Customer Reviews

The American Heritage New History of the Civil War

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With a pitiful knowledge of the Civil War based on various movies featuring the likes of Randolph Scott and Clark Gable, I was interested in reading an historical text about this defining American event. I was lucky in choosing this lavish volume to do so. With a lucid narrative by the late Bruce Catton as its centre, this Heritage volume has the added advantage of illuminating that text with art (Winslow Homer et al),photos,drawings, maps, cartoons, bills, newspapers, and illustrations of significant battles which are a model of their kind. Whilst the art tends to romanticise (cf the evocative NIGHT BIVOUAC OF THE SEVENTH REGIMENT NEW YORK AT ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, VIRGINIA by Sanford Robinson Gifford) the photos reveal the horror and pity of the event and are stunning in their power. Added to this are,from time to time, the words of poet Walt Whitman. Whilst some historical facts may appear confusing - on p286 the illustrated map tells us that Stonewall Jackson was "fatally wounded" by one of his own pickets; on p 282 Stonewall Jackson is "mortally wounded (2May), shot down by his own troops in the confused fighting"; and on p 289 (10 May) Stonewall Jackson dies of pneumonia, albeit, weakened by wounds. Be that as it may, many of the details provided by the works supplementing the central text are fascinating in allowing the reader to realise the effects of war on the the populace and the consequences this must have had on the psyche of generations to come.

Item: WOMEN of the South ran out of PINS and walked around with downcast eyes looking for PINS. Thorns were gathered and dried to use as PINS. Item: CONSCRIPTION: In the South conscription was well implemented, in the North it was a DISGRACE. If drafted, a man could get out of it for $300 or hire a substitute to take his place. The COLORED ORPHAN ASYLUM on FIFTH AVENUE was attacked and burnt because of conscription exempting blacks. Item: PRISON CAMPS: 55,000 soldiers died in the prison camps of the North and the South, the conditions of which rivalled Nazi Concentration camps, indeed may have been worse. Item: BATTLE OF CHATTANOOGA - an uphill "miracle" of courage by Union soldiers. The South lost the war not through want of courage and skill but because the war "wore it out". Not one mile of railroad was produced in the Confederacy during the war. The moral dimension of slavery may have been another factor but only in the latter half of the tragedy. Again, the Union navy played a pivotal role which I for one was completely unaware of. Reading this work has been an engrossing and revalatory experience for me.

An important caveat is that my recently purchased volume is the prior edition of this wonderful book. Changes in the newer edition editied by McPherson, may be for the better or for the worse. With this disclaimer, I rate this beautifully illustrated oversized book very highly. Catton's prose, in this volume, is so elegant yet captivating that I went out and bought his Army of the Potomac trilogy. The illustrations are fascinating. Because the volume is broken down into small sections, it is very managable to read despite sheer size of the book. In short bursts, Catton provides many great insights. For example, he brilliantly captures the economic disparity between the North and South in just a few pages. This is a wonderful introduction to the writings of perhaps the greatest Civil War historian of them all.

Written by the most renowned author on the Civil War namely Bruce Catton and edited by pulitzer prize winning author Prof. McPherson, there was no doubting that the written portion of this historical treatment of the ACW would be excellent. However the graphical component is just as stunning with superb photographs, paintings and sketchings. If you're interested in a one all encompassing volume on the ACW then this is it. Unfortunately I did not receive the promised CD with the order but of course one cannot fault the book for that. Of course it is nowhere as detailed as Shelby Foote's three volume (3000 page) treatment of the subject but then again Foote's work is a narrative and doesn't include pictures. The best bet is to get them both.....you won't regret it!

A real quality one volume stab at the definitive Civil War book for the general reader. The narrative pulls you on through the war in breathtaking style. The illustrations are superb (though my copy had bad watercolour staining on several pages). I would have liked additional battle schematics to follow each of the major battles and a larger scale series of campaign maps. I had to resort to a 1992 road atlas to find some of the places!! Excellent value. Four stars. Stewart Hawkins. Auckland, NZ

The high level of detail mirrored with beautiful photos, maps and stories fills the volume with incredible amounts of material relating to the Civil War. It flows well and gives the reader an excellent source for research or simply to glance over key area of interest involving all aspects of the conflict.

True, the lesser known generals and battles are not discussed at length but if they were it would require at least three more volumes this size to do them justice. Use the Official Records to further advance your knowledge on minor battles and the commanders of the day.

This book is an excellent addition to the Historians bookshelf and one in which I'm sure will get constant use.

The American Heritage New History of the Civil War is richly detailed, movingly written and spectacularly illustrated. If you are interested in the Civil War, you will want this book in your library.

I don't know what I like better - the concise written history of the Civil War or the truly outstanding and amazing photographs with the fine captions about each. Either way, this is quite the lively book - not overbearing, which is great for the novice. And there are enough treats in this book to keep an expert happy.
I think my favorite part of this volume are the colorful birds eye view drawings of the major battlefields, complete with the blue and gray lined up for battle. It puts Gettysburg or Antietam, for example, into perspective.
I also enjoy the text, which I guess is considered ancient now as it was written nearly 50 years ago, because it gives a more historical feel rather than the modern day politically correct impression that has shown up in numerous other books I have purchased.
The text alone is worth the money.
The photographs alone are worth the money.
Two great reasons for the price of one to purchase The American Heritage New History of the Civil War.

Looking for info on the subject of andersonville led me to this fine book. Andersonville is a subject that is not discussed or talked about whenever I've seen programs on television, except for a program awhile ago called simply ( Andersonville ). This place in history was a place that our american soldiers were held at bay by their own countrymen. It made me emotional to the point, where I wish I could have helped these brave men, but there was no way that I could do that. This book is a must buy for anyone who wants to know about the Civil War, It's top gun in my book collection !!!!!!!!!!!

First and foremost I must declare that I'm not an American but yet had the passion to learn about the Civil War. I acquired this book without thorough browsing and made a quick buy. It proved to be a good choice. All major battles and detailed mapping of events were recorded and with scholars like James McPherson doing the editing, you can bet that its historically accurate too. The main setback of this otherwise wonderfully put together book is the lack of coverage of less-known generals and senior officers.

I stand to inherit the original, two-volume, slipcase edition of this historical overview, so I can console myself that there won't be a daunting search on Ebay or elsewhere for this must-have in years to come. As it is, the summary by Bruce Catton is concise and engaging - a perfect entré to his full-length books on the Civil War.

My gripe with this revised edition is the overall quality of the press: the pages aren't as glossy and weighty as the original, and worse, the photos look poor by comparison. Trust me, the choice of paper matters! Otherwise, it's still a good recommendation for anyone looking for an absorbing yet accessible history of the traumatic period when America tested its democracy in blood and fire.