Book Description
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom and the New York Times bestseller Crossroads of Freedom, among many other award-winning books, James M. McPherson is America's preeminent Civil War historian. Now, in this collection of provocative and illuminating essays, McPherson offers fresh insight into many of the most enduring questions about one of the defining moments in our nation's history. McPherson sheds light on topics large and small, from the average soldier's avid love of newspapers to the postwar creation of the mystique of a Lost Cause in the South. Readers will find insightful pieces on such intriguing figures as Harriet Tubman, John Brown, Jesse James, and William Tecumseh Sherman, and on such vital issues such as Confederate military strategy, the failure of peace negotiations to end the war, and the realities and myths of the Confederacy. This Mighty Scourge includes several never-before-published essays--pieces on General Robert E. Lee's goals in the Gettysburg campaign, on Lincoln and Grant in the Vicksburg campaign, and on Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief. In that capacity, Lincoln invented the concept of presidential war powers that are again at the center of controversy today. All of the essays have been updated and revised to give the volume greater thematic coherence and continuity, so that it can be read in sequence as an interpretive history of the war and its meaning for America and the world. Combining the finest scholarship with luminous prose, and packed with new information and fresh ideas, this book brings together the most recent thinking by the nation's leading authority on the Civil War. It will be must reading for everyone interested in the war and American history. "James McPherson is the master historian of the Civil War in our time." --Gabor Borritt, Director, Civil War Institute, Gettysburg College "Not merely is McPherson the leading living historian of the Civil War, but he is a scholar whose knowledge and authority are unsurpassed; when McPherson speaks, even in a minor key, people listen." --Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post
Customer Reviews:
Citizen Soldiers.......2007-09-22
The Forgotten Cause of the Civil War: A New Look at the Slavery Issue
I was very impressed with the way Union soldiers debated the issue of slavery in their letters (Slavery was not a controversy in the slave states, so no comparable debate took place among Confederate soldiers). Few Americans are also aware that Union soldiers' experience with confronting slavery in the South provided essential support for emancipation.
it is unprofessional to mix social activism and history.......2007-08-09
Instead of giving us a balanced study showing the foibles and positives of both sides, we are given this pro-Northern dribble. McPherson has a made career of distorting history to suit his social agenda, That puts him the same class as Howard Zinn and Eric Foner.
A Reader's Delight - Except for the UDC and the SCV! .......2007-08-05
With 'This Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War' James McPherson demonstrates once again why he is America's foremost Civil War historian. McPherson serves up sixteen essays for your delectation (most of which have been previously published elsewhere).
McPherson arranges his essays around several themes: What caused the war? What were the goals of each side? What strategies did the leaders pursue? And how is the war remembered?
McPherson's genius lies in his ability to synthesize perspectives of value to any reader, but especially the general reader with some knowledge of the war. Many of the essays analyze recent scholarship with McPherson's encyclopedic knowledge and understanding gained from years of study. This reader especially appreciates McPherson's even-handed dispassionate scholarship in a still field laced with emotional landmines despite the passage of nearly 150 years.
Despite all that has been written, McPherson remains remarkably able to bring fresh insight. One essay ('Long-Legged Yankee Lies: The Lost Cause Textbook Crusade') examines the extraordinary efforts by Confederate loyalists to distort the war's history and its teaching, especially in Southern schools. No doubt that gets the goat of the SCV (Sons of Confederate Veterans) and the UDC (United Daughters of the Confederacy), but they don't like him anyway.
An earlier essay ('And the War Came') establishes beyond cavil that the institution of slavery and the interests behind it were the cause of the war. In other essays McPherson examines the relative merits of Grant, Lee, and Sherman and whether the South was foreordained to lose the war due to the imbalance of resources.
I am not a Civil War historian, but I can't imagine that even the most learned professor would not benefit from McPherson's wonderfully distilled insights. I've read a number of McPherson's other works and rank this book at the top. McPherson's sparkling prose and easy clarity made reading 'This Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War' a rare pleasure.
Mighty Interesting.......2007-06-12
This is a fine series of essays and book reviews by the author of Battle Cry of Freedom, the best single volume on the Civil War. McPherson is a passonate and lively writer, full of interesting facts and angles on the War.
I would not, however, recommend this particular book for the Civil War neophyte, as it assumes a fair amount of prior knowledge. If your new to the subject, read Battle Cry of Freedom or any of a number of other comprehensive histories before moving on to this book.
Some of the topics:
Slavery as the the main cause of the War.
Harriet Tubman and John Brown.
Confederate war strategy-offense or defense?
Antietam as the death knell for British and French recognition of the Confederacy.
Lee's goals in Gettysberg campaign.
Jesse James' post-war motivations.
Southern censorship of history textbooks inconsistent with the "Lost Cause."
Grant and Sherman.
The North's transition from restraint to total war.
Copperhead newspapers.
Peace negotiations.
Herndon on Lincoln.
Lincoln's exercise of war powers.
The tension between war powers and civil liberties is addressed in the last topic. After a military commission jailed Clement Vallandigham for "disloyal sentiments and opinions" at a crucial stage of the War, the Copperheads howled about free speech, trial by jury, and habeas corpus. Lincoln's famous response: "Must I shoot a simpleminded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch the hair of a wily agitator who induces him to desert?"
Excellent in every way..........2007-05-22
Prof. McPherson is, in my opinion, the dean of Civil War historians, a well-earned complement. This collection of essays is up to his usual high standards. They are thoughtful, persuasively argued and well-written. Whether one is new to CW scholarship or has read hundreds of titles, this should not be missed.
Book Description
A century after Appomattox, the civil rights movement won full citizenship for black Americans in the South. It should not have been necessary: by 1870 those rights were set in the Constitution. This is the story of the terrorist campaign that took them away.
Nicholas Lemann opens his extraordinary new book with a riveting account of the horrific events of Easter 1873 in Colfax, Louisiana, where a white militia of Confederate veterans-turned-vigilantes attacked the black community there and massacred hundreds of people in a gruesome killing spree. This was the start of an insurgency that changed the course of American history: for the next few years white Southern Democrats waged a campaign of political terrorism aiming to overturn the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and challenge President Grant’ssupport for the emergent structures of black political power. The remorseless strategy of well-financed “White Line” organizations was to create chaos and keep blacks from voting out of fear for their lives and livelihoods. Redemption is the first book to describe in uncompromising detail this organized racial violence, which reached its apogee in Mississippi in 1875.
Lemann bases his devastating account on a wealth of military records, congressional investigations, memoirs, press reports, and the invaluable papers of Adelbert Ames, the war hero from Maine who was Mississippi’s governor at the time. When Ames pleaded with Grant for federal troops who could thwart the white terrorists violently disrupting Republican political activities, Grant wavered, and the result was a bloody, corrupt election in which Mississippi was
“redeemed”—that is, returned to white control.
Redemption makes clear that this is what led to the death of Reconstruction—and of the rights encoded in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. We are still living with the consequences.
Customer Reviews:
A Needed Corrective.......2007-04-11
Nicholas Lemann's book "Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War," focuses on mostly forgotten and often sanitized versions of specific incidents that marked the end of Reconstruction and the regaining by White Southerns of state and local government institutions leading to Jim Crow and Segregation that continued for another 90 years or so. The book, relatively brief, examines in detail several incidents, one in Lousiana, the others in Mississippi where local vigalante groups seized control from local black officials through intimidation and massacres. It is perhaps not coincidential that the worst offenses took place in Mississippi, and perhaps some sort of rough justice that in exchange Mississippi remained for decades afterwards on the lowest rung of the ladder among the states in nearly every social and economic ranking.
Much of the book is through the eyes of one Adelbert Ames, a Union general, senator and governor of Mississippi, as revealed in the copius correspondence with his wife, Blanche Butler, who most of the time remained at home in the North. Because of weariness of the part of the North, insufficient troops, deliberate foot-dragging by US officials sympathetic to the South, and indecisiveness on the part of President Grant, these events from 1874-76 were allowed to precede with little intervention and protection of Black citizens. In effect, the withdrawal of Northern troops in 1877, the result of a compromise that ended the electoral stalemate in the Hayes/Tilden presidential election of 1876, overturned a major achievement of the Civil War, namely full citizenship and voting privileges for former African slaves. The result was another dark stain on American history and our pretenses of a just and equitable society where everyone has the chance to be president.
Because of its brevity, the book suffers from a lack of context of how overall Reconstruction had proceeded in the South, it's weaknesses and its victories. The book also would have been improved through a map, particularly Mississippi and the various places where the rampages of the vigantes took place. Another improvement would have been photographs of the several colorful characters portrayed. But all in all, for a brief look at an important moment in American history, the book is highly recommended.
Last Battle?.......2007-03-14
The subtitle is a little bit of a cheat, for the Civil War was long over by the time the massacres of 1875 began, but after reading Nicholas Lemann's book on the failure of Reconstruction and the life of Civil War General Adelbert Ames, I can see why he decided to bend the truth and capture the huge Civil War market.
he shows how JFK was a patsy to the Southern Conservative myth of Reconstruction and how, in PROFILES IN COURAGE (1956) Kennedy included Lucius Lamar of Mississippi as an avatar of courage, when in actuality he was a liar and a bigot and was personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of Mississippi freedmen. What was JFK thinking? Well, as Lemann points out, this was not an anomaly in Kennedy's otherwise antiracist public profile. Indeed it was part and parcel of his curiously suspect voting record and public stand towards the race question. It was as though, in the polarized 1950s, he had to keep the Southern Democrats happy in order to win their support for the campaign he saw coming his way. PROFILES IN COURAGE dismisses Adelbert Ames, Lemann's (admittedly flawed) hero, as a mere carpetbagger, not worthy of living in Mississippi, a `foreigner' and an Abolitionist. The strange thing is that, he lived so long (at age 98, he was the oldest surviving Civil War officer) his daughter Blanche was on hand to shame Kennedy into agreeing to change future editions of PROFILES. Then her years of disappointment began, for even though Senator, and then President Kennedy, had agreed to re-research Reconstruction, he never did, and when she kept bugging him he enlisted the help of her grandson, "Paper Lion" George Plimpton, to call his honorable kinswoman off his back. Of course all of these people had incredible privilege and wealth.
A needed corrective to the Reconstruction story.......2007-02-24
Having lived in the South for the first 21 years of my life, I can attest to the staying power of the myths of Reconstruction and the succeeding era which I was taught to call Redemption.
The central motif of these myths is that of courageous, heroic whites finally standing up to a brutal Northern occupation, but turning to violence only when physically threatened.
Some prominent historians -- Eric Foner in particular -- have been forthright and comprehensive in setting out the true facts. In my readings, there have been two aspects still missing from such large-scale works. First of all, a visceral, detailed accounting of the intensity of white-on-black violence has been needed. Second, we have lacked a nuanced, detailed biography of Adelbert Ames, perhaps the best exemplar of the promise interracial cooperation held for the South.
In "Redemption", journalist Nicholas Lemann makes an attempt to remedy both these insufficiencies in a narrative aimed at the non-specialist reader. Instead of giving us a comprehensive study of how integrated southern state governments were driven from power, Lemann chooses instead to focus primarily on the single example of Mississippi, with some inclusion of parallel events in neighboring Louisiana. And the story of Reconstruction Mississippi cannot successfully be understood without considering the career of New Englander Adelbert Ames, a Union veteran who became first the state's senator and then governor during this period.
Lemann recounts instance upon instance of politically-inspired and deadly violence that steadily drove Republican voters, especially blacks, from the polls. While many leading white Democrats maintained deniability and claimed that such attacks were rare and always provoked by the other side, and while President Grant's commitment to federal protection decisively waned, Governor Ames cast off his naivete and tried to counter with what forces he could muster. But without timely federal intervention, this proved an impossible task. Ames was finally forced to face facts, and he resigned the governorship and left the state for good. The Solid South was born with violence as midwife.
Lemann's choices mean that he needs to do three things well. First, with respect to bringing home the intensity, pervasiveness, and comprehensive effects of the violence, Lemann is especially convincing, at least within Mississippi (and to a less significant extent Louisiana). Second, his incorporation of an Ames biography is in itself valuable and multi-faceted. But it doesn't serve as a full-fledged biography due to the author's chronological boundaries. We do learn of Ames' background and his significant relationships with others, most notably his wife and father-in-law; these are important in understanding Ames' behavior in Mississippi. But for Ames' life after Mississippi, Lemann takes only a cursory wrap-up approach.
Finally, we should expect Lemann to do a convincing job of integrating these two intersecting narratives. In this he is largely successful. But there are moments when his attention to the details of Ames' life, while welcome to this reader, may yet seem only remotely relevant to the larger story of the Redemption era.
In 1933 Adelbert Ames became the last Civil War officer to die. The myths of Redemption have lived on long after, and Lemann's book is a significant contribution to puncturing those myths and establishing the truth.
Mississippi Burning.......2007-02-09
This is a story on how government failed, how the civil rights of freed slaves and blacks became a political playground of hate and deceit and how victory on the battlefield was lost to thugs & cowards. It clearly shows how history can be manipulated by the criminals who ushered in a sordid era of Jim Crow laws while others looked away.
Author Nicholas Lemann does a magnificent job in detailing the death of Reconstruction through white terrorism in Mississippi in the 1870s, which emboldened the white racists throughout the south to institute what became known as the "Mississippi Plan" of intimidation and murder to seize power in every government institution and to kick blacks back into servitude.
The heroes are the victims - the blacks and some white Republicans - who boldly stood alone while the mobs seized control in a revolution of aversion, and then afterwards wrote the articles and books, whose key lies are still being taught as factual history today.
You will be angered as Lemann explains as a reporter how Reconstruction was lost. But then look around, and realize that the subtitle, The Last Battle of the Civil War, may be incorrect. Unless this country confronts the harsh realities of the past, the last battle of the Civil War has yet to be fought, or won.
America's Own Terrorists.......2007-02-04
In this short historical account, Nicholas Lemann tells the disturbing story of how ex-confederates in Mississippi brought about the end of Reconstruction in 1875 through an orchestrated campaign of savagery and deception.
The "Mississippi Plan" employed an ugly and brutal pattern: when freed slaves attempted to exercise their political rights--by convening political rallies, becoming candidates for office or simply trying to vote--southern whites responded with hellish violence, not merely fighting the freed slaves, but coldly murdering them in front of friends or family or, worse, hunting them down if they fled.
To justify their heinous conduct, the whites invented an emotionally laden cover story that, to this very day, resonates among the American public. In their view, the violence was necessary to forestall imminent "Negro uprisings," prevent rape and pillage by brutish and bestial blacks, and redeem the honor of the south from the depredation of northern carpetbaggers who seized control of the political system by duping or bribing the newly freed slaves.
The key to the Mississippi Plan was the public relations tactic of presenting the organized slaughter of blacks as random local incidents, a tactic that discouraged President Grant from sending federal troops to secure the rights of the newly enfranchised citizens. Absent this safeguard, the intimidation worked, and the Democrats won control of key offices, despite significant Republican majorities among registered or potential voters. With the outcome of the presidential election of 1876 in dispute, the nation embraced the "Compromise of 1877" in which the Democrats agreed to let Rutherford Hayes become president and the Republicans agreed to the removal of the remaining federal troops from the South. Reconstruction was over.
Much of this tale is told through the eyes of Adelbert Ames, a Northerner and celebrated Union Army general who was elected Governor of Mississippi by the multitude of new black voters. Sometimes the book reads like a biography of Ames. Only at the end does Lemann step back from the detailed account and provide the larger picture of how the "Mississippi Plan" became the blueprint for the entire Southern strategy to end Reconstruction and how the nation shamefully abandoned its commitment to true citizenship for blacks.
As I read "Redemption," a profound sense of disgust and outrage rose within me. So horrific, repulsive, and needless was the conduct of the Southern Democrats that, at times, I felt Lemann must have been omitting facts that would have balanced the story. But this is precisely Lemann's point: when Southerners today celebrate the honor and courage of Dixie, they are endorsing a fiction that was invented in 1875. There was no honor, only terror of helpless black victims.
Book Description
On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang of counterfeiters out of Chicago attempted to steal the entombed embalmed body of Abraham Lincoln and hold it for ransom. The custodian of the tomb was so shaken by the incident that he willingly dedicated the rest of his life to protecting the president's corpse.
In a lively and dramatic narrative, Thomas J. Craughwell returns to this bizarre, and largely forgotten, event with the first book to place the grave robbery in historical context. He takes us through the planning and execution of the crime and the outcome of the investigation. He describes the reactions of Mary Todd Lincoln and Robert Todd Lincoln to the theft--and the peculiar silence of a nation. He follows the unlikely tale of what happened to Lincoln's remains after the attempted robbery, and details the plan devised by the Lincoln Guard of Honor to prevent a similar abominable recurrence.
Along the way, Craughwell offers entertaining sidelights on the rise of counterfeiting in America and the establishment of the Secret Service to combat it; the prevalence of grave robberies; the art of nineteenth-century embalming; and the emergence among Irish immigrants of an ambitious middle class--and a criminal underclass.
This rousing story of hapless con men, intrepid federal agents, and ordinary Springfield citizens who honored their native son by keeping a valuable, burdensome secret for decades offers a riveting glimpse into late-nineteenth-century America, and underscores that truth really is sometimes stranger than fiction.
Customer Reviews:
I'm off to Springfield..........2007-09-21
A must read before your next tour to Springfield, IL and I apologize to all my grade school teachers for rolling my eyes during those trips. This has got to be one of the most intriguing series of historical data I have ever read. Craughwell will place you squarely in the middle of it all.
wonderful book.......2007-07-22
The box was full of ants. They spilled out when I opened the box. It was really creepy.
Love This Book!.......2007-07-16
I had just finished American Brutus and was hungry for more on the subject when I came across this charming and extremely well told narrative of the plot to steal Lincoln's body. Mr. Craughwell has a pitch perfect ear, capturing both the tragedy of the assassination and the rollicking comedy of a young country where enterprise and illegality often overlapped. Counterfeit wampum, the tricks of the embalming trade, the excesses of tabloid journalism...this is the kind of book that gets you hooked on history for life and delights those of us who got hooked so many years ago.
Thomas Craughwell exhumes a bizarre and long forgotten episode in our nations history........2007-07-16
It was an incident that I had never heard of or read about anywhere. Indeed, when I asked about a dozen friends and relatives not one of them had ever heard about it either. On Election Night 1876 Terrence Mullen and Jack Hughes attempted to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln from the sarcophagus inside the Lincoln Monument at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Il. It was all part of a bizarre plot concocted by a two-bit counterfeiter known as Big Jim Kennally. "Stealing Lincoln's Body" recalls this somewhat obscure tidbit of history. This is a fascinating tale that will go a long way to help the reader understand just what was going on in these United States back in 1876 and in the years that followed.
Perhaps the most important fact that you will come across in "Stealing Lincoln's Body" is that in 1876 nearly half of the money in circulation was counterfeit. I found this to be absolutely incredible! This was a serious problem that was wreaking havoc with the nation's economy as we attempted to bounce back from the Civil War. One of the most accomplished counterfeiters of that era was a man named Benjamin Boyd who hailed from Cincinnati, OH which at that time was recognized as the counterfeit capitol of the nation. It was his arrest and incarceration in October, 1875 that would eventually lead to the plot to steal the body of President Lincoln.
"Stealing Lincoln's Body" reveals the intimate details of how the plot to steal the President's body and hold it for ransom was hatched. You will be introduced to Elmer Washburn, chief of the Secret Service and to detective Patrick Tyrrell who were both instrumental in foiling the plot to steal Lincoln's body. And you will meet John Carroll Power, the custodian of the Lincoln Monument and the group of men who were part of a secret society that would come to be known as "The Lincoln Guard of Honor". In addition, you will discover the fascinating secret about the actual whereabouts of President Lincoln's body in the years following the attempt to steal it. You will also learn a bit about what was going on in the very sad life of Abraham Lincoln's widow Mary. She would never get over the assasination of her husband. In addition, you will gain some new insights into the life of the Lincoln's only surviving son Robert Todd Lincoln. Robert would have to be classified as somewhat of an enigma and his life certainly would take any number of strange twists and turns along the way.
I found "Stealing Lincoln's Body" to be an extremely engrossing read. I also would be remiss if I failed to mention the 20 pages of photographs included here that really seemed to bring these events to life for me. Thomas Craughwell has done a fine job of bringing to light an important piece of American history. Recommended!
One of the best!!.......2007-07-09
One of the best history books I've read in a long time! Some fascinating and little known facts. Couldn't put it down!
Book Description
Written by a leading Civil War historian and Pulitzer Prize winner, this text describes the social, economic, political, and ideological conflicts that led to a unique, tragic, and transitional event in American history. The third edition incorporates recent scholarship and addresses renewed areas of interest in the Civil War/Reconstruction era including the motivations and experiences of common soldiers and the role of women in the war effort.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Civil War reference - Brilliant narrative.......2006-09-24
Ordeal by Fire is an excellent reference for anyone studying the Civil War. James McPherson has a brilliant narrative style that makes his work a pleasure to read, and easy to comprehend. This is a must-read book for anyone studying the civil war. It is also a good reference for the Reconstruction era.
Excellent Civil War Depiction.......2005-09-21
Ordeal By Fire has been an excellent source so far of what caused America to enter into a full scale Civil War
Brilliant!.......2005-03-23
Insightful, and comprehensive. I bought this book in order to study for a DSST exam on the Civil War. I find myself going back to it now just for the joy of reading it. By the way, the book does a super job of getting you ready for the exam.
Second to None.......2004-02-15
McPherson's work here is quite comprehensive, notwithstanding The Battle Cry of Freedom, and quite detailed which makes it exactly the right text of choice for a Civil War classroom. The maps, charts, and photographs show without crowding the material the nature of the battles and campaigns the Union and Confederacy fought against each other. The photographs include gems that drive the ravaging, taxing, bloody hell of war home to readers. One cannot help but be shocked by the photograph on page 490 or many of the others depicting the horrors of war. That is one of many reasons that make this a book worth reading. Also worth mentioning is the meticulous amount of information and the methods by which it is organized. McPherson's text is mainly digested details of the war as he rarely refers the reader to other sources. There is an excellent organization to the text that makes it second to none.
Outstanding textbook.......2003-10-14
While the general reader or Civil War buff might enjoy McPherson's popular "Battle Cry of Freedom," this book in a first rate textbook on the Civil War. McPherson spends ample time exploring the causes of war: the disputes over slavery in the territories, the attempts at compromise, and finally the start of the war itself. His military analysis of various battles is suscinct but comprehensive: satisfying to the military history buff, but not confusing to the lay reader.
Most importantly, McPherson incorporates a lengthy discussion of Reconstruction into the book (an element missing in "Battle Cry of Freedom"), thus describing the crucial aftermath of the war.
Amazon.com
Published in 1988 to universal acclaim, this single-volume treatment of the Civil War quickly became recognized as the new standard in its field. James M. McPherson, who won the Pulitzer Prize for this book, impressively combines a brisk writing style with an admirable thoroughness. He covers the military aspects of the war in all of the necessary detail, and also provides a helpful framework describing the complex economic, political, and social forces behind the conflict. Perhaps more than any other book, this one belongs on the bookshelf of every Civil War buff.
Book Description
Filled with fresh interpretations and information, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, Battle Cry of Freedom will unquestionably become the standard one-volume history of the Civil War. James McPherson's fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomattox. Packed with drama and analytical insight, the book vividly recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the Civil War--the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry--and then moves into a masterful chronicle of the war itself--the battles, the strategic maneuvering on both sides, the politics, and the personalities. Particularly notable are McPherson's new views on such matters as the slavery expansion issue in the 1850s, the origins of the Republican Party, the causes of secession, internal dissent and anti-war opposition in the North and the South, and the reasons for the Union's victory. The book's title refers to the sentiments that informed both the Northern and Southern views of the conflict: the South seceded in the name of that freedom of self-determination and self-government for which their fathers had fought in 1776, while the North stood fast in defense of the Union founded by those fathers as the bulwark of American liberty. Eventually, the North had to grapple with the underlying cause of the war--slavery--and adopt a policy of emancipation as a second war aim. This "new birth of freedom," as Lincoln called it, constitutes the proudest legacy of America's bloodiest conflict. This authoritative volume makes sense of that vast and confusing "second American Revolution" we call the Civil War, a war that transformed a nation and expanded our heritage of liberty.
Customer Reviews:
Too much, too small.......2007-09-19
First, prior to reading "Battle Cry for Freedom", I read "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin which encompassed the political aspect of the era. "Team of Rivals" was one of the best books I have read in a while which made "Battle Cry of Freedom" pail in comparison. My saving hope was "Battle Cry of Freedom" would cover more of the war aspect which is done, sort of.
The beauty of this books is its scope in which it covers the war, the politics, daily lifestyles, North and South (I think its focused more on the Union), the economics, the issues and leaders of the era (1850's to 60's). It truly is comprehensive in terms of it being a single volume. To that point, simply the vast amount of information is crammed into the book and much detail is left out. For example, less than 40 pages (out of approx 850 pages) are dedicated to the closing year of the war when Grant took over command of the entire army. Numerous major battles and campaigns took place where a lot of detail was not allotted. I felt the author rushed through this part especially since it being a climatic part of the war. Another example is the assaination of Lincoln (and atteps of cabinet embers) was limited to one paragraph in the approx. 8 page epilogue. So with the ending of the war, the book ended just as abruptly. The book itself was all bones and very little meat. In this respect, this is a good book for one who would like a light, general background on the Civil War and the era. But for those who are truly interested in this American War and the politics, I find there are far better books and one book simply will not suffice.
The book read more or less like a text book (dry) vs. a good novel. There was a review in which someone said "every hear of a movie in which everyone was saying how great a film it was but when you watched it, you scratched your head wondering if you didn't get it cause it wasn't that good to justify the rave over it?" Well my sentiments exactly. This book gets high praise but I failed to see why it was so good. I contemplated putting it down numerous times and being satisfied with reading "Team of Rivals" for the politics and Shelby Foote's trilogy (for the war itself). But I persevered. I did learn a lot for this book, do not get me wrong. But it was a chore to remain interested with the author's style and drudge forward reading on. I probably would not recommend it to a friend but rather the Kern's or Foote's books instead.
Superb account of the civil war!.......2007-08-13
Having read about a quarter into the book so far, I find it a gripping account of the affairs leading up to the American Civil War and the war itself. Being a European I didn't know much about this era of American history (and I'm only beginning to scratch the surface of it!) but it gives a superb insight in what made this war happen and how it progressed. Every aspect of that time is covered: social, economic, political and judicial (my personal favorite) events that shaped the history of the first three quarters of 19th century America. I think this book will be a valuable addition to any one's library who's interested in Amercian history and politics, not just the civil war itself, even though that is of course the main theme of this book. A definite must-buy!
Best 1 Volume History of the War.......2007-08-03
This is simply the best single volume history of the Civil War Era in existence. The book flows exceptionally well, reading almost like a good fiction story rather than nonfiction. Grossly entertaining yet informative, treatment and coverage of the period is pretty well balanced. Although I disagree with McPherson's analysis that a Northern Political Revolution started the war or his contingency theory that at several key instances, had events unfolded differently, the outcome of the south would have been successful in her attempt at permanent disunion. However, it is still the best, and still my favorite one volume history of the era.
Finest book on the Civil War.......2007-07-30
As has been said here before: If you only read one book on the history of the Civil War, make it this book! I never expected such a comprehensive and detailed survey of the political, social and economic forces at play to be contained in this one book. There are few books I buy extra copies of to pass around to friends, but this is one that has earned that rank. The only other I can think of at this time is Unintended Consequences by John Ross. Don't pass this one by either.
Does This Pulitzer Make Me Look Fat?.......2007-07-08
Once again, when I checked this book against the narrow issue of my expertise, West Virginia statehood, Mr. McPherson gets it wrong on every point. He says 5 WV delegates in Richmond voted for the Secession Ordinance, the number was actually 15 (Charles Ambler 'A History of West Virginia', pg. 309). He states that West Virginians voted against secession 3 to 1, the actual number was less than 2 to 1 (R. Curry 'A House Divided' pg. 147). Aside from proclamations issued from Wheeling, there is no historical evidence that West Virginians wished to separate from Virginia. The Statehood referendum of Oct. 24 1861 is cited as proof of this wish, a referendum which was boycotted by over 70% of the voters. Wheeling was so desperate to validate their partition of Virginia that they let non-resident Union soldiers vote as citizens. One of the Wheeling delegates, Mr. Stewart of Doddridge County, when faced with the issue of voter ratification of statehood, said that if they had gone thus far with no popular sanction they could proceed just as far as was necessary in order to carry out their plan. He challenged any person to point to a solitary act that even had authorized them to assemble for the purpose of breaking away from Virginia, and if the convention was resolved to form a new state, let it do so without the farce of a popular election. (McGregor 'The Disruption of Virginia", pg. 235). If I can find this information without much trouble, how do so many historians like Mr. McPherson manage to miss it?
I would suggest, if you want a good one-volume history of the War, get a copy of J.G. Randall's "The Civil War and Reconstruction", preferably a 1960's edition. Mr. Randall, a Lincoln expert, gives 5 detailed pages, with map, on the machinations of Wheeling and the myth of West Virginia statehood, compared to the few incorrect paragraphs by Mr. McPherson. Mr. Randall deserved the Pulitzer.
Book Description
Acclaimed as the definitive illustrated history of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, Lincoln's Assassins, by James L. Swanson and Daniel R. Weinberg, follows the shocking events from the tragic scene at Ford's Theatre to the trial and execution of Booth's co-conspirators. For twelve days after the president was shot, the nation waited breathlessly as manhunters tracked down John Wilkes Booth—the story that was brilliantly told in Swanson's New York Times bestseller, Manhunt. Then, during the spring and summer of 1865, a military commission tried eight people as conspirators in Booth's plot to murder Lincoln and other high officials, including the secretary of state and vice president. Few remember them today, but once the names Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt, Edman Spangler, Samuel Arnold, Michael O'Laughlin, and Dr. Samuel Mudd were the most reviled and notorious in America.
In Lincoln's Assassins, Swanson and Weinberg resurrect these events by presenting an unprecedented visual record of almost 300 contemporary photographs, letters, documents, prints, woodcuts, newspapers, pamphlets, books, and artifacts, many hitherto unpublished. These rare materials, which took the authors decades to collect, evoke the popular culture of the time, record the origins of the Lincoln myth, take the reader into the courtroom and the cells of the accused, document the beginning of American photojournalism, and memorialize the fates of the eight conspirators.
Lincoln's Assassins is a unique work that will appeal to anyone interested in American history, Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, law, crime, assassination, nineteenth-century photographic portraiture, and the history of American photojournalism.
Customer Reviews:
Certainly worthwhile........2007-06-29
Although I detest Mr. Swanson's attitude toward the assassination & "scholarship", I am very pleased with my copy of this book. It has a great deal of fine photographs, and makes a very enjoyable purchase for that reason only. Unfortunately, the authors titled the book very oddly -- as those who went on trial were not Lincoln's assassins, and some of them were not even privy to the plan at all, and equally unfortunately, the actual assassin is given only 2 or 3 photographs out of the many included. There was also an sickening decision made when there are pages and pages of essentially identical photos of the hanging, which are not only revolting but very repetative, and could have been greatly reduced to make room for more interesting & varied photographs. That aside, I found the painting by Lew Wallace, given an honorary spot in the front of the book, to be perhaps my favorite assassination-related picture to date. I am very grateful for this book.
P.S. Reprinting the cover to look more like Manhunt? Bad idea. The 1st edition was so much prettier.
Don't miss Manhunt! .......2007-06-27
This is an incredible hour by hour account of the death of President Abraham Lincoln and the search for his killer, John Wilkes Booth. Swanson includes historical accounts taken from the achieves,various testimonies from the people who lived this horrific event along with many other resources. There is a lot about this terrible time in our history that I didn't know, and James Swanson has numerous notes that can take you easily into even deeper research. It completely held my attention on every page of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and had a difficult time putting it down. There is so much information I plan to read it again. His 2nd book, Lincoln's Assassins, is a great follow up to this book. If you love history, Manhunt is a must!
Worth It Just For The Photos.......2007-06-26
This is a wonderful addition to the book collection of any reader of Lincoln or civil war history. I have studied the story of the Lincoln conspirators for nearly 20 years, and have read a lot of fine material on the subject, but this book contains amazing photos I did not know existed. Where one may have seen a single picture of the conspirators or their July 1865 hanging.......this book contains pages and pages of photos of them, taken shortly before their execution, often from the original glass negatives. Of course, it also contains a vivid narrative of their trial and last moments. Others have written superb accounts of these events. This book is "worth it just for the photos."
An excellent book.......2007-03-26
In this fascinating book, an accomplished author teams up with an avid Lincoln-ologist to produce an excellent work. This book has a fascinating account of the capture, trial and (in some cases) execution of John Wilkes Booth's fellow "conspirators," and an excellent collection of pictures and reproductions of important documents.
Overall, I found this to be an excellent book. It has just enough text to be highly informative on the conspirators, without getting bogged down in minutiae. Also, it keeps a level-headed approach to the assassination throughout, eschewing the kind of theorizing that marks too many books on the subject. Yep, I highly enjoyed this colorful and highly readable book, and give it my highest recommendations!
Excellent and Rare.......2007-02-22
This is a truly excllent monograpraph with some intriguing photographs and commentary not available before this account. This is a beautiful treatment of what happened to the almost mystical and undeniably lunaticical cadre of villains responsible for one of America's most horrifying and haunting domestic events. Like everything else that this dark chapter in US history provokes, these pictures catapult the reader back onto the streets of Washington D.C. where you stand as witness to this shocking tale.
Book Description
A major history of Civil War America through the lens of its two towering figures: Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
"My husband considered you a dear friend," Mary Todd Lincoln wrote to Frederick Douglass in the weeks after Lincoln's assassination. The frontier lawyer and the former slave, the cautious politician and the fiery reformer, the president and the most famous black man in America—their lives traced different paths that finally met in the bloody landscape of secession, Civil War, and emancipation. Opponents at first, they gradually became allies, each influenced by and attracted to the other. Their three meetings in the White House signaled a profound shift in the direction of the Civil War, and in the fate of the United States. In this first book to draw the two together, James Oakes has written a masterful narrative history. He brings these two iconic figures to life and sheds new light on the central issues of slavery, race, and equality in Civil War America.
Customer Reviews:
Puts the radical ideologist and the political realist in historical perspective.......2007-05-30
One of the easiest things to do, especially on the web, is to take a highly regarded leader of the past, say, Abraham Lincoln, pull a few of his quotes or actions out of their historical context, and supposedly "prove" how horrible that leader actually was. In contrast, author James Oakes explains Lincoln to us postmoderns the way an historian should - by reminding us of Lincoln's circumstances and explaining Lincoln's overarching purposes. Oakes does this without resorting to making Lincoln a saint. According to Oakes' compellingly-supported evidence, Lincoln refused to compromise two essential commitments - to antislavery and to the American political system. Lincoln would not compromise his antislavery position to get more votes, nor would he compromise his oaths to uphold the Constitution to undermine slavery. This dual commitment of Lincoln's goes very far in helping us understand why Lincoln limited his goal to preventing the spread of slavery before he became president, why he didn't just go ahead and free all the slaves when he became president, why he moved slowly towards emancipation during the war, etc. Furthermore, the author's discussion of Lincoln's overwhelming desire to change the hearts and minds of Americans about slavery instead of merely forcing through political change regardless of wider support was especially useful. As the "Republican" in the title, Lincoln wanted a government that represented the will of the people; therefore, the will of the people needed to be converted before the government could make radical change. The fact that Lincoln helped accomplish this more widespread change is quite a testament to his legacy of leadership.
The "Radical" in the title is another great American, Frederick Douglass. Unlike Lincoln's, Douglass' reputation typically is not in dispute. Most of us love Douglass, and for good reason. Oakes doesn't tarnish Douglass' reputation, but he does help us to understand how Douglass' singular commitment to antislavery/antiracism, as compared to Lincoln's dual commitment explained above, often put Douglass at odds with the political process AND caused Douglass to speak out so vehemently against politicians like Lincoln. From Douglass' perspective, only immediate emancipation and egalitarianism would serve justice. Thus, by necessity, Douglass would oppose and criticize Lincoln - that is, until the two men met.
One of the reviewers below critiques Oakes for supposedly overstating the relationship between the two men. I believe this critique is misplaced because Oakes never claimed to be writing primarily about the interpersonal relationship between the two. Instead, he's writing about the interplay of the radical ideology of one, and the antislavery politics of the other. Also, I think that Oakes analyzes the relationship between Brown and Douglass comprehensively, not simplistically, as a reviewer below seems to believe.
As a person who teaches history at the college level, and as a person who enjoys reading history for fun, I would recommend this book. I intend to make it one of my required texts for my survey American history course, alongside Frederick Douglass' autobiography.
What changed Frederick Douglass' mind.......2007-04-24
Author James Oakes tells us this: in 1860 Frederick Douglass wrote of the upcoming presidential election "I cannot support Lincoln." But in 1888, Douglass said he had met no man "possessing a more godlike nature than did Abraham Lincoln." What had happened?
Oakes gives us a quick glance at his hypothesis within the subtitle of his book: the triumph of antislavery politics. As he explains, this doesn't apply to Lincoln. Lincoln was always an anti-slavery politician, although his thinking on how and how fast slavery should be destroyed changed over time. But with regards to the use of politics as the means to abolish slavery, the man whose thinking moved more was Frederick Douglass. And although the two men share the billing in Oakes' title, this is far more a book about Douglass than Lincoln. It is a book about the evolution of the reasoning of Frederick Douglass.
That evolution, as Oakes paints it, began for Douglass from the belief that the issue of slavery transcended politics and the compromises that came with it. Oakes traces how Douglass the reformer began to be drawn into the political arena, alienating the abolitionists who had first supported his career. But still he carried with him that insistence on absolutism. He brooked no delays, no strategic maneuverings. Lincoln and the Republicans were gradualists, and therefore were deemed irresolute and untrustworthy.
After the Civil War began, Douglass found even more reasons for outrage. Lincoln refused to immediately emancipate the slaves. The President even countermanded the Union generals who issued proclamations freeing the slaves in the territories they conquered. Lincoln had not yet issued a retaliation policy against confederates who captured and often executed southern blacks who had joined the Union army. Oakes gives us deft insights into Lincoln's thinking on all these issues. Douglass, who apparently was not himself an acolyte of consistency, bounced back and forth in his electoral attitudes. But he never let up in his pressure on Lincoln nor in his condemnation of the President's lack of strong steps against slave-holding interests.
Then, first in 1863, Lincoln meets with Douglass. About a year later, at Lincoln's request, they meet a second time and Lincoln asks Douglass to draw up a plan to get as many slaves freed under the Emancipation Proclamation as possible. Over that span Douglass' thinking with regards to Lincoln undergoes a dramatic shift. Afterwards, his criticism of Lincoln essentially stops.
Oakes describes these meetings, including a third just after Lincoln's second inaugural address, in as much detail as consistent with the small format of the book. He relies largely on Douglass' own recollections. Oakes also gives us dramatic retellings of other events in Douglass' career that illustrate the development of his thinking, but also the refinement of his skills as a political strategist.
We are still left wondering what exactly was the effect of those meetings with Lincoln. Was Douglass simply overwhelmed, as others were, by the force of Lincoln's understated humaneness and thereby convinced of the President's genuine concern for blacks? Or did Lincoln persuade Douglass that his political methods were the best possible under the evolving circumstances? Or did Lincoln flatter Douglass into acquiescence, especially in enlisting his help during that second meeting?
These possibilities are not mutually exclusive. Oakes in no way downplays the significance of these meetings. But I believe he wants us to see that what happened was entirely consistent with the evolution of Douglass' thinking with regards to politics. As a reformer, he saw it his job to always keep the pressure on. But where and how best to apply that pressure --- that changed in his meetings with Lincoln. And, near the end of Douglass' life, when he raised Lincoln to sainthood, he was still putting the pressure on. But he was using Lincoln's reputation to apply that pressure against the backsliding that the post-Reconstruction era had brought. Douglass had found a way to combine the duties of a reformer with a sophisticated instinct for politics.
"The Radical and the Republican" is not a dramatic retelling of events. It is certainly not a co-biography of its two principals. But it does have drama. That drama comes from taking Douglass' thinking seriously and mapping out its development and growing political sophistication. To do this, it uses comparisons with Lincoln's thinking and the interplay of the two men's principles and actions. But it's not by accident that Douglass comes first in the book's title and its cover. There are many books about Lincoln. This is a book about Frederick Douglass.
The Politician and the Reformer.......2007-03-22
Abraham Lincoln (1809 --1865) and Frederick Douglass (1818 -- 1895)are American heroes with each exemplifying a unique aspect of the American spirit. In his recent study, "The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics" (2007), Professor James Oakes traces the intersecting careers of both men, pointing out their initial differences and how their goals and visions ultimately converged. Oakes is Graduate School Humanities Professor and Professor of History at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has written extensively on the history of slavery in the Old South.
Oakes reminds the reader of how much Lincoln and Douglass originally shared. Lincoln and Douglass were self-made, self-educated, and ambitious, and each rose to success from humble backgrounds. Douglass, of course, was an escaped slave. Douglass certainly and Lincoln most likely detested slavery from his youngest days. But Lincoln from his young manhood was a consummate politican devoted to compromise, consensus-building, moderation and indirection. Douglass was a reformer who spoke and wrote eloquently and with passion for the abolition of slavery and for equal rights for African Americans.
Much of Oakes's book explores the difficult subject of Lincoln's attitude towards civil rights -- as opposed simply to the ending of slavery -- and of how Lincoln's views developed during the Civil War. Oakes uses Douglass as a foil for Lincoln beginning with the Lincoln -- Stephen Douglas debates in Illinois in 1858. Steven Douglas tried hard to link Lincoln to Frederick Douglass and to abolitionism. He claimed that Lincoln favored equal rights for Negroes and raised the spectre of intermarriage between white women and black men. Portions of Lincoln's responses to Stephen Douglas were almost as distressing, as Lincoln carefully avoided supporting civil equality between the races and stressed instead the evil of slavery and the need to stop its expansion. It is not surprising that Douglass the abolitionist was ambivalent and mistrustful of Lincoln in the early years, doubting his committment to the cause of ending slavery.
Douglass continued to distrust President Lincoln. Douglass found the President too quick to temporize and too slow to act towards freeing the slaves. In widely publicized actions, Lincoln had rebuked two of his generals, Freemont and Hunter, who had tried to take aggressive action to free slaves. Lincoln had acted in order to keep on good terms with the border states whose support he deemed necessary to a successful war effort. But Douglass saw Lincoln's actions as weak and waffling.
Douglass's attitude gradually changed with the Emancipation Proclamation and with three meetings between the two men in 1863, 1864, and 1865. Douglass was won over by the President. Lincoln, for his part, seemed to view Douglass with genuine affection and friendship. Douglass gave masterful orations summarizing Lincoln's accomplishments following Lincoln's assassination, in 1876 at the unveiling of the Emancipation Monument in Lincoln Park, Washington, D.C., and throughout the rest of his life. Lincoln had fought slavery with every means at his command, Douglass came to believe, given the difficult political and military situation with which he had to deal.
Douglass' career moved in an opposite direction from that of Lincoln. He began as a reformer and a follower of the abolitionist William Garrison and he initially shared Garrison's contempt for the American political process. Gradually, Douglass found his own voice, and he became convinced the the United States Constitution did not support slavery. He came to conclude that it was possible to work for change through the political process, and this belief eventually allowed a convergence between him and Lincoln. With the conclusion of the Civil War, Douglass became a party man and a stalwart Republican -- perhaps giving up more than he should have of the passion of his early years. While he ultimately saw the failure of Reconstruction, Douglass remained for the rest of his long life firmly within the American political process.
Oakes does an excellent job of comparing and contrasting the work of Lincoln and Douglass. His accounts of the complex events leading to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation are particuarly lucid. Oakes argues that Lincoln had surreptitiously delivered the death blow to slavery by the end of 1861. As to Douglass, I learned a great deal from Oakes's discussion of his three autobiographies, written in 1845, 1855, and 1881 (editied, 1891) and of how these works document the change of Douglass from reformer to an instance of the American success story. Oakes also describes well and detail a chilling meeting between Douglass and other African American leaders and President Andrew Johnson in which Douglass unsuccessfully tried to persuade Johnson to extend the right to vote to African Americans.
Oakes has written a readable, informed account of the achievements of two great American leaders. The attitudes which they represent -- the politican and the reformer -- and the issues with which they struggled remain with Americans today.
Robin Friedman
Neglected History.......2007-03-08
I enjoyed this book because it showed the civil rights struggle with all its complexities in a very clear and understandable way. The interaction of Douglas and Lincoln was especially interesting because it provided a very human picture of good men trying to deal with the thinking and forces operating during that time.
A spectacular love story.......2007-03-01
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass long, coy courtship ends in the conjugal bliss of pragmatism. Explosive!
And the cover of the book is AWESOME. The design is great.
Book Description
The story of Reconstruction is not simply about the rebuilding of the South after the Civil War. Instead, the late nineteenth century defined modern America, as Southerners, Northerners, and Westerners gradually hammered out a national identity that united three regions into a country that could become a world power. Ultimately, the story of Reconstruction is about how a middle class formed in America and how its members defined what the nation would stand for, both at home and abroad, for the next century and beyond.
A sweeping history of the United States from the era of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, this engaging book stretches the boundaries of our understanding of Reconstruction. Historian Heather Cox Richardson ties the North and West into the post–Civil War story that usually focuses narrowly on the South, encompassing the significant people and events of this profoundly important era.
By weaving together the experiences of real individuals—from a plantation mistress, a Native American warrior, and a labor organizer to Andrew Carnegie, Julia Ward Howe, Booker T. Washington, and Sitting Bull—who lived during the decades following the Civil War and who left records in their own words, Richardson tells a story about the creation of modern America.
Customer Reviews:
wonderful addition to the literature.......2007-10-02
I am not going to say much because I agree with all the positive comments made by the other reviewers... after reading this excellent book I had a much better understanding of present day history and how it unfolded after the Civil War.
Reconstruction.......2007-09-27
Heather Cox Rrichardson conludes her book, "West From Appomattox," with the statement, "Ultimately, the story of reconstruction is about how a middle class formed in America and how its members define what a nation would stand for." The book is not an easy read but it outlines clearly how this middle class was formed and how its influence grew. Since we are, most of us, members of the middle class it is important to understand the process and its implications. The book's focus is on the period of reconstruction following the Civil War with emphasis on western expansion. It is recommended that the reader first read Owen Wister's book, "The Virginian" as the author alludes to it often. Richardson's book is chuck full of food for thought and should be studied as well as read. Much contained therein suggests an intimate understanding of today's events. The book is for the serious student of American history and the rewards for time spent are great.
Well researched and very thoughtful.......2007-08-24
Ms. Richardson's breadth of knowledge is truly impressive, and a history of this era written from a woman's eyes is unique.
She is, in fact, quite a good writer, in that she is able to encapsulate some unusual concepts in prose that is easy to understand. Her writing is not for those who to be spoonfed, however. But then, I suspect that was not her goal.
Good review of Reconstruction and westward expansion.......2007-07-01
Heather Cox Richardson's West from Appomattox covers a period of history that has been seemingly rather ignored by contemporary historians, namely the Reconstruction period and westward expansion in the mid to late 1800s. Cox synthesizes much history and puts it into its broader context quite well. Much of her writing is academic in nature and not of the narrative form many readers of recent historical accounts have come to expect. Specifically, Richardson studied under the master of this period, David Herbert Donald. While the breadth of her research and knowledge is as impressive as any, her ability to convey the information in a way that brings in any person with even a passing interest in the topic is not her strength. I think she has much to say and, should she want to write history in a form other than a graduate text level, she would be well served to read how David Kennedy, David Herbert Donald, James McPherson or even Doris Kearns Goodwin actually write. That said, those who would like to really bone up on what changes the United States went through from 1865 to 1900, predominately politically and somewhat economically, would be well advised to read this book.
Thought provoking and unique.......2007-04-19
Conventional history teaches that Reconstruction failed due to racism and apathy, while viewing it as a Southern issue. Heather Cox Richardson moves Reconstruction into mainstream America, viewing it not as a Southern issue but as part of national development and westward expansion. Doing this transforms the thin gruel of reconstruction history into a complex, layered dish full of unexpected and very new treats. Reconstruction changes from a fight between President and Congress, to an issue that challenges America's ideals and is national in scope.
This book links Reconstruction, westward expansion, questions on suffrage, controlling business, tariffs and the development of the middle class into one coherent movement. This is modern inclusive history, as it should be written! Nat Love, child of ex-slaves, cowboy and Pullman porter, Samuel Gompers, Andrew Carnegie, Julia Ward Howe, Wade Hampton, Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull and many others populate the book. They are included not to be inclusive but because they have something to say. In every case, they help with the narration by personalizing history and making the national problem a personal one. The result is a fuller richer picture of America and the development of American ideals from 1865 to 1901.
The author, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts, is not the conservative member of the university staff. Her politics show up as sympathy for the labor movement, African Americans and/or Native Americans. For the most part, this is neither excessive nor detracts from the fairness of the narration. The exception is in the Epilogue where she attacks the policies of Presidents Regan and Bush. If you share her liberal politics, this will be the highpoint of the book for you. If you do not, stop reading when you reach the Epilogue and close the book. You will have read a very thought provoking history presenting a detailed and unique view of America and Reconstruction.
Book Description
At once an informed overview for general-interest readers and a superb resource for serious buffs, this extraordinary, gloriously illustrated volume is sure to become one of the fundamental books in any Civil War library. Its features include a dramatic narrative packed with eyewitness accounts and hundreds of rare photographs, artifacts, and period illustrations. Evocative sidebars, detailed maps, and timelines add to the reference-ready quality of the text.
From John Brown's raid to Reconstruction, Eyewitness to the Civil War presents a clear, comprehensive discussion that addresses every military, political, and social aspect of this crucial period. In-depth descriptions of campaigns and battles in all theaters of war are accompanied by a thorough evaluation of the nonmilitary elements of the struggle between North and South. In their own words, commanders and common soldiers in both armies tell of life on the battlefield and behind the lines, while letters from wives, mothers, and sisters provide a portrait of the home front. More than 375 historical photographs, portraits, and artifacts—many never before published—evoke the era's flavor; and detailed maps of terrain and troop movements make it easy to follow the strategies and tactics of Union and Confederate generals as they fought through four harsh years of war. Photoessays on topics ranging from the everyday lives of soldiers to the dramatic escapades of the cavalry lend a breathtaking you-are-there feeling, and an inclusive appendix adds even more detail to what is already a magnificently meticulous history.
Customer Reviews:
A Wonderful Book.......2007-08-23
One of the best Civil War books I have seen in a long time. Full of pictures and interesting text. A bunch of pictures I have not seen before. A must for any collector of Civil War books.
Impressive New Overview.......2007-07-20
Eyewitness to the Civil War is a great new book published by the always authoritative and visually superb National Geographic. It is really a pleasure to read and study because it is well-formatted and just packed with interesting photographs, explanatory diagrams, and excellent maps. It reminds me of the magazine. My favourite parts are the inclusion of many firsthand accounts (from letters).
I have a bookshelf full of Civil War books, but I daresay this is probably the best single volume Civil War book I've seen, utilizing all of the resources of our latest knowledge and visual multi-media resources (like new and rare enhanced photos and actual correspondance).
If you are going to get just one Civil War book, I would recommend this one. It's also really a great bargain for such a nice, hefty coffee table book.
Worth It's Weight in Gold!.......2007-06-08
Wow, one hefty book! It sure is nice to see a decent sized book these days. I basically bought it just for the pictures, great quality with many not seen elsewhere, plus there were just so many good ones all in one place! The text isn't anything to sneeze at either. Any Civil War enthusiast would enjoy this book. Talk about value, Amazon usually has these used for less than $10! Quit reading this review, order one!
PERFECT IN EVERY WAY.......2007-01-22
MY HUSBAND LOVES HISTORY. HE HAD BEEN WANTING A BOOK ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR FOR A WHILE AND I DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE WHERE TO START. I HEARD OF AMAZON.COM BUT HAD NEVER USED IT. SO I TOOK THE CHANCE AND WAS VERY DELIGHTED ON THE EASE OF ORDERING. I GOT THE BOOK JUST IN TIME FOR HIS BIRTHDAY AND HE WAS SO SUPRISED. THATNK YOU FOR BEING WHAT YOU SAY YOU ARE.
Civil War Experience!.......2007-01-09
GREAT gift for any Civil War buff. This has quality photos not contained in other Civil War books. As well as personal letters from diaries. Fabulous gift!
Book Description
Grant wrote his "Personal Memoirs" to secure his family's future. In doing so, the Civil War's greatest general won himself a unique place in American letters. His character, sense of purpose, and simple compassion are evident throughout this deeply moving account, as well as in the letters to his wife, Julia, included here.
Customer Reviews:
U.S. Grant in his own words..........2007-06-26
U.S. Grant is often said to have been a failure at everything in his life except his marriage, war, and his memoirs. The latter, written as he was dying of throat cancer in 1884-1885, provide a straightforward account of his years in uniform during the Civil War.
Grant passes quickly over his Ohio boyhood and time at the United States Military Academy. His service in the Mexican War and his financial misfortunes out of uniform between the wars get only slightly more coverage. His story really begins with his return to uniform in 1861 as a commander of Illinois volunteers. The narrative follows Grant's campaigns in Missouri, Tennessee, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, his elevation to supreme command of the Union Armies, and the final grinding agony of the war in Virgina. The account ends with the cessation of hostilies in 1865.
Grant's memoirs are remarkable reading for a number of reasons. First, they provide insight into the first-rate military mind of a consistantly successful general. Grant's ability to determine the essentials of a situation and remain focused on them are evident. Second, the memoirs are a classic example of clear, simple, English narrative. Third, they display the considerable modesty of a naturally reserved man, a departure from the egotism often found in the personal memoirs of famous men. Grant himself continues to be something of a mystery to historians; these memoirs do not really lift the veil of his sense of privacy.
The Union Army of the Civil War had more than its fair share of politicians in uniform and politically-minded generals. Grant was not immune to spinning history his way; careful-eyed scholars have found more than a few instances where Grant remembered only part of the story or settled a few scores with old opponents. Nevertheless, Grant's memoirs are a valuable resource for understanding the conduct of the Civil War, not least because Grant became such a key figure in the winning of it.
Grant's memoirs are highly recommended to students of the Civil War, and to scholars seeking to understand the art of war in the midst of rebellion.
Review of Memoirs of US Grant.......2006-07-10
General Grant's use of the English language is very interesting and informative. Absolutely a pleasure to read.
A Masterpiece.......2006-02-22
This book is a must-read for any Civil War or American history buff. Grant's writing is consistently clear, elegant, beautiful. He gives an engaging account of his wartime experiences that are accurate to the best of his ability, and he writes with introspection and humility. The personal letters at the end of the volume reveal much about this fascinating man, and are a welcome addition. Please read this one! Another wonderful book in this series is the volume containing Frederick Douglass's autobiographical works.
A History Buff's Wet Dream..........2006-01-17
This is certainly a great book, and in parts, it is a good book. Grant has a very terse, matter-of-fact style, which makes for easy reading. The bulk of the book is devoted to the Civil War, and there are dry patches, and multitudes of "We went to the ridge, and then to the river, and moved our artillery up to the picket" and such-like. But that is what happened, and so you can't fault Grant for his meticulous detailing of troop movements, correspondence with fellow officers, etc. As I said, the great majority of the book is devoted to the Civil War, and there is not a word about Grant's tenure in the White House. Personally, of all topics covered by Grant, I find him to be most fascinating on the subject of the Mexican-American War of 1847. This is not something commonly focused on in history classes, but Grant's account is riveting. Additionally, Grant's remembrances of Lincoln are very interesting, as is his almost awed reverence for the military abilities of Sherman. The book is long, but it doesn't seem long, and if you have a love of history, this is indispensable stuff.
General
| 19th Century
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession, and the President's War Powers
Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words
The Road to Disunion, Volume II: Secessionists Triumphant 1854-1861
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford History of the United States)
Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence
