The Bonfire

"Prepare to luxuriate in gorgeous prose, first-rate scholarship, and to discover page by page why Atlanta became the city it is today.... This is one of the most important Civil War books in years."---Philip Lee Williams, Michael Shaare Prize-winning author of A Distant Flame

The Bonfire is the epic story of the besieged city and its townspeople, and of how Atlanta came to be the key to the South. The most terrible city siege in American history took place in Atlanta in 1864.

Nothing was quite what it seemed in Civil war Atlanta: Sherman, who made Georgia howl, was as unreconstructed a racist at the end of the war as at the beginning; Union troops and Confederate forces laughed and sang together from opposite ends of the Chattahoochee River before slaughtering each other in the hellacious final conflict; Atlanta's Mayor Calhoun remained a staunch believer in the Union despite waging war against it; and a handful of slaves---like Bob Yancey, who surrendered the city to Sherman's forces alongside the town's leading citizens---exited the war freed of slavery's yoke, and among the wealthiest citizens of a devastated city that would become the engine of the New South. With the compelling, interwoven, and often surprising life stories of a colorful cast of characters, Marc Wortman recreates the age, city, and siege where the Confederacy met its destiny.

"[A] tale of divided loyalties, political intrigue, and tremendous human suffering. Wortman's real talent lies in portraying the life of the city and its residents. His ability to create a deft, rich picture of Atlanta during this tumultuous period is what makes the Bonfire both invaluable history and a gripping read."---Michael A. Elliott, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Marc Wortman's vivid narrative proves that war is indeed hell."---James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom

"An admirable account of the circumstances leading to the fall of the city."---Winston Groom, Wall Street Journal

"[A] thoughtful work, as vivid and certainly more exact than the movies."---Richmond Times Dispatch

For more information about the author, visit marcwortmanbooks.com