Grant Comes East
By Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen

     Last year, Gingrich & Forstchen offered their version of “Gettysburg,” a fictional what-if of that famous Civil War battle, but they gave the victory to the Confederates. This year, in “Grant Comes East,” the writing team builds on that victory, as General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia march on Washington, D.C., and other Yankee strongholds. And while Union General Ulysses S. Grant does, indeed, come east to meet the Confederates, he never quite gets his army into motion over the course of this novel.

   This second installment is more introspective than the first, suggesting the thoughts and attitudes of characters that include Abraham Lincoln and General Dan Sickles, as well as Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his Secretary of State, Judah Benjamin. Benjamin, who was Jewish, introduces Lee to a rabbi who argues the case for using black slaves to fill the thinning ranks of the rebel army. Lee begins questioning the morality of slavery, and, more practically, seriously ponders making up for his army’s horrendous casualties by recruiting slaves by promising them freedom. Of course, there are battles, entirely fictitious, but carefully contrived and explicitly bloody, even difficult to read at times.

    Author Newt Gingrich is a former Congressman and history professor; William Forstchen has written more than 30 novels in various genres. Both are well-versed in military science and provide a thought-provoking look at the Civil War and what might have happened, had leaders made different decisions. A must-read for those interested in the Civil War, “Grant Comes East” sets the scene for what will likely be a decisive confrontation between Grant and Lee... Perhaps next year?