Civil War Books - Page 12

War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars

Andrew Carroll

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 37 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In 1998, Andrew Carroll founded the Legacy Project, with the goal of remembering Americans who have served their nation and preserving their letters for posterity. Since then, over 50,000 letters have poured in from around the country. Nearly two hundred of them comprise this amazing collection -- including never-before-published letters that appear in the new afterword.

Here are letters from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf war, Somalia, and Bosnia -- dramatic eyewitness accounts from the front lines, poignant expressions of love for family and country, insightful reflections on the nature of warfare. Amid the voices of common soldiers, marines, airmen, sailors, nurses, journalists, spies, and chaplains are letters by such legendary figures as Gen. William T. Sherman, Clara Barton, Theodore Roosevelt, Ernie Pyle, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Julia Child, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, and Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Sr. Collected in War Letters, they are an astonishing historical record, a powerful tribute to those who fought, and a celebration of the enduring power of letters.

Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography

Jr. Philip B. Kunhardt, Philip B. Kunhardt III, Peter W. Kunhardt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Sumptuous Photography 4 out of 5 stars.
17 of 17 people found this review helpful.

The quality of this book is what first grabs you. The paper is thick, glossy and has weight, it reproduces 19th century photographs beautifully. The text is ancillary and never intrudes upon the primary focus here, which are the photographs of Lincoln, his family and the people who shaped his extraordinary life. The text illuminates and expands upon the photographs, giving dates and other pertinent information.

If you're looking for a full-scale biography of Lincoln, look elsewhere, this is primarily a visual treat and one of the better photographic compilations on any President.

Brilliant narrative and photography of Abraham Lincoln 5 out of 5 stars.
16 of 16 people found this review helpful.

Philip B. Kunhardt is to be highly commended for this outstanding photographic history of Abraham Lincoln. Not only are the photographs captivating, but the narrative of Lincolns life and the important events during his lifetime are interesting and enhance this book. Many interesting stories go along with the photographs of Lincoln from his 40's to his last days, however the most interesting part in my opinion is the month by month account of his presidency and the important events that occured. So much about the man has been written, but until this book was published not as many photos of President Lincoln were circulated or published. Just as important, are the events and stories which swirled around Lincoln. From his habits and humor to his history changing decisions are written in clarity and interesting form. His life and his loves are given with compassion, and his impossible losses of his sons and his mentally unballanced wife Mary Todd Lincoln is given unflinchingly. The last chapter of the book is about the assassination and the controversy surrounding Lincoln's remains, a very interesting and informative chapter to close with. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in U.S. History or 19th Century U.S. History.

Editorial Review:

A biography of Abraham Lincoln chronicles his life and depicts him as president, military leader, politician, and family man, discussing his shortcomings and accomplishments. Tour.

If You Travelled on the Underground Railroad

Ellen Levine

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

An excellent source of UGRR info for children and adults! 5 out of 5 stars.
37 of 37 people found this review helpful.

As the director of an Underground Railroad museum, I am always looking for clear, concise materials for the public to use. This book is being added to our new education program, for use in elementary schools in our area. The facts are presented in an easy-to-read fashion, and anyone, adult or child, is able to pick up valuable information without being threatened by the reading level of the book. The text is not condescending in any fashion, yet moves easily enough for a 5-year-old child to sit through a reading of the entire book and ask questions provoked by the material being presented. I would recommend "If You Traveled the Underground Railroad" to anyone interested in giving children something of substance to read. We sell these books in our museum and cannot keep the supply high enough to meet the demand!

Editorial Review:

In a question-and-answer format, the reader is introduced to what the underground railroad was and how it was used between 1830 and 1860 to help slaves in America escape to the North.

Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor

Russell S. Bonds

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Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"The Great Locomotive Chase has been the stuff of legend and the darling of Hollywood. Now we have a solid history of the Andrews Raid. Russell S. Bonds’ stirring account makes clear why the raid failed and what happened to the raiders."—James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

On April 12, 1862 -- one year to the day after Confederate guns opened on Fort Sumter and started the Civil War -- a tall, mysterious smuggler and self-appointed Union spy named James J. Andrews and nineteen infantry volunteers infiltrated north Georgia and stole a steam engine called the General. Racing northward at speeds approaching sixty miles an hour, cutting telegraph lines and destroying track along the way, Andrews planned to open East Tennessee to the Union army, cutting off men and matériel from the Confederate forces in Virginia. If they succeeded, Andrews and his raiders could change the course of the war. But the General’s young conductor, William A. Fuller, chased the stolen train first on foot, then by handcar, and finally aboard another engine, the Texas. He pursued the General until, running out of wood and water, Andrews and his men abandoned the doomed locomotive, ending the adventure that would soon be famous as The Great Locomotive Chase, but not the ordeal of the soldiers involved. In the days that followed, the "engine thieves" were hunted down and captured. Eight were tried and executed as spies, including Andrews. Eight others made a daring escape to freedom, including two assisted by a network of slaves and Union sympathizers. For their actions, before a personal audience with President Abraham Lincoln, six of the raiders became the first men in American history to be awarded the Medal of Honor -- the nation's highest decoration for gallantry. Americans north and south, both at the time and ever since, have been astounded and fascinated by this daring raid. But until now, there has not been a complete history of the entire episode and the fates of all those involved. Based on eyewitness accounts, as well as correspondence, diaries, military records, newspaper reports, deposition testimony and other primary sources, Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor by Russell S. Bonds is a blend of meticulous research and compelling narrative that is destined to become the definitive history of "the boldest adventure of the war."

Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President (Simon & Schuster Lincoln Library)

Harold Holzer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Lincoln at Cooper Union explores Lincoln's most influential and widely reported pre-presidential address -- an extraordinary appeal by the western politician to the eastern elite that propelled him toward the Republican nomination for president. Delivered in New York in February 1860, the Cooper Union speech dispelled doubts about Lincoln's suitability for the presidency and reassured conservatives of his moderation while reaffirming his opposition to slavery to Republican progressives.

Award-winning Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer places Lincoln and his speech in the context of the times -- an era of racism, politicized journalism, and public oratory as entertainment -- and shows how the candidate framed the speech as an opportunity to continue his famous "debates" with his archrival Democrat Stephen A. Douglas on the question of slavery.

Holzer describes the enormous risk Lincoln took by appearing in New York, where he exposed himself to the country's most critical audience and took on Republican Senator William Henry Seward of New York, the front runner, in his own backyard. Then he recounts a brilliant and innovative public relations campaign, as Lincoln took the speech "on the road" in his successful quest for the presidency.

Strange Battles of the Civil War

Webb B. Garrison

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 2.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Strange Battles of the Civil War is an anecdotal look at engagements during the Civil War that have unique or unusual aspects. Arranged chronologically from the beginning of the conflict through its conclusion, these battles include victories against overwhelming odds, lost or miscredited orders that affected the outcomes of battles, action without orders that led to stunning results, battles with wholly unexpected political results, the "acoustic shadow" phenomenon that prevented commanders in the field from responding to nearby actions, unusual participants, unique or novel animals or equipment in battle, extremely low-and unbelievably high-casualties, and peculiar objectives.

Relatively little attention is given to logistics. Instead, the focus is on the human-interest factors in these accounts . Among the unusual stories are:

• December 20, 1861: Hungry horses trigger a clash at Dranesville, Virginia, among hay- hunting parties who fought over fodder for their animals, resulting in 250 casualties.
• May 15, 1862: At Drewry's Bluff, Virginia, the Confederate capital at Richmond is saved because Federal naval guns could not be elevated sufficiently to fire on the Southerners' position on the bluff.
• June 6, 1862: Two fragile, unarmed wooden Rebel vessels engage eight Yankee ironclads near Memphis-and capture three of them.
• September 30, 1862: At a Confederate victory at Newtonia, Missouri, most of the soldiers on both sides are Native Americans.
• September 8, 1863: Southerners at Sabine Pass, Texas, are outnumbered by approximately 225 to 1, but manage to thwart the Federal advance.
• October 29, 1863: Union mules stampede Confederate troops at Wauhatchie, Tennessee, and the Federal quartermaster recommends they be brevated to the rank of "horse."

Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trial and Execution

James L. Swanson, Daniel Weinberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Neat little book for assasination historians 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This text dovetails nicely with Swanson's recent effort "Manhunt", but more from an artifact perspective than a written one. Many of the pictures are one-of-a-kind, especially Alexander Gardner's entire collection from the courtyard at the D.C. prison where the conspirators were hung. Again, this is not a complete text (nor does it aspire to be), but a great addition to any historical collection regarding the Lincoln assasination.

Editorial Review:

This definitive illustrated history of Abraham Lincoln's assassination follows the shocking events from the tragic scene at Ford's Theatre to the trial and execution of John Wilkes Booth's coconspirators. 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, James L. Swanson and Daniel R. Weinberg present an unprecedented visual record of almost three hundred contemporary photographs, letters, documents, prints, woodcuts, newspapers, pamphlets, books, and artifacts, many hitherto unpublished. These rare materials 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.

Stars in Their Courses : The Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863

Shelby Foote

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

As Good as it gets 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I could write a long review about how good this book is but that would be a diservice to the author. We lost a great historian when Shelby Foote passed. He was a historian who prefered to be remembered as a novelist. As a proud Vermont Yankee, professional historian, and living historian of that period, I tend to get cranky about revisionist views or the whole Sourthern "lost cause" foolishness. However, Mr. Foote, a proud southerner, wrote about the most important event in our nation's history without the prejudice or regionalism, so many bring to the topic. He could write excellent history and tell the story with the readability of a novelist.



We are poorer for his passing but the body of work he left behind on the Civil War will remain some of the must have items in any serious collection of books about that second birth of our nation.



We'll miss you Shelby but thank you for what you left behind.

Editorial Review:

Historian/novelist Foote's masterly work has been culled from his critically acclaimed three-volume narrative of the Civil War. 3 cassettes.

The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian

Shelby Foote

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An Iliad of American agony 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I read all three volumes of the great Shelby Foote's Civil War narrative in the 80s. This volume is yet another of his logically well-integrated, dramatic trio on that war and speaks a soft/loud pianoforte of war from the Southern perspective. It contains many a large gulp of its often hesitantly bitter, prolonged agony from the bloody cup of setbacks and disappointments on both sides of the conflict. Had Foote given us the same mysterious energy without frequently caricaturing the North to glorify the South, it, in my estimation, would've transcended all such history, narrative or not, in the long fog of peace and romancing of the war. Yet it's THE monumental work, forcefully contradicting the rule that only victors write definitive histories of war. I hope its brilliant histrionics are never misused by historical revisionists, or deter America from completing the Spartacan dream of abolishing all vestiges of involuntary servitude.

Editorial Review:

FREDERICKSBURG TO MERIDIAN

"Gettysburg...is described with such meticulous attention to action, terrain, time, and the characters of the various commanders that I understand, at last, what happened in that battle.... Mr. Foote has an acute sense of the relative importance of events and a novelist's skill in directing the reader's attention to the men and the episodes that will influence the course of the whole war, without omitting items which are of momentary interest. His organization of facts could hardly be better."--Atlantic

The History Buff's Guide to the Civil War

Thomas R. Flagel

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Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Exploring the Civil War can be fascinating, but with so many battles, leaders, issues, and more than 50,000 books on these subjects, the task can also be overwhelming. Was Gettysburg the most important battle? Were Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis so different from each other? How accurate is re-enacting? Who were the worst commanding generals? Thomas R. Flagel uses annotated lists organized under more than thirty headings to see through the powder smoke and straighten Sherman’s neckties, ranking and clarifying the best, the worst, the largest, and the most lethal aspects of the conflict. Major sections are fashioned around the following topics:

• Antebellum: Investigates the critical years before the war, in particular the growing crises, extremists, and slavery.

• Politics: Contrasts the respective presidents and constitutions of the Union and Confederacy, the most prominent politicians, and the most volatile issues of the times.

• Military Life: Offers insights into the world of the common soldiers, how they fought, what they ate, how they were organized, what they saw, how they lived, and how they died.

• The Home Front: Looks at the fastest growing field in Civil War research, including immigration, societal changes, hardships and shortages, dissent, and violence far from the firing lines.

• In Retrospect: Ranks the heroes and heroines, greatest victories and failures, firsts and worsts.

• Pursuing the War: Summarizes Civil War study today, including films, battlefield sites, books, genealogy, re-enactments, restoration, preservation, and other ventures.

From the antebellum years to Appomattox and beyond, The History Buff’s Guide to the Civil War is a quick and compelling guide to one of the most complex and critical eras in American history.