Bruce Catton

Bruce Catton was known as a narrative historian who specialized in popular histories that emphasized the colorful characters and vignettes of history, in addition to the simple dates, facts, and analysis. His works, although well-researched, were generally not presented in a rigorous academic style, supported by footnotes. In the long line of Civil War historians, Catton is arguably the most prolific and popular of all, with Shelby Foote his only conceivable rival. Oliver Jensen, who succeeded him as editor of American Heritage magazine, wrote: “There is a near-magic power of imagination in Catton’s work that seemed to project him physically into the battlefields, along the dusty roads and to the campfires of another age.”

Books in order of publication:

Nonfiction

The War Lords of Washington. New York: Harcourt, Brace, & Co., 1948.

U.S. Grant and the American Military Tradition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1954.

This Hallowed Ground. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1956.

America Goes to War. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 1958.

The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War. New York: American Heritage Publishing, 1960.

The American Heritage Short History of the Civil War. New York: American Heritage Publishing, 1960.

Michigan’s Past and the Nation’s Future. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1960

Four Days: The Historical Record Of The Death Of President Kennedy. New York: American Heritage Publishing, 1964.

Prefaces to History. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1970

Waiting for the Morning Train. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1972.

Gettysburg: The Final Fury. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1974.

Michigan: A Bicentennial History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1976.

Bruce Catton’s America: Selections from His Greatest Works. New York: American Heritage, 1979

Reflections on the Civil War. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1981

Shiloh. Boston: New Word City, 2017.

Missionary Ridge. Boston: New Word City, 2017.

Army of the Potomac trilogy

Mr. Lincoln’s Army. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1951.

Glory Road. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1952.

A Stillness at Appomattox. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1953.

Centennial History of the Civil War

The Coming Fury. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1961.

Terrible Swift Sword. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1963.

Never Call Retreat. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1965.

Reflections on the Civil War. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1981.

Ulysses S. Grant trilogy

Grant Moves South. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1960.

Grant Takes Command. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1969.

Note: These two volumes are sequels to historian Lloyd Lewis’s posthumously published Captain Sam Grant (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1950.)

With William Catton

Two Roads to Sumter. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963.

The Bold & Magnificent Dream: America’s Founding Years, 1492–1815. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1978.

Fiction

Banners at Shenandoah: A Story of Sheridan’s Fighting Cavalry. New York: Doubleday and Company, 1955.