Before 1862, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had rarely left his home state of Maine, where he was a trained minister and mild-mannered professor at Bowdoin College. His colleagues were shocked when he volunteered for the Union army, but he was undeterred and later became known as one of the North's greatest heroes- On the second day at Gettysburg, after running low on ammunition at Little Round Top, he ordered his men to wield their bayonets in a desperate charge down a rocky slope that routed the Confederate attackers. Despite being wounded at Petersburg-and told by two surgeons he would die-Chamberlain survived the war, going on to be elected governor of Maine four times and serve as president of Bowdoin College.
How did a stuttering young boy come to be fluent in nine languages and even teach speech and rhetoric? How did a trained minister find his way to the battlefield? Award-winning historian Ronald C. White delves into these contradictions in this definitive, cradle-to-grave biography of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, from his upbringing in rural Maine to his tenacious, empathetic military leadership and his influential postwar public service, exploring a question that still plagues so many veterans- How do you make a civilian life of meaning after having experienced the extreme highs and lows of war?
Chamberlain is familiar to millions from Michael Shaara's now-classic novel of the Civil War, The Killer Angels, and Ken Burns's timeless miniseries The Civil War, but in this book, White captures the complex and inspiring man behind the hero. Heavily illustrated and featuring ten detailed maps, this gripping, impeccably researched portrait illuminates one of the most admired but least known figures in our nation's bloodiest conflict.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER . From the author of A. Lincoln and American Ulysses comes the dramatic and definitive biography of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the history-altering professor turned Civil War hero.
"A vital and vivid portrait of an unlikely military hero who played a key role in the preservation of the Union and therefore in the making of modern America."-Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of And There Was Light
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GILDER LEHRMAN LINCOLN PRIZE . A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Before 1862, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had rarely left his home state of Maine, where he was a trained minister and mild-mannered professor at Bowdoin College. His colleagues were shocked when he volunteered for the Union army, but he was undeterred and later became known as one of the North's greatest heroes- On the second day at Gettysburg, after running out of ammunition at Little Round Top, he ordered his men to wield their bayonets in a desperate charge down a rocky slope that routed the Confederate attackers. Despite being wounded at Petersburg-and told by two surgeons he would die-Chamberlain survived the war, going on to be elected governor of Maine four times and serve as president of Bowdoin College.
How did a stuttering young boy come to be fluent in nine languages and even teach speech and rhetoric? How did a trained minister find his way to the battlefield? Award-winning historian Ronald C. White delves into these contradictions in this cradle-to-grave biography of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, from his upbringing in rural Maine to his tenacious, empathetic military leadership and his influential postwar public service, exploring a question that still plagues so many veterans- How do you make a civilian life of meaning after having experienced the extreme highs and lows of war?
Chamberlain is familiar to millions from Michael Shaara's now-classic novel of the Civil War, The Killer Angels, and Ken Burns's timeless miniseries The Civil War, but in this book, White captures the complex and inspiring man behind the hero. Heavily illustrated and featuring nine detailed maps, this gripping, impeccably researched portrait illuminates one of the most admired but least known figures in our nation's bloodiest conflict.
Before 1862, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had rarely left his home state of Maine, where he was a trained minister and mild-mannered professor at Bowdoin College. His colleagues were shocked when he volunteered for the Union army, but he was undeterred and later became known as one of the North's greatest heroes- On the second day at Gettysburg, after running low on ammunition at Little Round Top, he ordered his men to wield their bayonets in a desperate charge down a rocky slope that routed the Confederate attackers. Despite being wounded at Petersburg-and told by two surgeons he would die-Chamberlain survived the war, going on to be elected governor of Maine four times and serve as president of Bowdoin College.
How did a stuttering young boy come to be fluent in nine languages and even teach speech and rhetoric? How did a trained minister find his way to the battlefield? Award-winning historian Ronald C. White delves into these contradictions in this definitive, cradle-to-grave biography of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, from his upbringing in rural Maine to his tenacious, empathetic military leadership and his influential postwar public service, exploring a question that still plagues so many veterans- How do you make a civilian life of meaning after having experienced the extreme highs and lows of war?
Chamberlain is familiar to millions from Michael Shaara's now-classic novel of the Civil War, The Killer Angels, and Ken Burns's timeless miniseries The Civil War, but in this book, White captures the complex and inspiring man behind the hero. Heavily illustrated and featuring ten detailed maps, this gripping, impeccably researched portrait illuminates one of the most admired but least known figures in our nation's bloodiest conflict.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER . From the author of A. Lincoln and American Ulysses comes the dramatic and definitive biography of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the history-altering professor turned Civil War hero.
"A vital and vivid portrait of an unlikely military hero who played a key role in the preservation of the Union and therefore in the making of modern America."-Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of And There Was Light
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GILDER LEHRMAN LINCOLN PRIZE . A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
Before 1862, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had rarely left his home state of Maine, where he was a trained minister and mild-mannered professor at Bowdoin College. His colleagues were shocked when he volunteered for the Union army, but he was undeterred and later became known as one of the North's greatest heroes- On the second day at Gettysburg, after running out of ammunition at Little Round Top, he ordered his men to wield their bayonets in a desperate charge down a rocky slope that routed the Confederate attackers. Despite being wounded at Petersburg-and told by two surgeons he would die-Chamberlain survived the war, going on to be elected governor of Maine four times and serve as president of Bowdoin College.
How did a stuttering young boy come to be fluent in nine languages and even teach speech and rhetoric? How did a trained minister find his way to the battlefield? Award-winning historian Ronald C. White delves into these contradictions in this cradle-to-grave biography of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, from his upbringing in rural Maine to his tenacious, empathetic military leadership and his influential postwar public service, exploring a question that still plagues so many veterans- How do you make a civilian life of meaning after having experienced the extreme highs and lows of war?
Chamberlain is familiar to millions from Michael Shaara's now-classic novel of the Civil War, The Killer Angels, and Ken Burns's timeless miniseries The Civil War, but in this book, White captures the complex and inspiring man behind the hero. Heavily illustrated and featuring nine detailed maps, this gripping, impeccably researched portrait illuminates one of the most admired but least known figures in our nation's bloodiest conflict.
Ronald C. White is the New York Times bestselling author of biographies A. Lincoln and American Ulysses, as well as three other books on Lincoln, most recently Lincoln in Private. White earned his PhD at Princeton, has lectured at the White House, and has spoken about Lincoln across the world. He is a senior fellow of The Trinity Forum in Washington, D.C.
“A vital and vivid portrait of an unlikely military hero who played
a key role in the preservation of the Union and therefore in the
making of modern America. From his bookish days as a professor at
Bowdoin to the fields of Gettysburg, Joshua Chamberlain was a man
of principle and of action, a surprising officer whose conviction
and courage made all the difference. A marvelous book.”—Jon
Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of And There Was Light
“This evocative biography of Joshua Chamberlain manages to be both
dramatic and understated—like the great war hero himself. Readers
hoping for a rousing account of Chamberlain’s heroics at Little
Round Top will get not only a riveting, but a definitive, version
of that battle-changing moment at Gettysburg. But White also opens
a window onto the nineteenth-century worlds of military service,
politics, and academia, which Chamberlain bestrode with a unique
combination of drama and dignity fully reflected in the
narrative.”—Harold Holzer, winner of the Lincoln Prize
“Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is one of the most famous soldiers who
fought at the battle of Gettysburg. Ronald C. White chronicles that
story and Chamberlain’s other Civil War exploits, but the
distinguishing feature of this fine biography is its in-depth
account of the varied achievements of this extraordinary American
hero in a lifetime that ranged over more than eight decades.”—James
M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War
Era
“On Great Fields is one of those exceedingly rare biographies that
is beautifully written and superbly researched, as well as a truly
inspirational tale. It is a phenomenal account of an extraordinary
individual.”—General David Petraeus, U.S. Army (Ret.), and
co-author (with Andrew Roberts) of Conflict: The Evolution of
Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine
“A thoroughly engaging portrait of the life and career of Civil War
hero Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Ronald C. White demonstrates once
again his mastery of the biographical art with a fresh assessment
of Chamberlain’s complicated yet inspiring journey.”—Joan Waugh,
author of U.S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth
“[White] delivers a satisfying biography. . . . A revealing
portrait of an American hero who deserves even wider
recognition.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“By delving deeply into Chamberlain’s intellectual and spiritual
life, White successfully reconciles his subject’s contradictory
reputation as both a ‘bookworm college and seminary student’ and a
‘risk-taking Civil War soldier.’ Civil War fans and general history
readers alike should take note.”—Publishers Weekly
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