"The Complete Civil War Road Trip Guide" by Michael Weeks

This has been a good year for travelers interested in the Civil War!  Lots of anniversary celebrations going on and all.

I thought I should mention "The Complete Civil War Road Trip Guide" by Michael Weeks now, as I haven't mentioned any books here in a while, AND I really like this one.

First off, this book is huge (nearly 500 pages of various information, ALL relating to the Civil War, and there is no filler).  It is broken in to sections geographically, and the author suggests how to approach that given area as a traveler, suggesting where to start and end on a trip through that region.

I think many might use this as more of a reference guide for a trip through an area.  For example, I doubt I would ever plan an entire week long vacation around Civil War locations, but I do enjoy seeing some of the sites associated with it when I am on the road.  So the next time I am in Memphis for a Redbirds game or at the Civil Right Museum, I can check out Michael Weeks' section on The Middle Mississippi Valley to see what Civil War sites I might want to see too.  AND there are suggestions about places to stay (like historic B&Bs) that have a direct connection to the conflict.

I really admire the authors attitude about travelling.  He mentions in the book that his main purpose for writing it is to increase the amount of visitation to the various battlefields, homes and museums.  He asks the reader to make sure that they spend a few dollars in the area, and to mention to the locals why they are there.  He wants people to know that preserving these sites is great for the local economy.

I personally wanted one well researched volume about traveling to spots associated with the Civil War.  I wanted information on everything from the National Parks, down to the mostly neglected obscure sites.  "The Complete Civil War Road Trip Guide" covers them all.

Michael Weeks gives all of the details you need about an area (he lets you know if finding a hotel in an area might be tough).  He lets you know about museum hours, fees, etc.  He gives the basics about the battles and the key players too, so this is really a VERY complete Civil War book in general.

I spent several evenings going through this one, and taking notes about sites that I might want to see later.  As I went through the book, I realized that there was nothing about it that I would change.  This is the perfect, must have book for any Civil War traveler.