Of the many books in my collection on the Civil War, this is still my favorite.

A detailed, easy to follow narrative of the battle. I spent a day on this battlefield and because of this book I was able to completely visualize the battle and where the units and key events were.

The maps are detailed enough that I have build any good wargame scenarios from this book.

Bring your own set of maps to augment what this book offers.

I knew Stones River only by name from our family history. No Better Place to Die is a thorough but sometimes technically difficult discussion of the battle. It has been very helpful in my research and will be a great book for someone with an intense interest in this battle and its key players. I found it less clear in terms of its maps even though I had walked the field just before I started reading it. Not a good choice for the Civil War novice, but a good text for those already practiced in the military language of the war.

Cozzens' book is a fine, detailed account of the Battle of Stones River. While it didn't gain a decisive victory, at least Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland didn't lose the battle, and that provided a significant success in the winter of 1862-1863 when all other Union armies faced defeat or stalemate. There are not many books available on this battle, and Cozzens' book is the standard account of this often-overlooked clash in central Tennessee.

A very detailed account of a lesser known yet important battle. I enjoyed the first third of the book detailing the lead up to the the battle. Once the book moved into the battle, it sometimes bogged down in too many details, and making it a slog to get through at points. I also wish the maps were more plentiful and better drawn as this would have helped the reading experience immensely.

Overall though, a very enjoyable and interesting read.

This was an interesting look at a civil war battle that I knew nothing about. Another case of poor leadership and failing to take advantage of opportunities that would have made a difference in the battle and the war.

I appears to be a fairly balanced look at both armies and what they did well and the many mistakes both side made.

Very thorough account of Stones River Battle. A little dry but quite detailed. Told from a military point of view.

Excellent research and presentation. Keep your finger on the included maps. They help make sense of the sometimes fast moving battle action.

This is a straightforward and workman-like account of a short and simple campaign. Offered perfect reading before visiting what’s left of the battlefield

Stones River strikes me in many ways as the Gettysburg of the western theater:

-rebel attacks have initial success but the federals retreat to a defensive position with strong interior lines anchored around their supply line

-the central action involves a surprise rebel flank attack and a determined federal stand to buy time for a new line to be formed

-a reluctant rebel corps commander is ordered on the last day to make a doomed assault he knows will fail

-northern hype over a very bloody defensive victory with little real strategic significance won by a mediocre federal commander

Solid account of this pivotal, relatively less well-known battle in central Tennessee. Had a chance to briefly visit the Stone's River National Battlefield a few weeks ago and picked this up there. Had just read Cozzen's account of Chickamauga a month or two back, so this preceded it and was one of the few mid-winter major battles (Dec. 31-Jan. 2, 1862-63). Biggest quibble is the maps which are sub-par, but it is well written and generally coherent. All these CW battle books suffer from the confusion of the actions themselves and it always makes hard reading--the awful wounds and seemingly idiotic frontal assaults. Stone's River (aka Murfreesboro) does not let down in that department. The poor South makes repeated attacks into the teeth of Union artillery positions and although having some early success due to surprise, the results are predictable. You can almost sense how seductive it was, the lure of a 'breakthrough' and a decisive victory. Yet being on the defense in the CW was almost always a better place to be and Stone's River was no exception. Union artillery seemed to be the decisive factor, they had more of it and many more chances to use it. He does not say how many artillery pieces they had but I counted 31 batteries of (6 guns each) in the OOB to 25 (4 guns) for the South and rare is the account of CSA artillery doing much while USA batteries were crucial in repulsing numerous assaults in the narrative. The other big takeaway was my continuing education on just how bad Braxton Bragg was as a general (and person). Being mostly Eastern-centric he was always stage left, but his actions on closer study are one of the major reasons the South lost. Contrasting Rosecrans and Bragg at Stone's River and is just another shining example of that. He may have been the worst major Army general in the entire CW, certainly ranks in the top 5.

Solid book on the often overlooked battle of Stones River. Author does a heart job of setting the scene prior to and after the battle. It could benefit from more maps, but plenty are provided throughout.

I gave up on this book in the second chapter. The author writes about some guy named Bragg and some guy named Rosecrans. The author doesn’t really come right and say which side of the Civil War either is fighting for. He just writes about how these two men behave by pulling from his research resources. The writing is convoluted and confusing, and after I was getting a headache from trying to figure it all out, I gave up. There are better authors on the Civil War out there, but I had hoped to learn something about the Stones River Battle before I actually traveled there.
This author is also a southerner which may account for his bias against people from northern states. He writes about the northern characters in a negative light.