This is for all of you history buffs out there. Craig von Buseck loves, reads, and writes historical books (fiction and non!). If you’ve been waiting for me to feature Civil War-era literature, today’s your day (though there’s some good non-Civil War stuff mentioned too). Keep reading t find out more:

Thank you so much for being here today (even though it’s April Fool’s Day). What was your favorite picture book as a child? What did you love about it?

Andrew Henry’s Meadow, by Doris Burn. I liked it at first simply because it was a scholastic book that I was able to choose myself – a thrill at that age. I fell in love with the story of this young, misunderstood inventor. His purpose was to help, but his inventions were often seen as a nuisance by his family. In frustration, Andrew packs up his tools and moves into the woods where he finds a meadow to build homes for himself and other misunderstood kids from town. The families finally realize that they haven’t appreciated the talents of their children and so they do a massive search until they are reunited. In a joyful ending, Andrew Henry is given a corner of the basement and his family enjoys watching what he will invent next.

What was the first book you read that you couldn’t put down?

I was mesmerized by the melding of the natural and spiritual worlds in Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness. I had been raised to believe in the reality of good and evil, the natural and the spiritual, and angels and demons, so it was fascinating to see those things come to life in this wonderful novel.

What was the last book you read that you couldn’t put down?

I had first become intrigued by the story of the last two years in the life of Ulysses S. Grant while watching Ken Burns’ groundbreaking documentary, The Civil War. Over the years I traveled to multiple Civil War battlegrounds and museums. I read numerous books about the war and about U.S. Grant. After the success of the Broadway show Hamilton, based on the book by Ron Chernow, there was a buzz about a new book he had written on Grant. I bought the book and couldn’t put it down. From there I went on to read more than 20 books on Grant’s life and then wrote my latest biography on his final two years, Victor! The Final Battle of Ulysses S. Grant (LPC Books/Iron Stream Media).

If you could visit any fictional place, where would you go? Why?

My children and I shared a love for The Lord of the Rings books and movies. I would love to travel to Middle Earth to see all the places the characters visited – from the Shire, to Bree, to Rivendell, Rohan, and Gondor. That would be a truly magical vacation!

If you could turn any book into a movie (yours or someone else’s), which would you pick? Who would you cast as the main characters?

My son, Aaron, and I have been working on a film adaptation of my book, Victor! I believe the tale of Grant fighting back from bankruptcy and racing against death from throat cancer to write his memoirs and restore his family’s financial stability is one of the most heroic and inspiring true stories in American history.  Here are my choices for some of the main characters:

Ulysses S. Grant: Viggo Mortensen
Mark Twain: Mark Ruffalo
Julia Grant: Patricia Heaton
Fred Grant: Paul Dano
Buck Grant: Micael Angarano
Ferdinand Ward: Elijah Wood
General William T. Sherman: Bryan Cranston
President Abraham Lincoln: C. Thomas Howell
Mary Lincoln: Ally Sheedy
Jesse Grant: Dane DeHaan
Nellie Grant: Ashley Bratcher
General Horace Porter: Josh Lucas

Who’s your favorite author?

While I admire several writers, if I had to choose a favorite it would be David McCullough, author of such books as John Adams, 1776, The Wright Brothers, and his Pulitzer Prize winning biography, Truman. I admire his narrative style and have adopted some of his story-telling techniques in my own writing. I also appreciate the choices he has made in choosing his subjects. Having followed his career and watched documentaries on his life, I am also a fan of his writing methods. He has a writing cottage at the far end of is property on Martha’s Vineyard. That cottage is separated from the main property by a short brick wall with a gate. Only David and his wife are allowed past that gate. I look forward to having a similar writing space in the future – right now, my main writing space is my camper, which works nicely for the time-being.

Honorable mentions include Doris Kearns Goodwin, C.S. Lewis, David Teems, Frank Peretti, Ron Chernow, Ken Gire, Jamie Buckingham, Jeff Shaara, and Max Lucado.

Share five books from your TBR (to be read) pile.

Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo – I am doing preliminary research for a book on the fight for Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg. The book will focus on one of the lesser known heroes of that struggle, Strong Vincent.

The Chosen by Jerry Jenkins – I recently experienced a true encounter with God when I binge-watched the entire first season of The Chosen TV show. I expect a similar experience with Jesus when I read The Chosen by Jerry Jenkins.

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow – the book that inspired the musical. I look forward to reading it.

After Anatevka: A Novel Inspired by Fiddler on the Roof’ by Alexandria Silber – My family loves musicals and I have always been a fan of Fiddler on the Roof. My daughter, Margo, bought me this book and I look forward to following the continuing story of Tevye, Golda, and their family.

John Adams by David McCullough – I also own McCullough’s 1776 in a special collector’s edition, so I plan to read both books. There are so many of McCullough’s books that I’d like to read, but these are the two currently on my bookshelves.

The Civil War: A Narrative (books one through three) – It took author Shelby Foote twenty years to write the three-volume narrative of The Civil War. I hope to read the books in much less time.

Dr. Craig von Buseck is an award-winning author and the Managing Editor of Inspiration.org. Watch for his new book, Victor! The Final Battle of Ulysses S. Grant. Learn more at vonbuseck.com.