of Glory, The Final Storm, No Less Than Victory, The Steel Wave, The Rising Tide, To the Last Man, The Glorious Cause, Rise to Rebellion, and Gone for Soldiers, as well as Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure—two novels that complete the Civil War trilogy that began with his father’s Pulitzer Prize–winning classic, The Killer Angels. Shaara was born into a family of Italian immigrants in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and graduated from Florida State University.
About Paul Michael
Paul Michael, winner of several Earphones Awards, has also won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. He has acted on stage, radio, television, and in feature films in Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. He has had leading roles in series and made-for-television movies and has guest starred in such series as VIP and Alias. He has been nominated for a Canadian Emmy and has recorded over 150 audiobooks, including the international bestseller The Da Vinci Code.