A decent position?

[dave]

Ken Burns is a fantastic artist but he relies on others for his historical content so I did not mention him in the list of authors. I have enjoyed all of his video series for certain and have no qualms about his being unbiased.
Regards
Dave

[mlynn]

Jun 12, 2017 21:03:27 GMT dave said:

Ken Burns is a fantastic artist but he relies on others for his historical content so I did not mention him in the list of authors. I have enjoyed all of his video series for certain and have no qualms about his being unbiased.
Regards
Dave

That makes sense.

[Beth]

Ken Burns makes history alive. He's also influenced other documentary and TV producers to do the same. I was watching a documentary/TV show late last night and was struck that it was so obvious it was pre Burns because it was just talking heads discussing a horrible event. I actually though on how Ken Burns could have made the story pop, as well as unforgettable.

[dave]

Burn's genius is in his story telling ability along with his uncanny sense of who to cast as narrators and character voices. Writing is a talent that many have but he is able to pull all aspects of the story together in such a beautiful fashion. When his The Civil War series came out in September of 1990 I recorded all the episodes. In January of 1991, I made 3 copies for my Uncle Dick, an army tug/barge boat captain, who was in Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Shield later Storm and his buddies.

I have watched the series several times and always come away with something new that I missed before. I can sit her and hear the voices of David McCallum, Shelby Foote, Hoyt Axton and Jason Robards among others. They also discovered fantastic quotes from forgotten men and women.

I think I may rewatch it again!
Regards
Dave

[yanmacca]

They are still showing the Ken Burns series "the civil war" on cable TV over here, what is also interesting is the number of British actors who contribute voice overs parts, you can see the names in the credits at the end.

[mlynn]

One of the beauties of studying the Civil War is that there is always more to learn. My favorite things to come across are personal stories told with the help of personal letters and diaries. An example is a book I came across a few years ago called, On Wheels: and How I came There by Private William B. Smith 14th Illinois Infantry. These sources put human faces to the facts which makes it real. But, when I read these, I also realize that human perception and memory are sometimes flawed.

Ken Burns, like you said, is a "genius" for his ability to find and organize these stories and add them to the facts. I wonder how Burns would handle the LBH battle. Reading the book A Terrible Glory is a perfect example of how distorted the words of survivors/witnesses can be distorted for preserving images of the self, others involved, the military and the government. It is also a good book to expose the damage rumors, conspiracy theories and the press can distort written history. I always try to keep a flexible mind when reading and viewing sources for these reasons.

[Beth]

Burns also adds music which helps make everything alive. Ashokan Farewell is so iconic that people actually believe its a CW era song.

[Beth]

THere is "The West" which I have not seen which does cover the era and at least discusses LBH. Burns is the executive producer. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_West_(film)    www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/

[mlynn]

Jun 13, 2017 13:41:49 GMT Beth said:

Burns also adds music which helps make everything alive. Ashokan Farewell is so iconic that people actually believe its a CW era song.

I agree.  I actually have an album (somewhere, you know how it is when you move) that features songs and music from the CW.

[yanmacca]

The west was also shown over here on PBS, I didn't watch it all but cherry picked certain episodes like the black hills and Custer.

BTW; Mlynn, when are you going to emerge from that alien suit and pick yourself a nice avatar?

[mlynn]

Jun 13, 2017 14:31:44 GMT yanmacca said:

The west was also shown over here on PBS, I didn't watch it all but cherry picked certain episodes like the black hills and Custer.

BTW; Mlynn, when are you going to emerge from that alien suit and pick yourself a nice avatar?

soon

[dave]

Mary you said:
"One of the beauties of studying the Civil War is that there is always more to learn. My favorite things to come across are personal stories told with the help of personal letters and diaries. An example is a book I came across a few years ago called, On Wheels: and How I came There by Private William B. Smith 14th Illinois Infantry. These sources put human faces to the facts which makes it real. But, when I read these, I also realize that human perception and memory are sometimes flawed. "



I heartily recommend that if possible you should read the titles below if you want the privates view and comments about the War
1) "The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy" by Bell I. Wiley. He read through over a 1,000 letters and diaries from the enlisted soldiers
2) "The Life of Billy Yank : The Common Soldier of the Union" by Bell I. Wiley. He does the same for the Union enlisted.
3) "Co. Aytch" Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment or, A Side Show of the Big Show" by Sam Watkins. Arguably the finest memoir of the ACW by a private. This book is a must if you want the bug eye view of the conflict by a man who was in all of the battles and campaigns of the Western Theater.

These books do not deal with the strategy or planning of the fighting just the reactions and thoughts of the lowly privates who bore the brunt of the fighting and the mistakes made by the "Big Bugs" as Watkins called the generals and other officers.
Regards
Dave

[mlynn]

Jun 13, 2017 22:26:44 GMT dave said:

Mary you said:
"One of the beauties of studying the Civil War is that there is always more to learn. My favorite things to come across are personal stories told with the help of personal letters and diaries. An example is a book I came across a few years ago called, On Wheels: and How I came There by Private William B. Smith 14th Illinois Infantry. These sources put human faces to the facts which makes it real. But, when I read these, I also realize that human perception and memory are sometimes flawed. "



I heartily recommend that if possible you should read the titles below if you want the privates view and comments about the War
1) "The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy" by Bell I. Wiley. He read through over a 1,000 letters and diaries from the enlisted soldiers
2) "The Life of Billy Yank : The Common Soldier of the Union" by Bell I. Wiley. He does the same for the Union enlisted.
3) "Co. Aytch" Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment or, A Side Show of the Big Show" by Sam Watkins. Arguably the finest memoir of the ACW by a private. This book is a must if you want the bug eye view of the conflict by a man who was in all of the battles and campaigns of the Western Theater.

These books do not deal with the strategy or planning of the fighting just the reactions and thoughts of the lowly privates who bore the brunt of the fighting and the mistakes made by the "Big Bugs" as Watkins called the generals and other officers.
Regards
Dave

Thanks, I will add them to the list of books I have compounded.

[mlynn]

Jun 13, 2017 23:11:32 GMT mlynn said:

Jun 13, 2017 22:26:44 GMT dave said:

Mary you said:
"One of the beauties of studying the Civil War is that there is always more to learn. My favorite things to come across are personal stories told with the help of personal letters and diaries. An example is a book I came across a few years ago called, On Wheels: and How I came There by Private William B. Smith 14th Illinois Infantry. These sources put human faces to the facts which makes it real. But, when I read these, I also realize that human perception and memory are sometimes flawed. "



I heartily recommend that if possible you should read the titles below if you want the privates view and comments about the War
1) "The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy" by Bell I. Wiley. He read through over a 1,000 letters and diaries from the enlisted soldiers
2) "The Life of Billy Yank : The Common Soldier of the Union" by Bell I. Wiley. He does the same for the Union enlisted.
3) "Co. Aytch" Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment or, A Side Show of the Big Show" by Sam Watkins. Arguably the finest memoir of the ACW by a private. This book is a must if you want the bug eye view of the conflict by a man who was in all of the battles and campaigns of the Western Theater.

These books do not deal with the strategy or planning of the fighting just the reactions and thoughts of the lowly privates who bore the brunt of the fighting and the mistakes made by the "Big Bugs" as Watkins called the generals and other officers.
Regards
Dave

Thanks, I will add them to the list of books I have compounded.

[mlynn]

I think you can learn quite a bit from the observations of lowly ranked soldiers. They are not so worried about reputations, promotions, blame, public perceptions and etc. They are just going through the motions and wondering when, what, why and how. Many of the soldiers were not educated enough to write clearly and their words are recorded by others. These are the ones I am a little skeptical about the facts because they are often recorded after the battles or events with often many years in between. But, these still offer an insight to how it felt to be involved and witnessing the war. A Terrible Glory did this towards the end by telling the stories of what happened to the soldiers (especially the officers) after the battle and how it affected their emotions, actions and living situations. I think the human factor has to be an important factor for commanders when they are planning their strategy. I once had a great boss who told me that in planning, one must always remember that you are working with human beings. He told me that if you fail to remember that, "you will fail to reach your goals". I always thought he was a wise man.

Dave, I have figured out by now that most of this is old news to you but, I just wanted you to know my interest in it. I also am interested in strategy and facts. I just like to put a human face on it.