Eyewitness: Civil War [Hardcover]

John Stanchack (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: DK Eyewitness Books

Discover the war that turned brother against brother -- from the birth of the Confederacy to Reconstruction.

Here is a dramatic, photo-filled guide to the war that split the Union. Eyewitness Civil War includes everything from the issues that divided the country, to the battles that shaped the conflict, to the birth of the reunited states. Rich, full-color photographs of rare documents, powerful weapons, and priceless artifacts plus stunning images of legendary commanders, unsung heroes, and memorable heroines combine with stories of courage, adventure, and defiance to paint an unforgettable portrait of the American Civil War. See Fort Sumter's battle-torn flag, a beardless Lincoln, the tools of a Civil war surgeon, and the Confederate capital in ruins. Learn how to fire a cannon, the secrets of the Underground Railroad, about the Confederacy's First Lady, and what soldiers carried into battle. Discover who plotted Lincoln's assassination, where the last Confederates surrendered, what happened to Jefferson Davis, and why the North won the war, and much, much more!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up-This illustrated history offers a stunning array of reproductions and photographs of the sites, people, and artifacts associated with the war. The book is divided into 29 two-page chapters covering such topics as the slavery debate, the election of 1860, raising armies, camp life, women during the war, Gettysburg, and the Confederacy surrender. A paragraph of text introduces each topic and informative, often lengthy, captions accompany the numerous black-and-white and full-color illustrations. This title will make an outstanding addition to collections of Civil War history and will draw visual learners. The many dramatic photos may inspire students to seek more in-depth material.
Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. The American Civil War becomes accessible in the familiar decision of Eyewitness books. The double-page spread format uses brief text, many illustrations, and lengthy captions in very small type. Illustrations include period photographs, engravings, and documents, as well as photos of artifacts such as rifles, flags, and uniforms. Arranged roughly chronologically, the book begins with discussions of states' rights and slavery and ends with Reconstruction. In between, it discusses some major battles but focuses primarily on broader topics, such as "The Underground Railroad," "Great commanders," and "Army camp life." A highly visual treatment of the war. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN (September 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789463024
• ISBN-13: 978-0789463029
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #424,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The DK Eyewitness series takes on the entire Civil War, August 8, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eyewitness: Civil War (Hardcover)

I think that with the topic of the Civil War the DK Eyewitness Book series has met its match. The goal of these wonderfully illustrated books is to give readers the equivalent of going to a museum, albeit one that is able to collect photographs, paintings, and artifacts from dozens of choice sources. However, when you are dealing with a topic as large as the Civil War all you can really do is scratch the surface and provide readers with a general introduction. "Civil War" is definitely not the first book a young student would turn to for information about the topic, but for those whose previous readings have kindled a passion for this pivotal period in American history this book will be a treat, primarily in its depiction of artifacts. Young Civil War buffs will already be familiar with the portraits of the Union and Confederate generals, and many of the photographs and etchings will be familiar from other illustrated works. Consequently, they will find the contemporary photographs of priceless historic artifacts to more interesting that the familiar period illustrations.

This photo-filled guide focuses each two-page spread on particular topics ranging from the Underground Railroad and how both sides raised armies to black volunteers and field artillery. The war itself is reduced to the battles of Bull Run and Gettysburg, the siege of Vicksburg, Sherman's March to the Sea, and Lee's surrender. Again, this underscores that this is a supplemental volume and not a primary source of information about the Civil War. The rule of thumb here is that the less you know about the Civil War the more you will be impressed with this volume, because the more you know the more likely you have already encountered most of the information and illustrations contained herein. I also think that this particular volume tries a bit too hard. Case in point, the famous engraving of Senator Charles Sumner being attacked by South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks with a cane on the floor of the U.S. Senate colors in the two main figures, and other illustrations have been colorized as well.

However, all of this simply goes to underscore that the great value of the DK Eyewitness Books series is that they show us things we have never seen and in my case this particular subject is one that has already exposed me to a lot of what we find in this book. Several volumes in this format could have been devoted to the topic of the Civil War, so I would not be surprised if somewhere down the road some companion volumes to this effort were produced.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another beautiful DK book!, January 7, 2004

By 

Hello Kitty Ellen (Appleton, WI) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Eyewitness: Civil War (Hardcover)

DK is great at creating books full of high-quality photos. This book includes great photos of Civil War soldiers in their uniforms. It also has photos of soldiers lying dead on a battlefield and a Southern home riddled with holes from canon fire, photos I had never seen in my history books. It has good, close-up photos and drawings of the guns, grenades, hardtack biscuits and other everyday items used by soldiers back then. Very interesting!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DK Formula Brings Another Great Topic Introduction, August 16, 2005

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Wayne A. Smith (Newark, DE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eyewitness: Civil War (Hardcover)

DK has a great formula for introducing topics to kids. Beautiful graphics, excellent layout and good summaries of important facts surrounding their topics.

Such is the same for their Civil War book. For the child wanting (or needing) an introduction to the Civil War this book will serve well. The pictures draw the attention of the browser and the text gives a pretty good brief summary of the why, who and what for the reader.

An excellent addition for your child's library.