None Died in Vain: The Saga of the American Civil War [Paperback]

Robert Leckie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 1991

A fast-paced, compulsively readable one-volume narrative of the American Civil War, by the author of the acclaimed saga of World War II, Delivered from Evil.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Leckie ( Delivered from Evil ) is a skillful guide through the daunting complexities of the American Civil War. His descriptions of battles and campaigns, from Fort Sumter to the post-Appomattox surrender of Gen. Joe Johnston's rebel remnant, enable readers to visualize the action and follow the overall strategy on land, sea and inland waterways. His brief portraits of the principal civilian and military leaders, both North and South, are colorful and lively: Sen. Stephen A. Douglas, for one, is described as "five feet full of bounce, brilliance, and belligerence." Perhaps the book's most noteworthy accomplishment is its clarifying examination of slavery in the South, showing how the national controversy over the system shifted from the economic to the moral plane and why the dispute became insoluble by peaceful means. Readers won't find a finer one-volume popular introduction to the War Between the States.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-- An in-depth background on the social, political, and economic seeds that were being cultivated prior to succession. Leckie's brief biographies of the period's political and military leaders add interest and color to the saga. The book challenges readers' sympathies of the North and South, and at times, questions one's previous knowledge of the war. The content is well researched and would be interesting to anyone with limited knowledge about it. The photographs and detailed maps help readers to better visualize the various campaigns. Although there are books with more detailed studies of Civil War strategies, this is a valid research tool.
- Barry Williams, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (September 25, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060921161
• ISBN-13: 978-0060921163
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #457,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent treatment of Civil War and related issues, November 29, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: None Died in Vain: The Saga of the American Civil War (Paperback)

This is an eminently readable single volume covering the causes, background, personages and battles of the American Civil War. While less dramatic than Shaara's novel "The Killer Angels" it is equally absorbing. Moreover, it covers the entire war and a broad spectrum of subjects for that period

The early pages deal in depth with the Spanish American War, but wisely so for that war was the prelude in many ways to the Civil War, both as to precipitating causes and for the generals involved on both sides.

The author has not provided any references for the many quotations, letters and anecdotes that make the book so rich and readable. This lack will not be acceptable to the history scholar even though it is obviously well researched. But for an intelligent reader seeking insight and entertainment relative to five exceptionally eventful years in U.S. History , this is a winner.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For those who missed Ken Burns---, June 5, 2000

By 

Bruce J. Green (Long Beach, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: None Died in Vain: The Saga of the American Civil War (Paperback)

As an educator currently working on his master's in history, I am always pleasantly surprised when I read a history of a complex topic that is both thorough and easily understood. Mr. Leckie's book fills these requisites very well, indeed. Not only is it an effective history of the military aspects of the war, he also imparts significant perspectives on the people who began, shaped and fought the war, as well as those watching on the sidelines. Although his portrait of slavery as the proximal cause of the war betrays a personal bias, his recitation of the facts and figures appear to be both accurate and complete and his brief, but iluminating, character studies of the war's leading figures add dimension and depth to the topic. In addition, he accomplishes something few writers on the Civil War manage to accomplish: he makes it clear that, despite the fact that the bulk of the war's pain was born by all of America, the blame for the war lies primarily with the minority of extermists on both sides of the issue, not with the majority of the people. Some may find this analysis somewhat more complicated than they might like, but history is seldom simple and Leckie amply illustrates this fact. It is one of the best general histories on the Civil War I have ever read and perhaps one of the best ever written.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting War, April 21, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: None Died in Vain: The Saga of the American Civil War (Paperback)

None Died in Vain is the tale of the American Civil War. However, this book doesn't begin by plunging into the war as usual history books do; on the other hand, it starts before that. The first settings are of slavery in the south. Then it gradually introduces all the major characters-the people that would become heroes and leaders of their time during the war. The war then comes alive. The battles begin, and so do political arguments. Finally, after an exciting war, it ends with Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
I enjoyed this book because of the way the author makes the war become real. History books often tell of the Civil War in a monotonous way that could make me fall asleep. Or, the book opens great, but it becomes much too long. This book, on the other hand, starts off a bit boring, but as it launches into the war, it is history come alive. I love the way he describes the people's childhoods and grown-up days. It gives a nice background for each war hero. No other author has ever done that-they usually just tell what they are supposed to and end at that. The only flaw is the hardness. Sometimes I didn't understand what the author was trying to say, even after reading the same phrase to myself a couple of times.
My favorite part was the telling of the childhood of Jefferson Davis. I have often read books about his opposer, Abraham Lincoln, for I am a northerner. All of the books I read about the Civil War times is told from the point of view that displays Jefferson Davis as a bad guy, and not someone I'd like to know about. However, after I read about his life, I decided that he wasn't so bad after all-he was just another person doing what he thought was right. An in a way, he is great about sticking to what he feels is needed to be done. And I found out that Jefferson Davis's life is just as interesting as Lincoln's.