1. What effect does having many different narrators have on the reader?

2. Why does Fleischman not focus more on the strategy of the battle?

3. Would there not be at least a few heroes in the battle? Does the novella show any?

4. Do the descriptions of disease, lice, and wounded soldiers make the novella too unpleasant to read? Would Bull Run be better or worse without them?

5. Is Fleischman fair to both sides of the conflict, or does he favor one over the other? How can you tell?

6. Does Bull Run change any of your views about the Civil War? Which ones?

7. The Battle of Bull Run was fought in 1861; why should anyone care about it now? Does Fleischman's book help you to care?

8. The only real-life narrator in the novella is General Irvin McDowell.

Why only him? Should Fleischman have included other historical figures as...