Antietam (Voices of the Civil War) [Hardcover]

Time-Life Books (Editor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Time Life Education (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0783547048
• ISBN-13: 978-0783547046
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,568,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delving into the past, January 23, 2000

By 

Scott Anderson "Sharpsburg" (Shepherdstown, WV) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Antietam (Voices of the Civil War) (Hardcover)

In working with Time-Life to produce this work, I ran across many personal accounts that were previosuly unpublished. To see their inclusion in this book was gratifying in that the past would not be left to gather dust on some old archival shelf.

Many accounts in our regimental files at the battlefield contained personal letters and photos from families across the country. The editiors of Time-Life compiled many of those items into an easy to read format, spelling out the specifics of attack across the once feritle farmland now known as Antietam National Battlefield.

The horrors of battle are not easy to grasp, but by including personal letters, maps, photos, and the Hope paintings the reader gets a brief look into what life was like on 17 September 1862.

Whether or not you can get to the battlefield pick up this book. It's accounts are moving, and the impact of what happened will flow from the pages as you begin your journey into the Maryland Campaign of 1862.

This book is a must for any historian or student of the Civil War.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Horror of War, Up Close and Personal, July 20, 2000

By 

Mark A. Savage - See all my reviews

This review is from: Antietam (Voices of the Civil War) (Hardcover)

The books of this Time Life series are very important to anyone who wants to learn about the Civil War. The first series, the gray set, is a good starter, but this set is a great next step.

This particular volume is very moving and comsuming. I found it hard to leave, and I also found it somewhat haunting. Fortunately, I've been to Antietam many times, and know the ground pretty well, but the men's words change the ground into a hallowed field that will always be looked at differently.

There is in this book a cold matter-of-factness in the letters and writings of the participants that is unsettling. Death and human destruction are so common, that it matters not to the writer. To losely quote General W. T. Sherman, "I look at the lose of a few thousand men as a morning dash".

To read this book is to go back in time, to live as they did, and to feel what they felt. The editors did a fine job of material selection. Can not imporve on the contents at all. Well done to all.

When you read the book (and you better), try to prepare yourself for the final 2 pages, the article from the New York Times newspaper. Words like this do not come often in this life, and to miss these would be a loss. Events such as these deserve to be memoralized and remembered, or we are "doomed to relive them". A stunning book for all.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive volume; makes subject vividly real to reader, August 29, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Antietam (Voices of the Civil War) (Hardcover)

This volume in the TimeLife series, "Voices of the Civil War", is terrific! Using a combination of photos, maps, paintings, and impressive text drawn from the diaries, letters and writings of participants from both North and South--as well as civilians, the story of the entire September 1862 campaign of the Army of Northern Virginia comes alive.

I rated the volume an 8 out of a possible 10 score because: 1. some of the maps showing battle action can be a little confusing to follow; 2. the commentary prior to each section does not always give command ranks or first names consistently; 3. editing of some of the accounts, particularly that of Gordon's memoirs dealing with the Sunken Road, may have inadvertently left out some very important explanatory notes for actions taken by that person.

Despite this, I found the volume to be very well put together. The impact of reading the words of actual combatants who survived the bloodiest day of American history can not be easily described. There is humor in these pages; there is also profound tragedy, sadness and grief.

I recommend this volume to any one who wants to gain a more immediate understanding and appreciation for the Army of Northern Virginia's campaign into Maryland in September, 1862 culminating with the bloody Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862. This book is perhaps the next best thing to actually visiting the battlefield site itself.<P