Local author Thomas J. Ryan wins Gettysburg book award

The Gettysburg Civil War Roundtable Book Award winner for 2016 is Thomas J. Ryan for his book, “Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign,” published by Savas Beatie of California. He was honored at a banquet held Dec. 1.

Ryan, a native of Philadelphia, served three years in the United States Army and then earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Maryland and a master’s degree at American University. Following a career of 35 years in the United States Department of Defense, he lives with his wife in Bethany Beach where he has been very active in his community.

Ryan says, “I am inveterate reader about the Civil War." He has turned this interest into the writing of reviews of Civil War materials, most especially as a member of the book review staff of the Civil War News. His reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, Washington Times, Civil War Monitor Magazine, North and South Magazine, and Middle West Review. He has written for Gettysburg Magazine from 2002 through 2014.

Since 2011, his weekly Civil War Profiles column has been appearing in the Coastal Point, a Delaware newspaper. Ryan is a former president of the Central Delaware Civil War Round Table as well as a longtime member of the Gettysburg Foundation, the Civil War Trust and the Fort Delaware Society.