Patriotic Gore: Studies in the Literature of the American Civil War [Paperback]

Edmund Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 1994

Regarded by many critics as Edmund Wilson's greatest book, Patriotic Gore brilliantly portrays the vast political, spiritual, and material crisis of the Civil War as reflected in the lives and writings of some thirty representative Americans.

Critical/biographical portraits of such notable figures as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Ambrose Bierce, Mary Chesnut, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Oliver Wendell Holmes prove Wilson to be the consummate witness to the most eloquently recorded era in American history.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The period of the American Civil War was not one in which belles lettres flourished but it did produce a remarkable literature which mostly consists of speeches and pamphlets, private letters and diaries, personal memoirs and journalistic reports. Has there ever been another historical crisis of the magnitude of 1861-65 in which so many people were so articulate?

When Edmund Wilson wrote those words in the fall of 1961, the literature of the Vietnam War had yet to be written, but his point remains well taken. Patriotic Gore is a remarkable survey of Civil War literature, encompassing generals, society ladies, and novelists alike. The readings of these works are suffused throughout by Wilson's literary attentiveness and--occasionally--flashes of humor. Of Abraham Lincoln, for example, he writes, "There has undoubtedly been written about him more romantic and sentimental rubbish than about any other American figure, with the possible exception of Edgar Allan Poe; and there are moments when one is tempted to feel that the cruelest thing that has happened to Lincoln since he was shot by Booth has been to fall into the hands of Carl Sandburg."

Certainly one finds the books and personages that one would expect to find within these pages--Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Mary Chestnut--but there are plenty of revelations for those who are not already intimately familiar with the period, such as the possible debt the realism of The Red Badge of Courage owes to the novelist John De Forest, or the charming erudition of Confederate general Richard Taylor. The editorial board of the Modern Library determined Patriotic Gore to be one of the 100 best nonfiction works of the 20th century. Whatever one thinks of the list as a whole, nobody who reads this book can begrudge the board that decision. --Ron Hogan

Review

“Our American Plutarch . . . a great book. It was not only the greatest single performance of Wilson's unique career as a man of letters. . . it made the passion that went into the war, and into the disillusion that followed it, more affecting than any other contemporary book on this greatest of national experiences.” (Alfred Kazin )

“[Patriotic Gore] has long enjoyed a special and respected place as one of the most remarkable and readable books about the greatest tragedy in American history.” (C. Vann Woodward )

Product Details

• Paperback: 848 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (September 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393312569
• ISBN-13: 978-0393312560
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent, mandatory reading December 24, 2000

By Candace Scott

Format:Paperback

Edmund Wilson produced this classic look at civil war literature more than forty years ago and it remains essential reading for anyone professing an interest in the great American conflict. Wilson brought much to the table: a beautiful, restrained writing style and a prodigious understanding of the civil war and its primary players. His magnificent analysis of Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs remains the best and most often-quoted ode to these books. Wilson's tribute to Grant's memoirs is the crux of the book, but his ancillary analysis of other civil war works is also riveting and instructive.

"Patriotic Gore" is not only great literature, it's truly one of the best books I've ever read. It deserves a place on any serious civil war historian's bookshelf.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If only there were more books like this one. September 30, 2000

By M. Nesbit

Format:Paperback

I am knowledgeable about the Civil War and its literature. In fact, you would think I'd be heartily sick of the subject by now. I sometimes feel that I have over-grazed this favorite topic. However, Wilson is simply wonderful in this book. He makes the whole antebellum era and the war years live again. His opinions are orignal and well stated. He has picked both famous and obscure books/authors to discuss at greater or lesser length depending on what he has new to say about them and on whether or no the subject in hand has, through disuse, disappeared from the knowledge of man. If you are interested in this period but are tired of the same old things, Wilson can point you down paths you could never find by yourself.

I found the introduction a little too ideological to my taste but otherwise the book is darned near perfect.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars No reviews yet for poor Edmund? August 22, 2000

By Jeffrey A. Cohen

Format:Paperback

I'm surprised no one more learned than I in the literature of the American Civil War has yet reviewed this book. I came to it in an attmept to get a sense of the literary quality of the various memoirs and writings left by prominent participants in that momentous struggle, after being surprised that U.S. Grant's memoirs are held in high regard by critics. Wilson's book is a very compelling read (so far - I haven't yet finished it), giving the reader a vivid impression of the ideologies of the time and the pervasive and somewhat high-strung religiosity that influenced their development. Wilson's style is a pleasure, the product of a highly attentive intelligence informed by deep, but lightly-worn, learning. It's surprising how recently this book was written, since Wilson's voice resonates to these ears (educated in the jargon and vulgarities of the late-20th-century university) with the timbre of another, more civilized age.