Civil War Journal: The Legacies (v. 3) [Hardcover]

William C. Davis (Editor), Brian C. Pohanka (Editor), Don Troiani (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Civil War Journal | Publication Date: January 1, 1999

"In many arenas, the Civil War changed things both in military and civilian life," William C. Davis observes. "The roles in society of women and minorities were altered drastically. Advancements in medicine and technology exerted a profound impact on the future. Industry burgeoned. The reporting of news entered the modern era with the photograph. Culture changed as the complexion of Americans evolved and as war's wounds imposed lasting divisions upon our society. It ensured at once that future wars would be more terrible, and yet we would be equipped to cope with that terror to come. These are the legacies of the war covered in this volume."

Civil War Journal: The Legacies is the third volume of a three-volume treatment of the Civil War developed from the popular History Channel series Civil War Journal. Drawing on personal letters, diaries, and newspaper reports, these volumes focus on seldom-told stories of people, places, and events that bring to life the heroic intensity of the Civil War. They portray the human side of the conflict that is frequently overlooked in recounting troop movements and engagements.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Rather than look at the leaders or battles, as previous volumes of Civil War Journal have done, this third and final volume considers the impact of the war on American culture and society. It is a wide-ranging survey, encompassing considerations of everything from the end of slavery to the creation of Arlington National Cemetery, from Matthew Brady's photojournalism to innovations in combat medicine. The book is richly illustrated with photographs and drawings, and quotations from various commentators in the History Channel's Civil War Journal series are incorporated seamlessly into the text.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558534393
• ISBN-13: 978-1558534391
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.9 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,697,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Text excellent but illustrations not as good as others, April 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Civil War Journal: The Legacies (v. 3) (Hardcover)

I found the text well written and learned a lot that I had only guessed about previously--and was way off base. Several chapters deviate from the broadcast episodes, but they seem to benefit in doing so. (A few of these topics were never even broadcast by A&E and I haven't seen them on the History Channel either.) Some of the photos I had not seen before, and the Confederate flags on pages 340 and 341 (but did we need the lyrics to the "Bonnie Blue Flag"?) and the African-American regimentals on pages 346 and 347 are very special. My pet peeve about this book and its companion volumes is that some of the interesting photos are reproduced too small to appreciate. Others are too big. In this book, much more than the other two, the pages look like they've been thrown together carelessly. Ovals are thoughtlessly reproduced in rectangular boxes when they should have been reproduced as ovals. Some things are silhouetted beautifully, but a few that should have been handled that way are just pitched onto the page. Somebody needs a lesson in perspective. In general, this book looks "sloppy" compared to the first two in this series. In too many chapters these illustrations jump around as if no one knew what to do with them. For instance, in the Alexander Gardner chapter, the text just stops for a bunch of photos and then resumes with nothing to indicate what's going on. And the artillery and prison camp chapters look like alphabet soup. Apart from the illustrations themselves, in way too many instances the captions just repeat the text whereas most of the descriptions in the other two volumes had some neat information not in the text. I recommend the book for the text anyway--don't judge it by the weird arrangement of the photos and the mundane captions.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great reference to the behind the scenes Civil War, March 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Civil War Journal: The Legacies (v. 3) (Hardcover)

A very interesting reference book, however I would not recomend it to the reader who is more interested in the battles or leaders in the war. The book touched on a lower level not often heard about the Civil War, such as women in the war, slaves, trains in the war, and photogriphers in the war. I for one am not to interested in these topics but still found the book very readable. It is a fine conclusion to the other two books in the History Channels three volume set.

5.0 out of 5 stars Crazy Ray's Review, November 4, 2002

By 

Raymond H. Mullen (Shawnee, Oklahoma United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Civil War Journal: The Legacies (v. 3) (Hardcover)

This is an excellent read. This book takes you to places and things that you may not have read much about. Any serious Civil War reader needs this in his library.