Scourge of War Boards

Got it in the store at Gettysburg - I think it's great.

I'm not a big literary buff - but it gives you two great persectives

a) the point of view of the soldier on the field and how little they knew.

b) gives you a great idea how little regiments/units in the battle knew - i.e HITS.

I know it's fiction, but still great.

I think any account of warfare at the sharp end by the common soldier - except perhaps in modern times when troops are well briefed - is worth reading to remind us of how different a perspective the men and officers had versus the perspective we get fed from history books which explain everything from the general's perspective and with maps, diagrams and photos.

On the ground, in the ranks the men are 100% ignorant of the wider picture and the significance of what they are doing.

And you're right, HITS games can be like that. Two brigade commanders only a quarter mile apart can have a completely different take on how the battle went based on their own experiences. Its that gritty, confusing, disjointed, 'being there' sense of immersion that makes me enjoy playing SoW so much.

I've always been a big fan of naturalist fiction -- Crane, London and such. My favorite poem in the whole world:



A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."

-- Stephen Crane

Nice poem alright - I never really got poetry, but I always liked 'Ozymandias'.

If you have a smart phone with the Amazon Kindle app, RBoC is available as a free download.

-Jim

If you have a smart phone with the Amazon Kindle app, RBoC is available as a free download.

-Jim

Now there's no excuse! Required reading

While RBoC is Crane's most famous CW story, I believe there were a few more. Somewhere in my library, I have a volume of collected works of Crane. One that I recall is titled "An Episode of War." I am sure a Google search will turn up more.

J

PS: Might note that a most prolific writer of CW fiction (perhaps it is fiction) as well as being a veteran of several battles (including Shiloh) is Ambrose Bierce. The U. of Nebraska has published a collection of "Soldier's Tales" the Bierce wrote including "Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge." (Aside: Will Owl Creek show up on the next expansion, Lil' Powell?) Check Bierce out and I think you might be intriguede.

J

Ive been doing a little bit of research, apparently two of his other well know works are one he wrote about being in an open boat (it really happened him, his ship sank) and one he wrote about being poor in the slums (he went and lived in the slums to get into character).

Died before he was 30 of TB.

"The Open Boat" by Crane along with Jack London's "To Build a Fire" are classic examples of literary naturalism: we are alone in the universe which doesn't care whether you live or die and no one is going to help you, not even God.

http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/1514/

My favorite short story by Crane is also an example of literary naturalism, only set in the city: "Maggie: a Girl of the Streets."

http://www.fullbooks.com/Maggie-A-Girl- ... eets1.html

It's great that you can full texts of great short fiction online these days.

And for those of us who like to be read to ..... follow the link .... http://www.audiobooks.org/bookDesc.php? ... of-courage

The reader does a magnificent job.