About this project
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THE BOOKS WILL BE DELIVERED IN AUGUST 2013. YOU CAN STILL ORDER A COPY HERE: www.grant-rising.com
You can also sign up for email updates about Lombardy Studios' future book projects here: http://1agames.com/join-email-list/
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We love maps. They are works of art as well as tremendous information sources. Maps are the best medium to portray complex battles – if done properly.
We also love to read history. Unfortunately, too many history books either lack maps altogether, or have too few maps, or the maps presented don't do a good job of conveying critical information. Maps are expensive to produce. That's why some publishers don't include them in their history books.
A history book without maps? Ridiculous. This was our inspiration to do a series of map books that cover the American Civil War. And I (Dana Lombardy) was able to convince Hal Jespersen, a self-taught cartographer who loves maps and the Civil War as much as I do, to work on this project with me.
We hope that you agree that a series like this is needed for anyone who wants to study and really understand the Civil War.
The first of our short "behind the scenes" videos.
The second of our short mini-videos, starring "Grant"!
Grant announces victory – our Kickstarter is funded!
Grant sends President Lincoln sample maps from the upcoming book. (And read the Update comments to learn about two historical errors we caught while making the videos.)
More Than Just An Atlas
We are not making just a map atlas, a collection of maps that cover a wide period of time. The maps in Grant Rising, along with the text written by James Knight, tell a story. As far as we know, no one has ever published maps that show Ulysses S. Grant's early life, his frontier postings after graduation from West Point military academy, or his Mexican War service.
Plus, several of the nearly 50 maps created by Hal cover Grant's lesser known actions during his Civil War career from 1861-1862. These, and his well-known battles at Fort Donelson and Shiloh, are placed in context by strategic maps that include important details such as military department boundaries that are usually ignored in other studies.
But there is so much more to Hal's maps.
Hal used several techniques with his maps to achieve what we think make Grant Rising a truly exceptional book.
What Makes Hal's Maps Different?
- Lavish color with shaded relief topography presents a three-dimensional appearance
- Different shades of the red/blue colors used for the opposing forces helps explain command relationships
- These color tints also help differentiate units on the same map so that the action is easier to understand
We believe that using colors in these ways makes Hal's maps truly unique.
But Wait, That's Not All There Is
Grant Rising also includes several orders-of-battle that present the opposing forces down to regiment/battery in three major battles, color-coded to the forces depicted on the maps.
Hal and Dana tour Fort Donelson and discuss some of the interesting back story of the battle and what went into Hal's maps.
The text is written by James Knight, author of four Civil War books, who received positive reviews for his work from the Blog Civil War Librarian. Jim's concise narrative is complemented by period engravings from Harper's Weekly magazine and several stunning color Civil War paintings by Keith Rocco, one of America's leading military artists: www.keithrocco.com
Hal and Dana next examine Shiloh battlefield and discuss the controversies of the battle.
Help Launch A New Series Of Amazing Map Books
If Grant Rising succeeds, it will enable us to prepare more titles in this Civil War map series, and hopefully expand into other periods of history as well.
Thank you for your support!
Dana, Hal, and Jim
Risks and challenges
The good news is, all 46 full color maps for Grant Rising are already finished by Hal. One of the three orders-of-battle is done, and all of the text by Jim is written.
We still need to edit the text, add an index, table of contents, etc., and layout the book to prepare it for printing.
From past experience, these things should take about a month to complete, then the printing and binding process could take another 4-6 weeks.
Even with some pre-press and printing delays, Grant Rising should ship within 60 to 90 days after our Kickstarter project closes.
We will keep you informed along the way!
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Funding period
- (32 days)