With My Face to the Enemy: A Civil War Anthology [Abridged, Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Robert Cowley (Editor), Eric Conger (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 2001

With My Face to the Enemy is a collection of powerful, insightful essays about the Civil War by some of the most renowned historians in their field.

Essayists include: Stephen W. Sears on Stonewall Jackson's last march; James M. McPherson on failed Southern strategies; Joseph T. Glattharr on Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg; and Noah Andre Trudeau on the Fort Pillow massacre.

Each of these absorbing pieces has appeared in print only once before: in the pages of the award-winning, authoritative MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History. In each issue, MHQ brings the history of warfare and of society to life through vivid narrative accounts of the key events—some well known, some seemingly obscure—that have shaped the world we live in today.

Perhaps because it was fought on American soil, pitting brother against brother, friend against friend, freedom against slavery, and states' rights against the principle of union, the Civil War remains a powerful presence in the American imagination. For this reason, With My Face to the Enemy will find a large and appreciative audience, eager to hear what our era's most distinguished historical thinkers and writers have to say about a conflict that still echoes in our hearts and minds to this day.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Moving crisply from Abraham Lincoln's inauguration in 1861 to the final Confederate surrenders in 1865, this smart collection of essays provides a neat history of the Civil War. With nearly two dozen noted historians contributing to the volume (it is an all-star roster that includes Thomas Fleming, Geoffrey Perret, and James McPherson), the approach is necessarily idiosyncratic. There's no essay on Pickett's charge, for instance, but there is an interesting discussion of Robert E. Lee's orders at Malvern Hill, which were arguably a forerunner to that fateful action at Gettysburg. The editor, Robert Cowley, has done an excellent job of piecing together a group of essays that stand well on their own.

Between these covers, however, they manage to become more than the sum of their parts--always a difficult goal for anthologies to achieve. Cowley himself is the founding editor of Military History Quarterly and the man behind the acclaimed What If? anthology. Each of the selections included in With My Face to the Enemy has appeared previously in MHQ, and many of them have appeared in book form as well. "Lincoln Takes Charge" by David Herbert Donald is drawn from Donald's biography Lincoln, for instance, and "The Ordeal of General Stone" by Stephen W. Sears appeared in Controversies and Commanders.

John Bowers writes one of the most interesting chapters, on Confederate hero Stonewall Jackson. "Jackson was not a natural leader," writes Bowers. "In fact, Jackson probably had what we now call a learning disability." Yet he became one of the most fearsomely effective generals in American history. "He personified the word indomitable. He would not accept defeat and had a way of coming back, prevailing no matter what was thrown at him.... When the Battle of Cedar Mountain was being lost, bluecoats storming over Stonewall's regiments in a clatter of musket fire, Jackson himself galloped into the maelstrom, drew his sword, and rallied his retreating troops back into the fight.... The tide turned, and Cedar Mountain was won." Filled with such compelling perspectives, With My Face to the Enemy is a worthy addition to any personal library on the Civil War. --John J. Miller --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

"I've always disliked the dismissive term `Civil War buff,' which seems unfairly to separate the historian from the enthusiast," writes Robert Cowley, What If? editor and founding editor of MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History. With My Face to the Enemy: Perspectives on the Civil War aims to keep the two firmly together, with its 34 substantive, jargon-free essays. Leading scholars like David Herbert Donald (on Lincoln's early presidency) and Gary W. Gallagher (on Robert E. Lee's early career) check in, as does Tom Wicker (on the Battle of Stones River). In all, 30-plus essays take readers from "First Shots" to "The Last Act."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: HighBridge Company; 5 hours/4 CD edition (May 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565114612
• ISBN-13: 978-1565114616
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 4.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,059,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read., July 2, 2001

By 

Chris Kane (West Des Moines, IA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With My Face to the Enemy: Perspectives on the Civil War (Hardcover)

I suppose for the real Civil War authority, there is nothing really new in Cowley's collection of essays. After all, virtually every included author is a well-known historian with an established reputation and style. One should not, therefore, expect the manifestation of any of the trendy new theories that are all the rage among the professorial elite as they seek to repaint the motivations of 19th Century characters in light our own media-dominated society and their personal palette of political correctness. Thank goodness for that. Nevertheless, they are an excellent read. Each of the insightful chronicles place the reader in dramatic and immediate proximity to the historical record, in lucid detail, without resort to an exhaustive account lasting hundreds of pages. For those who unfortunately cannot live their lives immersed in research, this collection of essays provides a Civil War carte du jour doled out in delicious slices. The value of the book is undiminished because we've read it all before. Even those with extensive Civil War libraries will not be disappointed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine, but flawed, collection, May 2, 2003

By 

jrmspnc (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: With My Face to the Enemy: Perspectives on the Civil War (Hardcover)

I am greatly torn over whether to give With My Face to the Enemy three or four stars. Four stars ultimately prevails because it seems to me that just about any book about the Civil War is almost by definition worth reading, and there is much in With My Face to the Enemy that will please both Civil War aficionados and those with but a passing interest. Of particular moment are two articles about the Confederate pirate ships (and let's be honest, they *were* pirate ships sans the physical violence) Alabama and Shenandoah, which reveal the genuinely global reach of the conflict. Every article has something to recommend it, even if, like Stephen Sears' essay on Chancellorsville, you've read it all before.

But there are some flaws, too. Most glaring and annoying is the lack of an index. Is there any Civil War student who does not rush to the index first to find references to his (or her) favorite general or battle? No such luck here; you'll have to read the entire book for those brief references to Howard, Hancock, McPherson, et al. Second, the articles lack two of the major selling points of military history magazines - color maps and illustrations. Now, I'm a big boy and I don't *need* pictures with my text, but often the art that accompanies an MHQ article is more powerful than the text. Third, there is a fault that lies with far too many Civil War pieces: biographies of important figures devolving into hagiographies. For too many Civil War biographers their subject can do, and did no, wrong. Crowley himself uses the word "hagiography" in one of his introductions. Whether it's Stonewall or Lee, or Admiral Porter or Sheridan, the lavish praise becomes tiring. And the final gripe to be made is toward Crowley's introductions, which borrow too liberally from the essays, adding nothing yet stealing the thunder of the contributors. (The same complaint can be made of Crowley's introductions to the What If? series.)

These are not much more than petty gripes, however. The Civil War remains a fascinating topic, and With My Face to the Enemy provides a wide range of essays covering many areas of the war. The collection deserves a spot on the bookshelf.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars nice mix, December 22, 2001

By 

Charles C. DiVincenti Jr. "Carlo" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: With My Face to the Enemy: Perspectives on the Civil War (Hardcover)

This collection of essays, compiled by Donald and Cowley, is a real treat. It offers a nice mix of storylines from both Union and Confederate perspectives. Maps abound to assist the text pertaining to various battles/troop movements. A word of caution, however - these essays have been collected from past issues of Military History Quarterly. This may explain why no notes or bibliographies are offered. Many of these offerings present novel twists on Civil War subjects - Lincoln's genius with the English language, Charles Stone's ordeal with the Federal legislature and Nathan Bedford Forrest's role at Ft. Pillow are just three of 30+ topics brought to bear. Finally, on a structural note, this book is 500+ pages of somewhat small print.