Monday, March 29, 2010

"Complete Guide" survey

If you can, please take a moment to vote in a survey I have created - "Which 'Complete Guide' of a battle or campaign in the Eastern Theater would you like to see?" I have listed several candidates for upcoming guides. There is also a space at the end to tell us why you voted as you did, or even suggest battles/campaigns not listed.

Please be assured that all responses are completely anonymous - I do not get any personal information from you. You can only vote once in the survey.

The responses and comments will really help us in our future decisions. I will leave the poll up for a couple weeks, and then report back on the results. As of today, 71 people have already voted, so please let us know your opinion. Thanks!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Spring has sprung, the itch has begun...

No, don't worry - I won't be giving up my avocation of historical writing to become a poet...

Here in western Pennsylvania, spring is finally in the air. After one of the coldest and most snow-infested winters I can remember in my 45 years, we are finally up in the 50s. There is still 6-8 inches of snow lying in most folks' yards, with some huge piles still around from the plowing and shoveling. But the melt and thaw has, hopefully, begun. There is still a lot of March left, however!

I'm looking forward to this summer - getting out and especially doing some battlefield visiting. Last summer, short as it was (spring was late and the freezing weather began in early October with snow soon after), it was even shorter for me. I lost most of August last year to an illness that knocked me out for the better part of the month, and I couldn't do many things around the house that I had planned. It was January until I was able to remodel a spare bedroom into my new library, a project I had hoped to do back in August.

The new guide book by Steve Stanley and I, following in the mould of The Complete Gettysburg Guide, will be the 1862 Antietam Campaign. That means lots of stomping around many of my favorite grounds this spring and summer - Antietam of course, but also South Mountain, Harpers Ferry, Shepherdstown, etc. I'm looking forward to it. The book will have the look and feel of the Gettysburg guide, featuring Steve's fabulous maps and photographs. There are so many obscure places and events that I'm looking forward to making available to visitors, and I know that the campaign experts helping us with the projects will have amazing things to contribute.

So here's to good health (hopefully!), sunshine, and lots of bug spray!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Gettysburg Guide a finalist for AHF book award

Steve Stanley and I were just notified that our book The Complete Gettysburg Guide has been selected as a finalist, in the Reference category, for the Army Historical Foundation's 2009 Book Award! We are quite flattered, and we are very grateful for the wonderful reviews and support that the book has received from Army officials.

I will be completing the script for Volume 1 (The Battlefield) of the audio supplement to the book in the next few days, and will begin the recording process right after that. More updates when we get closer to release of the CD and download.