Customer Reviews

The Illustrated Confederate Reader

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The editors of this book have collected a large number of very interesting primary texts -- battlefield stories, interviews of ex-slaves, civilians' memories, and so on. They've combined them with a number of little-seen photos, including one which has got to be the most disturbing battlefield casualties shot I've seen yet. Amateurs in particular will enjoy this book. I did find a couple of flaws: the selections have been edited with a ... marking where material has been excised, and that made me wonder what I was missing. Also, the introductory passages to each section are pretty basic. Strangely, in the brief bio of General Cleburne, one of his most important achievements, his suggestion that the slaves be freed in exchange for service in the Confederate army, is never mentioned. So in terms of scholarship this may be a little questionable here and there, but it's certainly an enjoyable volume.

The Illustrated Confederate Reader by Rod Gragg

Published in 1989 this is the type of book that should be part of every high school History curricula - simply because it is the kind of book that actually generates the interest and desire to learn more about its' subject. Gragg's work basically makes the Civil War real. It shows the reader real people in the middle of real lives in real places in the middle of a surreal five years in our History. That's how it allows the reader to finally connect with the Civil War and its' Reality.