The sea of history

...is so because you have to take every bit with a grain of salt. 

Those who have seen my bookshelves will know that the majority of my literature consists of history books, ranging from timelines of world history to Stephen Ambrose and Ian Kershaw. Recently I've gone on a spending spree again: I rented Gettysburg, bought the Gettysburg soundtrack, and bought the book the film's based on, Killer Angels. My Freshman Seminar professor recommended the film to me, my history professor recommended the book.

From what I gather, the film follows the "not as good if you've read the book first" trend. Having seen the film first, I'm really looking forward to the book now. As a film on its own merits, I can see the time they devoted to detail and the effort at authenticity. Although they seem to have gone a little overboard with some of the beards. The dialogue also raises a lot of questions about the nature of war that, unfortunately, still haven't been answered. The book is apparently one of the better works of historical fiction because of Shaara's recreation of dialogue between the historical figures and their inner thoughts (again, according to the prof; I'll have to see once I get my hands on the thing). All in all, Gettysburg is rather compelling and worth watching; at least, I could handle the three hours of this compared to Gone with the Wind. That's probably a matter of personal taste though.

On a different note, it's sad when a historian is tainted through carelessness or a desire to appear more than they are. I like Ambrose's books, and even though I know he made the big screwups only in his last few books, I now read D-Day and Band of Brothers with the nagging thought as to whether he made similar, smaller slips in his earlier works too. Joseph Ellis is another case. Lying about his Vietnam war experiences while teaching a class on the Vietnam war? Hoo, boy. Again, his writings may be factually accurate, but people will read them with more skepticism than before.

With stuff like this, If I continue this hobby, I'll probably need the whole damn salt cellar.