Waiting For The Morning Train

An American Boyhood

Bruce Catton, whose name is identified with Civil War history, grew up in Benzonia, Michigan, probably the only town within two hundred miles, he says, not founded to cash in on the lumber boom. In this memoir, Catton remembers his youth, his family, his home town, and his coming of age.

With nostalgia, warmth, and humor, Catton recalls it all with a wealth of detail: the logging industry and its tremendous effect on the face of the state, the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic who first sparked his interest in the Civil War, the overnight train trips on long-gone "sleepers," the days of great resort hotels, and fishing in once clear lakes.

Although he writes of a time and place that are no more, his observations have implications that both underline the past and touch the future.
Bruce Catton was born in Petoskey, Michigan, in 1899. A United States journalist and writer, Catton was one of America’s most popular Civil War historians. He worked as a newspaperman in Boston, Cleveland, and Washington, and also held a position at the US Department of Commerce in 1948. Catton’s bestselling book, A Stillness at Appomattox, earned him a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award in 1954. Before his death in 1978, Catton wrote a total of 10 books detailing the Civil War. View titles by Bruce Catton

About

Bruce Catton, whose name is identified with Civil War history, grew up in Benzonia, Michigan, probably the only town within two hundred miles, he says, not founded to cash in on the lumber boom. In this memoir, Catton remembers his youth, his family, his home town, and his coming of age.

With nostalgia, warmth, and humor, Catton recalls it all with a wealth of detail: the logging industry and its tremendous effect on the face of the state, the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic who first sparked his interest in the Civil War, the overnight train trips on long-gone "sleepers," the days of great resort hotels, and fishing in once clear lakes.

Although he writes of a time and place that are no more, his observations have implications that both underline the past and touch the future.

Author

Bruce Catton was born in Petoskey, Michigan, in 1899. A United States journalist and writer, Catton was one of America’s most popular Civil War historians. He worked as a newspaperman in Boston, Cleveland, and Washington, and also held a position at the US Department of Commerce in 1948. Catton’s bestselling book, A Stillness at Appomattox, earned him a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award in 1954. Before his death in 1978, Catton wrote a total of 10 books detailing the Civil War. View titles by Bruce Catton