Articles of War: Winners, Losers, (and Some Who Were Both) During the Civil War [Hardcover]

Albert E. Castel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2001

The American Civil War is filled with fascinating characters. This collection of biographical essays on the "winners and losers" of the Civil War covers some of the most intriguing: Ulysses S. Grant, Sam Houston, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and William Clarke Quantrill, to name just a few. The articles represent a broad cross-section of the scholarship of noted author Albert Castel; most were written over a fifty-year period for publication in national "popular history" magazines such as American Heritage, Civil War History, and Civil War Times Illustrated.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The background, psychology, and wartime activities of Civil War commanders Ulysses S. Grant, Nathan Bedford Forrest, George McClellan, William Clarke Quantrill, and others are the subject of the 13 essays contained in this volume. Written originally for popular historical journals, these studies are not documented but are based on the solid historical scholarship of Castel, history professor, winner of the Lincoln Prize for his Decision in the West: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864 (Univ. Pr. of Kansas, 1992), and a respected author of other scholarly and popular studies. Dealing with the success and failure of the commanders, Castel's essays are otherwise unrelated but are quite readable, require no previous knowledge of the war or military, and are suitable for casual readers. Larger public libraries where Civil War interest is strong may wish to purchase this volume, though Thomas B. Buell's The Warrior Generals: Combat Leadership in the Civil War (Three Rivers, 1998) is a more comprehensive, documented study of the military leadership. Theresa McDevitt, Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

War does more than make strange bedfellows; it also plucks men from obscurity and raises them to prominence, and it makes and breaks careers in politics, business, and the military. Castel is one of the most prolific writers among Civil War scholars. In this series of essays written over a 50-year period, he profiles some of the most intriguing figures who were shoved (some reluctantly) to the forefront by our greatest national trauma. Some, like U. S. Grant, William Sherman, and Sam Houston, will be quite familiar to laymen. Others, like Nathan Bedford Forrest and William Quantrill, are probably less familiar and certainly less understood by general readers. To all of his subjects, Castel brings a lucid prose and razor-sharp analytical skills as well as a refined sense of irony concerning the fickleness of historical forces. Some readers will find his provocative assertions difficult to swallow (e.g., he views Sherman as overrated), but this is an informative, enjoyable, and valuable assemblage, which will enrich Civil War collections. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (July 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811700054
• ISBN-13: 978-0811700054
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,558,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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