Great Battles of the Civil War [Hardcover]

John MacDonald (Author), John Keegan (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Great Battles | Publication Date: February 2008

17 of the Greatest Battles of the Civil War Come Alive as Never Before For the first time, breakthrough computer graphics re-create every detail of the Civil War's most important battles. A team of experts has researched every aspect of every battle—from topography to troop strength—and, using the computer's latest capabilities, reconstructs the battlefields in vivid detail and analyzes why and how the winners won. Also included is a wealth of contemporary anecdotes, eyewitness accounts, character studies, paintings, drawings and period photographs that reveal a uniquely accurate picture of the most memorable battles of the Civil War. An amazing commander's view. Had the generals possessed these graphics, history might have changed. Here's how it works: From a standard 2-dimensional map, the computer constructs a sophisticated 3-dimensional graphic of the battle site. Then the artists overlay all the details of the battle: troop movement, weapon deployment, the state of the terrain, even the exact weather conditions.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Wars may be about territory, but terrain establishes the parameters of operations. Few conflicts illustrate this more clearly than the American Civil War. Macdonald, author of two earlier works with similar formats ( Great Battlefields of the World and Great Battles of World War II, both just released in paperback) has selected 17 crucial Civil War engagements and applied computer mapping to their geography. The field is presented in three-dimensional, computer-generated landscape models. Principal troop movements are marked to show the effects of ground on the action. The cartography is accompanied by an intelligent text, clear graphs of force and loss ratios, and well-chosen illustrations. This unique Civil War atlas is valuable, if not indispensable, for library collections. Dennis E. Showalter, Colorado Coll., Colorado Springs
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Booksales (February 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785817581
• ISBN-13: 978-0785817581
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,445,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Place to Begin Your Civil War Odyssey, August 20, 2001

By 

William A. Eadie (San Francisco, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Battles of the Civil War (Paperback)

I am a beginner on my own personal odyssey of understanding and memorialization of those valiant souls who fought and died so bravely in the American Civil War. My interest in this Great War was awakened by the emotionally overwhelming movie Gettysburg. To understand Gettysburg and place it in a larger historical context I began reading reviews of various Civil War books on Amazon and other Internet sites. I discovered this book while browsing the Civil War section at my local Borders Bookstore. I was struck by the clarity of its visual presentation and found its graphic depictions of the number of troops and casualties involved in each battle to be extremely helpful in grasping the enormous carnage of the Civil War. I bought this book knowing the luke warm reviews found here. I did this because I believe it provides a visually rich entry point for Civil War novices such as myself and suspect its deficiencies will be corrected by future readings. One thing I've learned about the Civil War is that the fog of battle has not cleared after 136 years and almost everything I think I know about this Great War is open to honest scholarly debate. This book would be a good choice for one of your first Civil War books, but it certainly should not be your last.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book!!!, April 12, 2001

By 

Jacob C. (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Battles of the Civil War (Paperback)

The book contains all of the major battles which took place during the civil, with good information like location of battle, how it was fought, casualties, etc. The book contained illustrations of the battles which were very well done, along with information on whats taking place in the illustrations. I think it is a good book to refer to if you want some basic information on the major battles of the civil war. The other reviewers were probably just being a bit too over critical when they typed their review. If you liked this book, then you should check into Great battles of world war II, its one of my favorites!

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Needs Work..., March 30, 2000

By 

Scott Anderson "Sharpsburg" (Shepherdstown, WV) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Battles of the Civil War (Paperback)

From the looks of the cover one would think there would be a great amount of detail and research within these pages. However, upon reading it you will be taken for a loss and need to refer back to the Official Records or State Regimental records.

There are too many errors to list, and the 3-D terrain effect is not very helpful, but the historical snapshots are nice.