What do you think?
Fiction as Fact: "The Horse Soldiers" and Popular Memory
In 1863 Colonel Benjamin Henry Grierson led a cavalry expedition the General Grant hoped would distract Confederate forces while the Union Army made its way toward Vicksburg. This is a thorough examination of this expedition.
179 pages, Hardcover
First published June 3, 2001
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 7, 2018
In 1959, John Ford made a movie, 'The Horse Soldiers,' based loosely on a cavalry raid--Grierson's--that took place during the Civil War. It was based on two books about that raid that had been published just a few yeas before. Neil York, a professor at Brigham Young University, uses those two books and the John Wayne film to consider whether truth and reality are best found in history, fiction, or film.
He does it in a decidedly unacademic manner, in no way pedantic. He describes the books and the film, how they were made, and how the stories they tell are different. This becomes fascinating as both authors and the director must make choices to fit their medium and their audience. York describes those choices and explains why they made them.
York's conclusion may surprise you. Those with an interest in history, film, or the Civil War will find this slim volume entertaining and worthwhile.
He does it in a decidedly unacademic manner, in no way pedantic. He describes the books and the film, how they were made, and how the stories they tell are different. This becomes fascinating as both authors and the director must make choices to fit their medium and their audience. York describes those choices and explains why they made them.
York's conclusion may surprise you. Those with an interest in history, film, or the Civil War will find this slim volume entertaining and worthwhile.
January 12, 2020
I really like the movie “The Horse Soldiers” so I was very interested in this book’s subject. Also I like history books both fiction and non-fiction. This book did not disappoint me, it is a great commentary about facts, novels and movies pertaining to historical incidents and individuals.
February 14, 2010
Dr. York was on my thesis committee, and it was an honor to study under him. The book was a surprise to me because he was so frequently critical of anything that was not a strictly historical monograph (aka, "Barnes and Noble History") Now I have to question how much of his criticism was to provoke more serious reflection on the part of his students. Bless Dr. Neil's heart, he's a terrific historian and a major influence on me personally, but some of his writing is as dry as his sense of humor (so dry a number of students in any given class never got it.)
As to the subject, it is certainly a very compelling one. I like the idea of comparing and contrasting historical writing with novels and film. It would be interesting to do so with other subjects as well. I was not familiar with Grierson's raid before reading this, and I appreciate how difficult it can be to follow events while attempting to separate fact from fiction. At times I found myself getting lost in the place names and bogged down in events. I also would have liked to hear more of Dr. York's thoughts on the contributions of historical monographs, fiction, and movies, as it felt to me like his conclusions were hidden behind the words of others.
As to the subject, it is certainly a very compelling one. I like the idea of comparing and contrasting historical writing with novels and film. It would be interesting to do so with other subjects as well. I was not familiar with Grierson's raid before reading this, and I appreciate how difficult it can be to follow events while attempting to separate fact from fiction. At times I found myself getting lost in the place names and bogged down in events. I also would have liked to hear more of Dr. York's thoughts on the contributions of historical monographs, fiction, and movies, as it felt to me like his conclusions were hidden behind the words of others.
May 22, 2015
It was interesting to work through the process of history book to historical fiction to movie. I didn't need pages of direct quotes from the books and movie.
"For some historians, films and historical fiction only make their quarry more elusive."
"For some historians, films and historical fiction only make their quarry more elusive."
February 2, 2012
Hoping this is better than the corn mother book I just finnished. Read/reading for history class.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews