Last year Savas Beatie announced that the second entry in its series of Civil War battle map studies would cover First Bull Run. I was involved in reviewing the manuscript, and today I received more information on the book from marketing director Sarah Keeney.
The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, including the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, June-October 1861 (ISBN 978-1-932714-60-9), by Bradley M. Gottfried, is scheduled for release in May, 2009. The 7″ X 10″ hardcover will feature 51 full color maps with facing text and run 144 pages. It will retail for $34.95.
Anyone wishing to “reserve” a copy can do so here; register to be notified when the book is ready to ship.
In the coming weeks, I’ll have some specific content for you – including, hopefully, a sample map. Also look for my interview with the author.
Harry Smeltzer
Bull Runnings 
I can’t wait to see this book. I have two copies of the Gettysburg book in hardcover, and bought a paperback to write in and take to the battlefield in my backpack. And now I find out that one of my favorite battles–one I have never quite understood is coming out. Christmas in May.
Martin
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Martin,
Is th paperback spiral bound? I think that would be the best format for a field copy.
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Harry,
I’m glad to see the arrival of another map atlas. These projects add clarity to our understanding of a battle in ways a single narrative cannot – especially with regards to timing.
I’m proud to say that I am co-authoring Volume Three in this series, covering Chickamauga. With an estimated 320 pages and about 145 maps, I have been able to lay out the campaign and battle of Chickamauga in greater detail than ever before.
The best part is that Savas-Beatie has informed us that the Chickamauga volume and others going forward will be in full color. I’m amazed that the publisher can deliver color and still keep the book reasonably priced, but delighted as well.
I know others are in the works: Shiloh, for one, and I have heard rumor of other battles as well. All told, this series will be a must-buy for me, especially now that we are moving on to battles that are so less well-mapped.
Dave Powell
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Hi Dave,
Reviewing the maps and manuscript for the Bull Run part of the Atlas was an eye opening experience – I have a much better picture of the book making process now.
Any idea when the Chickamauga book will be out?
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Harry,
I’m greatly looking forward to this one. I’ll definitely be getting a copy as soon as it comes out. I agree with Dave in that this entire series will be a must-buy for me. I’m holding out hope that the Petersburg Campaign gets the royal map treatment too. Unfortunately, unlike some of the other battles, I don’t know how many people have an ongoing interest in the battles around Petersburg. In any event, this is exciting news!
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My paperback is just a paperback, and not spiral bound. I bought it at the visitor center at Gettysburg. It is pretty beat up now, and has a lot of writing in it, but I am keeping it in my library. When I return to the field in May I might even by another. For the price it is indispensible, and I finally have a good understanding of a lot of the smaller actions in relation to the whole. The same publisher has a Gettysburg guide that is coming out that also looks interesting and it is supposed to be jammed with color maps.
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Looking forward to the Bull Run book and also looking forward to the Chickamauga map book and maybe some day the Shiloh one. I too would like to know when the Chickamauga book is coming out. These should all be awesome!
Chris
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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 http://www.savasbeatie.com.
Thank you.
Best regards
tps
Theodore P. Savas
Managing Director
Savas Beatie LLC
989 Governor Dr., Suite 102
P.O. Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
Phone: 916.941.6896; Fax: 916.941.6895
http://www.savasbeatie.com
Join us for behind-the-scenes publishing insights at
http://www.savasbeatie.blogspot.com and http://www.savasbeatiemarketing.blogspot.com
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We are hoping (and working hard towards) a publication date of August of this year. That is of course, subject to the decisions of the publishers, but Ted Savas seems pretty revved up on the map projects.
I would love to have it out in time for the September anniversary, as I’d like to go down there to promote it.
There is a another Chickamauga project in the works. Steven Woodworth has another campaign study anthology due out from Southern Illinois Press. I have a piece in it concerning one of Harry’s home-town boys: Major General James Scott Negley. I just received an email announcing that it was going to press soon, though it has not yet been announced on the SIU press website for release.
Busy, busy, busy…
Dave Powell
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Dave,
That sounds great on both counts (the map book and the essay compilation). SIU has the Shiloh book from the Civil War Campaigns in the Heartland series this spring.
Drew
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Thanks for all the information Mr. Savas and Mr. Powell. Looking forward to the books.
Chris
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Drew,
Yes, the Shiloh book is first. I don’t know a pub date for the Chickamauga book, but I got an e-mail alert from the Editor that it was now headed to press, asking for maps, etc.
I expect it to show up on the catalogue for summer.
As for the atlas, I am still blown away that Savas-Beatie can do full color and deliver at a good price. I think the whole series will be greatly enhanced by that idea, and it’s got me thinking about doing other battles.
Dave Powell
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The full color maps will greatly enhance the product. The maps being in black and white in the Gettysburg Atlas were really the only “weakness” in the otherwise excellent book by Gottfried. I can’t wait to see Chickamauga mapped in the correct way. Also, to see what will be done with First Bull Run will be very fascinating. It is interesting that an eastern campaign would be hard to map but that seems to be the case with First Bull Run. These are complicated battles that are being mapped and to see the final results will be a pleasure.
Chris
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[…] Lots of chatter on my post on the upcoming Bull Run Atlas, including some information on other entries in the series. Check it out here. […]
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[…] with Brad Gottfried 19 02 2009 Author Brad Gottfried of the upcoming The Maps of First Bull Runwas kind enough to take the time to respond to a few questions regarding the book and the Savas […]
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