Why Is Shelby Foote Considered The American Homer?

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(Reddit) Why Is Shelby Foote Considered The American Homer?

Is the civil war a good book, like the illiad? Or does it read like a textbook. (Reddit user updikenstuff)

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It's a three book set that is written less like a textbook and more like a narrative. Foote was a writer as opposed to a classic historian, but he did try (somewhat successfully) to use proper scholarship in his writing. Those three books are a very lengthy read. I couldn't compare them to the Iliad with a straight face. I don't know about the American Homer thing, other than it being Jon Meacham's title for the box sets introduction. (Reddit user PM_Me_Book_Quotes)

Thoughts?