The Children of Pride: Selected letters of the family of the Rev. Dr. Charles Colcock Jones from the years 1860-1868; A New, Abridged Edition [Abridged] [Paperback]

Robert Manson Myers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 1987

The remarkable Civil War letters of a Georgia plantation family, now available in a compact, illustrated volume for new readers and for all those who so greatly admired the original monumental edition. The letters vividly recreate a period of American history unparalleled for its drama and poignancy. From reviews of the first edition: "No story in America's history has been so often told, or has so well stood the retelling, as that of the Old South and its destruction. But Robert Manson Myers's splendid [book] tells it as it has not been told before, in the fullness of its poignancy and tragedy." -Madison Jones, New York Times Book Review "A great and indispensable book." -Jonathan Yardley, New Republic "A Gone with the Wind saga.... This book is superb." -Clarence E. Olson, St. Louis Post Dispatch "The Children of Pride is family reconstruction on a grand scale. It demonstrates how the editing of sources can become, in the hands of an imaginative scholar, the work of creative history." -Citation for the 1973 National Book Award in History. The original version of The Children of Pride was the winner of the 1973 National Book Award in History. It was also named among the best books of 1972 by the American Library Association and by the New York Times Book Review, Saturday Review, Time, Washington Post, and Newsweek.

Product Details

• Paperback: 706 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; Abridged edition (September 10, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300040539
• ISBN-13: 978-0300040531
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #669,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This remarkable book is the real-life "Gone with the Wind.", July 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Children of Pride: Selected letters of the family of the Rev. Dr. Charles Colcock Jones from the years 1860-1868; A New, Abridged Edition (Paperback)

This book shows better than any other the disruptive effect of the Civil War on the lives of real Southern people. In 1,300 letters between many family members, this magnificant book chronicles the Jones family of Liberty County, Georgia from 1854 until the late 1860s. We see the family's lives from day to day as war clouds gather, the son becomes Mayor of Savannah, the army is raised, Sherman's army arrives and pillages the plantation every day for a month, the family becomes destitute refugees from the chaos of war, the slaves become free workers, etc. We see into the minds and hearts of this good family, experience their births and deaths, joys and sorrows and fears, at the time of the nation's greatest political crisis.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent first hand account of the Civil War in Georgia, May 22, 1999

By 

John Rigdon "JohnRigdon" (N. Augusta, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Children of Pride: Selected letters of the family of the Rev. Dr. Charles Colcock Jones from the years 1860-1868; A New, Abridged Edition (Paperback)

The following description of this book is from my Civil War in Georgia website. This book contains some 1200 letters of nearly 7000 extant, between the men and women of a large, well-educated family from Liberty County, Georgia. Although the correspondents are numerous, there are four principal writers. Charles Colcock Jones, Sr., a plantation owner, Presbyterian Minister, and promoter of the spiritual welfare of the slaves; Mrs. Charles Jones, Sr., wrote of everyday events on the plantation, attempts to hold the family together, intrusions by Union soldiers at the family plantation "Montevideo" during Sherman's march, and the eventual sale of the family home and her move to New Orleans; Charles Jr., a Harvard-educated lawyer, described family legal matters, including selling land and slaves, and his experiences in the defense of the Georgia coast and the siege of Charleston. He served with the Chatham Light Artillery Battery and as Colonel, Chief of Artillery, District of Georgia, Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida; Surgeon Major Joseph served in the Confederate Medical Department and conducted research in Confederate prison camps. Among the letters of a sister, Mary Sharpe Jones Mallard, is a description of the siege of Atlanta and her escape to "Montevideo".

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The True History of Georgia during Civil War, March 14, 2002

By 

Cathy Ingram (Cedartown, Ga United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Children of Pride (Hardcover)

Book is composed of actual letters from family members in Georgia during the Prewar, during actual war and after the Civil War.
You get an actual account on how life was day to day, with very enjoyable and easy to read wording. Much more accruate history in this book, than is currently being taught in our schools.