United States Civil War, 1861-1865 book series in reading order

by Al Lacy / Bill Reno

by Loree Lough

by Walt Whitman

Gilbert Morris produced Christian historical fiction at length: 248 catalogued books between 1977 and 2014. The House of Winslow follows one family across American history; the Appomattox Saga and Bonnets & Bugles take up the Civil War; Cheney Duvall, M.D. follows a woman physician; the Seven Sleepers, Dixie Morris and Too Smart Jones series sit alongside, with children's fiction among the subjects. The catalogue opens with Race Against Time (1977), reaches Raina's Choice, and is listed as likely complete.

Ann Rinaldi was an American journalist and young adult novelist, known above all for historical fiction, who lived from August 27, 1934 to July 1, 2021. Rinaldi worked as a newspaper columnist before writing novels, eight of which the ALA named notable. In 2000, Wolf by the Ears (1991) was listed among the best young adult novels of the preceding twenty-five years. Rinaldi also contributed to the Dear America series. The catalogue holds 48 books from Term Paper (1980) to Leigh Ann's Civil War (2011), including The Last Silk Dress (1988) and A Break with Charity (1992).

Harry Turtledove

141 books• 28 series

Harry Turtledove, born June 14, 1949, is an American historian and novelist of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction and mystery, based in Southern California. The catalogue counts 142 books, starting with Wereblood and Werenight (1979), published as Eric G. Iverson, and listing The Succulent Succubus for 2027. Other pen names are H. N. Turteltaub, Dan Chernenko and Mark Gordian. The Videssos Cycle, Southern Victory / Timeline-191, Worldwar, Colonization, Crosstime Traffic, The War That Came Early and Gerin the Fox are among the series. World War II and the American Civil War are frequent subjects.

Ralph Peters writes military fiction and history, and publishes his American Civil War fiction as Owen Parry. The Abel Jones series belongs to the Owen Parry name and begins with Faded Coat of Blue (1999). Under Peters, the catalogue holds military thrillers such as Bravo Romeo (1981), Red Army (1989) and The War in 2020 (1991), and later Civil War novels including the Battle Hymn Cycle and Darkness at Chancellorsville (2020), the newest of 33 books. Soldiers, military policy and the war on terrorism supply the nonfiction subjects.

Jeff Shaara writes historical war fiction, and the 21 catalogued books cover the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War II and the Korean War. Gods and Generals (1996) opens the list, followed by The Last Full Measure (1998) and Gone for Soldiers (2000). Series lines group the novels by conflict, among them World War II: 1939-1945 and Civil War: 1861-1865, Western Theater. The Unfinished Work of Abraham Lincoln (2026) is the newest title. Born Jeffrey M. Shaara on February 21, 1952, Shaara is the son of the Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Shaara.

James Reasoner writes westerns and frontier fiction, and the 193 catalogued books run from Texas Wind (1980) to Blood on the Border (2026). Civil War history, Texas and military fiction also appear among the subjects. Reasoner's series include Stagecoach Station, Abilene, Cody's Law, Wind River, Outlaw Ranger, Tales From Deadwood and the Walker, Texas Ranger tie-ins. Lee Goldberg, William Rabkin and Livia Reasoner are each co-credited on 1 book.

Bruce Catton

35 books• 7 series

Bruce Catton (9 October 1899 to 28 August 1978) was an American journalist and historian of the American Civil War. Catton wrote narrative popular history, pairing facts, dates and analysis with vivid figures and vignettes, backed by research and footnotes. A Stillness at Appomattox, a study of the war's final Virginia campaign and the third volume of the Army of the Potomac trilogy, won both the Pulitzer Prize for History and the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 1954. The catalogue lists 35 Catton books from The War Lords Of Washington (1948), including Glory Road (1952), This Hallowed Ground (1955) and Grant Moves South (1960). Subjects include campaigns and Abraham Lincoln.

Al Lacy / Bill Reno is a catalogue entry holding 63 books published between 1980 and 2011. The earliest titles, such as Dead Man's Noose and Twin Colts (1980), carry the name Morgan Hill. Series include Badge, Angel of Mercy, Battles of Destiny and Journeys of the Stranger. Subjects include Christian westerns, the American Civil War, the Battle of Shiloh, nurses, frontier and pioneer life and women pioneers.

Heather Graham is the name under which Heather Graham Pozzessere, an American writer born on 15 March 1953, publishes mainly romance fiction; Shannon Drake is a further pen name. Graham's work has been published in about 25 languages, with more than 75 million copies printed. The catalogue records 311 books from Tender Taming (1983) to Destiny Rising (2026). Krewe of Hunters, Harrison Investigation, Cafferty & Quinn, Alliance Vampires, Keepers: L.A., New York Confidential and Finnegan Connection are among the Graham series. Subjects span historical, paranormal, contemporary and suspense romance.

Nancy Campbell Allen writes romance and historical fiction, with subjects that include Mormon families, the US Civil War, women detectives and the Birmingham family. The catalogue holds 26 books from Love Beyond Time (1999) to Protecting Her Heart (2024). Allen's series are Faith Of Our Fathers, Steampunk Proper Romance and Isabelle Webb. Titles include A House Divided (2001), To Make Men Free (2002), Through the Perilous Fight (2003) and Legend of the Jewel (2008).

Mackinlay Kantor

41 books• 1 series

MacKinlay Kantor, born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor in 1904, worked as journalist, screenwriter and novelist in the United States, and died in 1977 having produced more than 30 novels. The American Civil War supplies the setting for several of them, and Andersonville (1955) took the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1956. The catalogue opens with Diversey (1928) and takes in Long Remember (1934), The Voice of Bugle Ann (1935), The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1937) and Glory for Me (1945). Dogs, foxhounds, Chicago and Missouri family life recur as subjects across 41 catalogued titles.

Michael Kilian (1939-2005) was an American journalist and author, and for many years a Washington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. Born in Toledo, Ohio, Kilian grew up in Chicago and in Westchester, New York, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His father taught him about the Civil War era and took him to its battlefields. Kilian's books include the Harrison Raines Civil War mysteries. The catalogue lists 24 books from Who Runs Chicago? (1979) onward, plus the Jazz Age Mystery and Andy Derain series.

Bernard Cornwell

67 books• 10 series

Bernard Cornwell is an English historical novelist, born on 23 February 1944, who has also written a history of the Waterloo campaign. The Richard Sharpe novels, about a rifleman in the Napoleonic Wars, are Cornwell's best-known work. The Saxon Stories run to thirteen novels about how England was unified. Cornwell's historical fiction draws mainly on English history across five series, alongside one series of contemporary thrillers, and the historical novels carry an end note comparing the story to the historical record. The catalogue lists 67 books from 1981, when Sharpe's Gold appeared, to Sharpe's Storm (2025).

John William Jakes (March 31, 1932 to March 11, 2023) was an American writer of historical and speculative fiction. Jakes wrote The Kent Family Chronicles and the North and South trilogy set in the American Civil War, and used the pen name Jay Scotland. The catalogue lists 73 books from The Texans Ride North (1952) to The Gods of Newport (2006). Other series include Johnny Havoc, Lou Largo, Brak the Barbarian and the Crown Family Saga. Subjects range across westerns, frontier life, science fiction and private investigators.

David Poyer, born 1949, is an American author and a retired naval officer. Dan Lenson is a series, and subjects include the United States Navy, officers, sea stories, war and military thrillers and terrorists. Tiller Galloway, Hemlock County and Civil War at Sea are other series. The 51 catalogued books run from White Continent (1980) to Writing Your Memoir In The Age Of AI (2026). The Med (1988), Hatteras Blue (1989) and The Gulf (1990) are among the earlier titles.

Newt Gingrich

49 books• 6 series

Newt Gingrich, born June 17, 1943, is an American Republican politician who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. Gingrich represented Georgia's 6th congressional district from 1979 until resigning in 1999, sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, and taught history and geography at the University of West Georgia in the 1970s. The catalogue lists 49 books from Window of Opportunity (1987) to Trump's Triumph (2025), mixing politics with historical fiction series on the Civil War, the Revolutionary War and Pearl Harbor. Gettysburg (2003) and Grant Comes East (2004) are among them.

Harry Harrison

93 books• 15 series

Harry Harrison, born Henry Maxwell Dempsey (March 12, 1925 to August 15, 2012), was an American science fiction author. The Stainless Steel Rat is the character most tied to Harrison, and the 1966 novel Make Room! Make Room! loosely inspired the film Soylent Green (1973). Harrison lived in Ireland and the United Kingdom, helped found the Irish Science Fiction Association and co-presided over the Birmingham Science Fiction Group with Brian Aldiss. Deathworld (1960), Bill, The Galactic Hero, To The Stars and Hammer and The Cross are among the catalogued works.

David Healey writes military and historical fiction alongside regional non-fiction. The Caje Cole World War II novels and the Pacific Sniper books sit beside the Sea Lord Chronicles, the Delmarva Renovators Mysteries and the Rehoboth Beach titles. Thirty-six books are catalogued from Sharpshooter (1999) to The Guns of Liberty (2026), and Typhoon Sniper is scheduled for 2027. The American Civil War, Chesapeake Bay history and military history run through the subject list.

Walt Whitman

60 books• 3 series

Walt Whitman (Walter Whitman Jr., May 31, 1819 to March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist who also wrote two novels. Whitman drew on both transcendentalism and realism and is often called the father of free verse. Leaves of Grass (1855) drew charges of obscenity from some readers for its open sensuality. Born in Huntington on Long Island, Whitman grew up in Brooklyn and left school at 11 to work. The catalogue lists 60 books, including Franklin Evans, or The Inebriate (1842), Drum Taps (1865) and Oh Captain! My Captain! (1865).

Quilting holds Jennifer Chiaverini's fiction together. The Elm Creek Quilts series, opening with The Quilter's Apprentice (1999), follows quiltmakers in Pennsylvania, with Sylvia Compson among the recurring figures and female friendship as a steady subject. Chiaverini also writes historical fiction and non-fiction. Fifty-one books are catalogued through The Patchwork Players in 2026, at 327 pages on median.

Lauraine Snelling is an American author of Christian fiction who has published since 1982. Snelling's historical series draw on Norwegian immigration and the author's own heritage. The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame inducted Snelling in 2012 at Norsk Høstfest, and sales exceed 5 million copies. The catalogue counts 102 books, from Tragedy on the Toutle (1982) to Fair Are the Meadows (2026). Series include Golden Filly, High Hurdles, Red River of the North, Dakota Plains, Daughters of Blessing and Leah's Garden, with horses, pioneer life and North Dakota among the subjects.

William Wallace Johnstone, October 28, 1938 to February 8, 2004, was an American author of westerns, horror and survivalist fiction. The Devil's Kiss opened the run in 1981, followed by The Last of the Dog Team (1981), Out of the Ashes (1983) and Anarchy in the Ashes (1984). Series filed under the name include Ashes, First Mountain Man, Smoke Jensen, Last Gunfighter, Blood Bond and Duff MacCallister, and subjects include outlaws, frontier and pioneer life, revenge and Texas. The catalogue carries 544 titles under the Johnstone name dated 1981 to 2026, well past the 2004 death date, and 400 of them carry a William W. Johnstone credit.

Louisa May Alcott

103 books• 4 series

Alcott wrote novels, short stories and children's fiction, and the catalogue runs to 103 titles, with Little Women, Eight Cousins and Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag among the named sequences. The list starts with The Inheritance (1849) and Flower Fables (1854) and takes in Hospital Sketches (1863), Moods (1864) and Behind a Mask, or a Woman's Power (1866). Young women, social custom and gender roles are the recurring subjects, and the Alcott catalogue is listed as likely complete.

Thomas Wolfe

30 books• 1 series

Look Homeward, Angel (1929) is the first novel of Thomas Wolfe (Thomas Clayton Wolfe, October 3, 1900 to September 15, 1938), an American novelist and short story writer. Wolfe was an early practitioner of autobiographical fiction and ranks with William Faulkner among the key authors of the Southern Renaissance, earning the label North Carolina's most famous writer. Wolfe wrote four long novels plus short stories, novellas and dramatic works. The catalogue holds 30 books, including Of Time and the River (1935) and You Can't Go Home Again (1940), with posthumous editions through 2021.