Incident in a bookstore

Shortly before my recent vacation, I stopped by the Barnes & Noble in Reston to see what was doing in the ACW section. Among regional bookstores, their Civil War section is the smallest for some reason.

I usually make a note of what the buyers have stocked up on. Most times, the quantities are not significantly different from title to title. On this day, I did a doubletake to see they had stacked face out at least half a dozen of Eric Wittenberg's new Savas Beatie book, The Battle of Monroe's Crossroads. A very handsome edition it is too, with lots of maps and illustrations.

Nothing got anything like the shelf space of this new title, with the exception of something by one of McPherson's students, Tom Carhart. Yes, indeed Lost Triumph also totaled a good half-dozen pieces stacked cover outwards.

There's the market for you - uncertain. Sweet and sour news for Eric...