The Guns of Shiloh: A Story of the Great Western Campaign

Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander), 1862-1919Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.1
Word count
486K words
Chapters
49

Tags

English Originals War and Military FictionHistorical Fiction Military StrategyMilitary CommandersHeroismComing of AgeTurbulent Era

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Guns of Shiloh: A Story of the Great Western Campaign by Joseph A. AltshelerAuthor: Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander), 1862-1919,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Mar 1, 2004

Editor's review

The Guns of Shiloh is a historical boys' novel by Altsheler set in the western theater of the American Civil War, part of his popular series of juvenile war stories. Its distinctive value lies in following a young protagonist through the marches, encounters, and battles of the western campaigns, letting readers feel the tension of war and the historical atmosphere as the story unfolds. The author weaves coherent plots and vivid characters, and the narration is clear and fluent, making the book a good introduction to the western front of the Civil War. Note the descriptions of army life, geography, and period atmosphere, which are the work's main charm. As a public-domain e-book, it is easy to pick up at any time and suits分段 reading on commutes, trips, or between classes. Bear in mind that the book was written long ago and its battle descriptions follow the narrative habits of its era; read it as a historical novel, not as strict military history.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Skim the background note first, then read in chapter order, following the advance of marches and battles.
  2. Read alongside a basic timeline of the Civil War's western campaigns to follow the plot.
  3. Don't stop at unfamiliar military terms; read the story first, then compile a vocabulary list.
  4. Advance one or two chapters a day, and review the protagonist's growth arc at the end.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49

FAQ

Is this a historical study for adults? No. It is a historical novel for young readers, focused on plot and characters, with the war as backdrop. For rigorous military-historical research, seek specialized sources rather than treating the novel as a研究 basis.
How difficult is the English, and what level suits it? As an early juvenile book, the language is generally clear and narrative, with occasional period expressions and military terms. Readers with intermediate English who can finish a full-length story will do well; beginners may use a dictionary or a parallel translation.
Do I need to read other books in the series first? No. The book tells a self-contained story around the western campaigns, so you can follow it directly. If you become interested in the series' character relationships, read the others in publication order for a fuller experience.

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About the author

Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander), 1862-1919 Author

Joseph A. Altsheler (1862–1919) was an American author known for historical adventure novels, with 33 of his works held in this collection. Because public information is limited, details of his life are difficult to set out, yet his works show that he drew on American history, especially the frontier and the Civil War era. Representative titles include The Riflemen of the Ohio, The Guns of Bull Run, The Forest Runners, The Hunters of the Hills, The Rulers of the Lakes and The Shades of the Wilderness, most set in early Kentucky, the Great Lakes region or the Civil War. His novels are tightly plotted, stress historical atmosphere and youthful adventure, and often appear in series; they had a certain influence on early twentieth-century American historical reading for young people.