A masterpiece of prose and research, the definitive history of the struggle for Atlanta during the Civil War, an episode immortalized by the novel Gone with the Wind

Called "the greatest event of the Civil War" by New York diarist George Templeton Strong, the epic struggle for the city of Atlanta in the bloody summer of 1864 was a pivotal moment in American history. Union commander William Tecumseh Sherman's relentless fight for the city secured the reelection of Abraham Lincoln, sealed the fate of the Southern Confederacy, and set a precedent for military campaigns that endures today. Its depiction in the novel and motion picture Gone with the Wind established the fight for Atlanta as an iconic episode in our nation's most terrible war. In War Like the Thunderbolt: The Battle and Burning of Atlanta, award-winning author Russell S. Bonds takes the reader behind the lines and across the smoky battlefields of Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Ezra Church, and Jonesboro, and into the lives of fascinating characters, both the famous and the forgotten, including the fiery and brilliant Sherman; General John Bell Hood, the Confederacy's last hope to defend Atlanta; Benjamin Harrison, the diminutive young Indiana colonel who would rise to become President of the United States; Patrick Cleburne, the Irishmanturned- Southern officer; and ten-year-old diarist Carrie Berry, who bravely withstood and bore witness to the fall of the city. Here also is the dramatic story of the ordeal of Atlanta itself -- the five-week artillery bombardment, the expulsion of its civilian population, and the infamous fire that followed. Based on new research in diaries, newspapers, previously unpublished letters, and other archival sources, War Like the Thunderbolt is a combination of captivating narrative and insightful military analysis -- a stirring account of the battle and burning of the "Gate City of the South."

• We started tracking this book on October 27, 2010.
• This book was $9.99 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 102 times in the past 5,209 days.
• The current price of this book is $27.99 last checked 12 hours ago.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past 90 days is $21.49.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is $17.11.
• The lowest price to date was $8.99 last reached on May 16, 2018.
• This book has been $8.99 one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $28.00 last reached on January 28, 2025.
• This book has been $28.00 2 times since we started tracking it.

• History

• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 546 Pages
• File Size: 2,712 KB