The Battle of Gettysburg has intrigued millions for over 140 years, and the central figure in that battle, who fought to a draw or lost, depending on one’s viewpoint, and who many think should have won, hard on his successes in Second Manassas, Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg, was Robert E. Lee. Why happenstance left a final enigma, an outcome which, had it been different, might radically have changed the course of history, is a question tackled by author Richard Ranier in this exciting and revealing epical drama. Written in a language which virtually reverberates with the tramp of marching feet, it tells the story from the viewpoints of both generals and foot soldiers, eloquently depicting their emotions as the greatest battle in American history unfolds.

Today we view the monuments that bespeak finality. They, the protagonists, were living in a time of great uncertainty, filled with terror and glory, with the fate of a nation hanging in the balance. And the author adds a further ingredient to the elements the historians ponder, hinting of a force we cannot understand or measure in scientific terms which, invisible but ever-present, hovers over the actions of men caught up in the whirling nexus of crisis. Does it guide their destinies, or do they shape events with their courage and determination? Richard Ranier explores this labyrinthine riddle in pages both suspenseful and unforgettable.

View some excerpts from the book The Drums of Time >