5/31/2007

Understanding Army of the Potomac Volume 3

An Amazon reviewer named James Durney has a very interesting take on Russel Beatie's new Army of the Potomac, Vol. III. He notes that the book covers 92 days and then does some math:
Sears in To the Gates of Richmond covers this time in about 90 pages. Burton in Extraordinary Circumstances covers this time in one general chapter on the war to date. This book averages 9.4 pages per day. From the siege of Yorktown to the battle of Williamsburg is almost 200 pages of good writing that gives a systematic account of the action. This level of detail becomes critical to our understanding of what the army is experiencing and their understanding of events as they occur.
I think that's an interesting way to convey level of detail - "9.4 pages per day." It's certainly the way we feel the bones of the story as we troll through archives, isn't it?

p.s. (or FYI) I have a blurb on the same page linked above.

p.p.s See also Drew's post on Beatie's depth and complexity and Ted Savas's comment.