The Maps of First Bull Run

Harry Smeltzer announced on his outstanding BullRunnings site our forthcoming Maps of First Bull Run by Brad Gottfried, and the notice has spurred many comments there, and emails and a few calls to us here. I posted a comment this morning on Harry's site, and thought it would also be wise to post it, verbatim, here:


Hello All

Thanks for this discussion. I can tell you that Mr. Gottfried and all of us at Savas Beatie appreciate it. (I am sure Brad has not seen it yet, since he is busy indexing his book--a most unpleasant task.)

Harry is being humble. He played a major role in reading the manuscript and making it better, as did Jim Morgan (author of the outstanding "A Little Short of Boats") for the Ball's Bluff portion, and Jim Burgess at the Manassas National Battlefield. Without guys like this willing to make books like this better . . . well, you get the idea.

"The Maps of Chickamauga" by David Powell and David Friedrichs is finished in terms of the manuscript and first cut maps and will go into the editing stage very shortly. We believe it is a real ground-breaking effort and will crack the Chickamauga nut wide open. (As readers discovered with "The Maps of Gettysburg," these books serve as the key to unlocking every title in your library on the same subject. Pull down any book and read it, and keep the Maps book next to you as you do so. You finally have the cartography that makes the strategic and tactical descriptions make sense.)

"Chickamauga" will be released on the anniversary of the battle this fall (September 19, 2009). It is a big book (320 pages and about 145 or so full page original maps) and like Gottfried's "First Bull Run" will be in full color.

Many people have called or emailed to ask about other specifications; here they are:

Specs: 7 x 10, dust jacket, head and foot bands, colored end sheets, full color throughout, 70-lb coated acid-free paper, and the binding is sewn AND glued for a very long life.

We do not have a date on the Shiloh book because the authors (Tim Smith and Gary Joiner) have other commitments, so they will turn to it when they can.

Once Gottfried finishes his index on "First Bull Run," he and I are turning to "The Gettysburg Encyclopedia," which is about 85% complete, in an effort to knock off his portion of the work, and then turn it over to me for my portion (entries, more developmental editing, and so forth). Brad will then be turning his attention to "The Maps of the Maryland campaign," the next book in the Savas Beatie Military Atlas series.

We deeply appreciate your support, your questions, and any and all suggestions you might have. Sign up for our free monthly e-letter, which will offer interviews, excerpts, and updates on these and other titles. You can do so through our website at www.savasbeatie.com.

Thank you.

Best regards

tps