Brady's Civil War [Hardcover]

Webb Garrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002

An essential element in any Civil War collection, more than 300 stunning Civil War photographs by the famed Mathew Brady appear with informative supporting text.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Unlike previous conflicts, when periodicals used artist sketches, the Civil War was the first major armed conflict to be illustrated with photographs. At the outset of the war in July 1861, Mathew Brady (1823-96), who was operating a photography studio in New York, set out to photograph the Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, VA. Brady went on to become the leading war photographer, amassing, with his assistants, some 6000 photographs. Lecturer and historian Garrison (The Amazing Civil War) has selected more than 300 of these images to be reproduced as vivid, large-size images for his book. The subject matter is diverse: portraits of political leaders and military commanders; and scenes of soldiers and carnage on the battlefield, care of the sick and wounded, and behind-the-lines home life. The emphasis is almost wholly on the Union side. This book will appeal to Civil War buffs. Recommended for academic libraries.DHarry Frumerman, formerly with Hunter Coll., New York
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

When Matthew Brady accompanied the Union army to Bull Run in July 1861, that first major Civil War battle also launched the remarkable career of Brady, who took the relatively new medium of photography to a higher level of terrible artistry during the next four years of slaughter. Garrison, a former college president and a Civil War scholar, has compiled more than 300 of the photographs taken by Brady and his assistants. Many of them, particularly the portraits of icons such as Lincoln and Grant, will be familiar even to laypeople. Others, including some stunning battlefield shots, have rarely been seen, and their impact can be shattering. The supporting text is informative and also captures both the irony and the sadness of Brady's personal life. This compilation should become an essential element in a Civil War collection. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585741221
• ISBN-13: 978-1585741229
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 10.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,990,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Webb Garrison, formerly associate dean of Emory University and president of McKendree College, wrote more than 55 books, including Civil War Curiosities and Civil War Trivia and Fact Book. Before his death in 2000, Garrison lived in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too many errors in Brady's Civil War, March 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Brady's Civil War (Hardcover)

While I agree with the previous review as to quality of Brady's photos, etc., I do not give the book a high rating because of the large number of errors, both major and minor, found in the photo captions. These are of such serious nature as to confuse the non-specialist seeking information, and some are so flagrant as to stagger the imagination as to how they could have happened. A photo of Col. John S. Mosby, the famous "gray ghost" of the confederate army is captioned with the information that he can be identified as a colonel even though he wears no chevrons on his shoulder straps. Well, he isn't wearing shoulder straps, and even if he were, chevrons indicate rank for corporals and sergeants, not colonels, and are worn on the sleeve above the elbow, not on the shoulder straps. The book is literally filled with such mistakes, and one must conclude that Mr. Garrison may not have finished the book prior to his death last summer, and that someone with less knowledge may have been called in to complete it. If such is the case, they picked the wrong person. On page 41, "numerous colonels of the 164th NY Regiment" are shown in an outdoor shot. Whoever did this caption did not know that each regiment had only one colonel(and usually one Lt. Col. and a Major)and these are most likely just the company officers of the regiment. On page 34, we learn that "revolvers were not issued to enlisted men", but they were in cavalry and many artillery units. In one photo, Thaddeus Stevens is identified as the man beaten with a cane by Preston Brooks, when in reality, the victim was Mass. Sen. Charles Sumner(the caning of Sumner). Finally, on page 53, Colonel Stokes is said to have "no gold on his elaborately ornamented sleeve" but the galloons, or sleeve loops are totally gold braid! Errors such as these abound throughout the book and one would hope for a total revision in the near future to make it the book it should be. Charles S. King, educator/civil war collector.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellant Compilation, December 28, 2000

By 

Fred M. Blum - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brady's Civil War (Hardcover)

Mr. Webb's compilation of the photographs of Matthew Brady is a fine edition to any Civil War library. The only limitation is one of expectations. In Brady's age the technology of photography was limited when compared to todays standards. The lack of fast film, or for that matter film as we know it, meant that all pictures had to be stages. Thus, there are no actual photographs of the numerous battles. Once one gets past these limitations, the compilation is excellent.

The best photographs are the portraits and the after battle scenes. The portraits rival those taken by the best portrait photographers of today. My favorites are of Sherman and of Grant. The one of Sherman properly conveys the sense of the man who led the destructive march through Georgia and to the sea.

The after battle scenes are equally compelling. A pity of the Civil War is that because we are left with mostly written descriptions of the battles that the horror is sometime lost in the perceived gallantly. The destructiveness and human costs are boldly portrayed in the photographs of the dead and dying. The pictures of the numerous amputees were especially effective.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't appear to have been edited, March 16, 2001

By 

M. Tosko "history librarian" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brady's Civil War (Hardcover)

This collection has some fabulous photographs, but the errant, often ungrammatical, and sometimes incomprehensible descriptions accompanying the photos is offputting, to say the least. Also, the introductory page to each chapter has the font aligned in the center, rather than on the lefthand margin. While this may not seem important, in a visual book such as this, it is not only annoying, but plain hard to read! Finally, the font-size occasionally changes in mid-sentence. Unbelievable! This thing looks rushed into print.