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70 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maps really mattered in the American Civil War, June 1, 2005
This review is from: Great Maps of the Civil War: Pivotal Battles and Campaigns Featuring 32 Removable Maps (Museum in a Book) (Hardcover)
As the Forward to this beautifully rendered large format book states, "The war was first waged on paper. Before troops engaged in battle, both sides plotted strategy and tactics on the maps of the day. Knowing the field, understanding the terrain, recognizing the route of assault--and the line of retreat--could determine triumph or defeat." Perhaps more so than in wars since, the American Civil War was fought primarily by massing large troop formations against each other. As a consequence, moving those men and their equipment using the most efficient and advantageous route became paramount. More often than not, occupation of key terrain meant victory, and therefore, arriving at the right spot, first, and with the most men was a strategic necessity in every encounter.
Typical in books of this nature, what you experience is a detailed depiction of the array of military forces produced on a map after the battle was fought. What the author (William J. Miller) states as one of his primary objective in this book, was to provide the reader with a set of maps (in this case there are actually 32 removable maps) that were used by the participants in this war or would have commonly been available to them at the time. And to present with these maps, the same depiction of the terrain as seen by the commanders as they planned their operations. Miller's stated intent was to help the reader understand why a particular battle was fought the way that it was, rather than just how it was fought, as an after-the-fact. Having said that, Miller does include a number of very detailed and artistically accurate post battlefield maps, like the famous and extremely collectible Bachelder Bird's-eye Panoramic of Gettysburg. He also devotes a great deal space in the book to describing the technology of map making and reproduction at that time in history, and fills his book with interesting stories about the consequence of fighting blind or with gross geographically errors.
All in all this is a wonderful book. It is probably not the type of book to be read in one sitting or even sequentially, rather one to be kept as a reference and authoritative resource for reading and rereading. It simply is a beautiful book, truly unique in its field, and more than worth the price that is sells for new. It is a collectible filled with removable copies of collectible material. My highest recommendation for the Civil War enthusiast!
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43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I was expecting maps I could read and use...they're not, June 17, 2009
This review is from: Great Maps of the Civil War: Pivotal Battles and Campaigns Featuring 32 Removable Maps (Museum in a Book) (Hardcover)
I was hoping and expecting to see some great maps I could use in my Civil War reading and study. They are not that. The maps are so small (can we say font size 2 or even less) for the most part, so faded, and so crowded with detail that I find them essentially unusable for what I wanted. I live in Yorktown, Virginia, for instance, and had a hard time trying to figure out what was what on that map when I know all the landmarks. The text is mostly about the history of map making during that era. Interesting enough but not a high priority on my reading list now. There are a number of nice period photographs which are fine. Still, with what I was needing and expecting, I am disappointed. I would not recommend the book unless you want to know about making maps during the Civil War rather than using Civil War era maps as maps.
margaret1115
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Is A Must Book for the Civil War Enthusiast, December 22, 2004
This review is from: Great Maps of the Civil War: Pivotal Battles and Campaigns Featuring 32 Removable Maps (Museum in a Book) (Hardcover)
Great Maps of the Civil War is as stated, a museum in a book. If one already has Rod Gragg's poignant collection of Civil War letters, "From Fields of Fire and Glory", or the Civil War in a box collection that was a bestseller some years back, then this book is a must for your collection.
Mr. Miller has chosen some 32 wonderful and even some little-known maps, including the "Cram map" that was ill-used by McClellan in the Peninsula Campaign, the bloodstained map that Union General James McPherson was using when he was killed in action during the Atlanta campaign (one can clearly see the blood stains on this removeable map - starkly bringing the reality of the Civil War home). There is even a unique map illustrating the proposed Confederate defenses of Danville, Viriginia, the town that Jefferson Davis and the Confederate cabinet fled to on the eve of Appomattox. The plan to defend Danville as if it were the new Confederate capital came to an abrupt end as Lee met Grant at the McLean home.
This is as close as one can get to holding history in his or her hand without possessing the actual document or map. My only qualm is the $35 price - amazon offers it pretty reasonably - and the knowledge that many books like this one do end up on bargain tables in about a year at a 1/4 of the price. Having said that, though, this is probably the best new Civil War gift book one would be most happy to receive this holiday season.
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