Book cover of A Stillness at Appomattox

Book description

Recounting the final year of the Civil War, this classic volume by Bruce Catton won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for excellence in non-fiction.

In this final volume of the Army of the Potomac Trilogy, Catton, America's foremost Civil War historian, takes the reader through the…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked A Stillness at Appomattox as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

These are the first books I read on the American Civil War as an adult (thank you, History Book Club). Catton lets the reader march with the Army of the Potomac through the war in the east. You don’t just learn what happened, and why. You feel what it was like to be there. Catton never forgets the need to make history a good read as well as a way to transmit information. 

From Bruce's list on leadership in the American Civil War.

This book is the reason I originally became obsessed with the Civil War and the reason millions of other Americans discovered it. Catton was one of the first historians to apply lyrical, poetical writing to the grisly events of the war, and it is the writing that makes his books stand out. He won the Pulitzer with it in 1954. The subject is the war as seen from the point of view of Grant and his Army of the Potomac.

If you love A Stillness at Appomattox...

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like A Stillness at Appomattox?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like A Stillness at Appomattox.

Browse books like A Stillness at Appomattox

Book cover of Grant
Book cover of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
Book cover of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,397

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like A Stillness at Appomattox, you might also like...

Book cover of The Tao of Poison

The Tao of Poison by Isham Cook,

A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.

The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…

Book cover of Draakensky: A Supernatural Tale of Magick and Romance

Draakensky by Paula Cappa,

A wind sorcerer. A dark spirit. An unsolved murder.

On the haunted Draakensky Windmill Estate, sketch artist Charlotte Knight arrives to live on the property, hired to illustrate the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke—a bright and lucrative opportunity to boost her struggling art career. 

She meets the reclusive spinster Jaa…

5 book lists we think you will like!