Cover of The Civil War: An Illustrated History

The Civil War: An Illustrated History

by Geoffrey C. Ward, Ken Burns, Ric Burns · 1990

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"The Civil War defined us as what we are & it opened us to being what we became, good & bad things...It was the crossroads of our being, & it was a hell of a crossroads: the suffering, the enormous tragedy of the whole thing."- Shelby Foote

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When the illustrated edition of The Civil Warwas published, The NY Timehailed it as "a treasure for the eye & mind." Ward's history interweaves the author's narrative with the voices of those who lived thru the cataclysmic trial of nationhood: not just Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass & Robert E. Lee, but genteel Southern ladies & escaped slaves, cavalry officers & common foot soldiers who fought in Yankee blue & Rebel gray. The Civil Waralso includes essays by historians of the era: Don E. Fehrenbacher, on the war's origins; Barbara J. Fields, on the freeing of slaves; Shelby Foote, on the soldiers & commanders; James M. McPherson, on the political dimensions; & C. Vann Woodward, assessing the America that emerged from the war's ashes.

Introduction: The crossroads of our being

1861: A house divided

Why the war came/ Don E. Fehrenbacher

1862: Forever free

Who freeds the slaves?/ Barbara J. Fields

1863: The universe of battle

Men at war: an interview with Shelby Foote

1864: Most hallowed ground

War & politics/ James M. McPherson

1865: The better angels of our nature

What the war made us/ C. Vann Woodward

Subject
historyhistoryMore like thisLess of thispoliticspoliticsMore like thisLess of this
Genre
war and militarywar and militaryMore like thisLess of thisAmerican Civil WarAmerican Civil WarMore like thisLess of thishistorical fictionhistorical fictionMore like thisLess of this
Themes
American historyAmerican historyMore like thisLess of thismilitary historymilitary historyMore like thisLess of thishistoryhistoryMore like thisLess of thisartartMore like thisLess of thispoliticspoliticsMore like thisLess of this
Setting
civil warcivil warMore like thisLess of thisUSAUSAMore like thisLess of thisAmerican SouthAmerican SouthMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
long · 448 pages

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Liked The Civil War: An Illustrated History? Here’s where I’d start.

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“People who read The Civil War: An Illustrated History tend to reach for these next.”

  1. The Passing of Armies: An Account of the Final Campaign of the Army of the Potomac Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain · 1914
  2. The Civil War, Vol. 3: Red River to Appomattox Shelby Foote · 1974
  3. Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam Stephen W. Sears · 1983
  4. Co. Aytch: A Confederate Memoir of the Civil War Sam R. Watkins · 1882

“If you want more of the same (history about american history), start with these.”

  1. The Long Road to Antietam: How the Civil War Became a Revolution Richard Slotkin · 2012
  2. Stars in Their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863 Shelby Foote · 1994
  3. A People's History of the Civil War: Struggles for the Meaning of Freedom David Williams · 2005
  4. This Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War James M. McPherson · 2007

“If it was the civil war that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. April 1865: The Month That Saved America Jay Winik · 2001
  2. Why the North Won the Civil War · 1960
  3. The Civil War, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian Shelby Foote · 1963
  4. In the Presence of Mine Enemies: The Civil War in the Heart of America, 1859-1864 Edward L. Ayers · 2003

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War James M. McPherson · 1997
  2. Fields of Fury James M. McPherson · 2002
  3. Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg James M. McPherson · 2003
  4. Drawn with the Sword: Reflections on the American Civil War James M. McPherson · 1996

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