- Posted by Christopher Estep on October 23, 2008
With the potential of impending doom the election of Barack Obamakova, there have been whispers of the potential of a new civil war in this country, regardless of the outcome. Both sides are frightened of the other’s candidate, though I don’t know why liberals should be frightened of McCain. Perhaps Palin, maybe, but not McCain. Palin is a real conservative and has a record of flushing “the establishment” of which the liberals are most representative. McCain however has been getting a government check since the 60’s and is unlikely to do more than veto some spending.
Regardless, the talk is there and it’s gotten me thinking about a couple of books I’ve read, one historical and one potentially prophetic.
The first book is by Shelby Foote
and it’s called, The Civil War: A Narrative
. Unlike a standard history text, a narrative is written and read like a novel. The result is a more immersive experience where the actors are presented as real people with dialog that is to be felt as though it were happening as it’s being read, as opposed to a cold discussion from 100+ years after the fact. It becomes a more intimate read.
Anyone who has an interest in civil war history has undoubtedly watched Ken Burns' documentary, The Civil War
. It is there they were most likely first introduced to the late Shelby Foote, the historian with a slow southern drawl and an abundance of anecdotes.
His civil war narrative is a 3-volume set but it is easily worth not only the time but the money. It covers the entire war and gives not only the Union perspective but the Confederate perspective as well.
The other book looks more toward a potential future and though it was written 2 years ago, one could have written it last week, it is that timely. That book is Empire
by Orson Scott Card.
The premise of Empire is that because of the divides between “left” and “right” in this country, a new civil war ensues. I’m not going to give any spoilers, but in an even-handed way explores what could happen and why. It’s one of my favorite Card books, and also worth your time.