Customer Reviews

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War (The Politically Incorrect Guides)

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

In 1972, I was a freshman at Michigan State University (I am an almost life long Michigander). One night, sitting in a student lounge, I struck up a conversation with a fellow student who hailed from the South. As I asked him questions about his life we drifted into a discussion of history. When I said the words "The Civil War", he ignited. He declared that there was no Civil War, that it was a war of aggression by the North. The South had a clear right to self-determination and the right to leave the Union. The war was NOT over because it had not been legally concluded. He went on like this for quite awhile and I was bewildered because I had never heard thoughts like these before. While I did not agree with him them and do not agree with him or H. W. Croker III now, I think it is healthy for everyone to learn that these ideas remain alive in our nation and in parts of our culture.

The folks who hold these ideas see many things very differently and hold that certain issues that the Civil War seemed to settle are still unsettled. While parts of their arguments may seem attractive, when I view them as a whole, I think we have to give up too much to adopt them. If the United States were to fragment and refragment into smaller "nations", it would weaken us and invite predatory behavior from other and stronger nations. Plus, their history of certain issues in the Civil War, particularly around slavery and race seem strained, contrived, and often wrong to the point of being disturbed.

However, if you have not heard the flip side of the Civil War history before, this is a good and easy place to get that through the looking glass experience I had back in 1972. As you read through it, be sure to check the facts for yourself. It isn't that Crocker is lying, but rather that his priorities in telling his history of the war require him to view things differently. Seeing things from other perspectives, especially if you don't agree with them, is usually quite healthy. So it is here.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

Americans believe in their hearts that the history they learned in school was largely objective and untainted by any prejudice, but in reality "political correctness" has become the rallying cry of a religion no less intolerant than the Medieval Church that imprisoned Galileo for his beliefs. This book unmasks the fraud of the modern historical view of the "War of Northern Aggression". That the victors have indeed written the history of the "Civil War" is no where more apparent than in the prevalent view of this conflict, and Mr. Crocker unmasks this deception with wit and charm. When I first read this book I thought perhaps Mr. Crocker had stepped a little over the line, but in reviewing this gem I must say he is actually exactly correct on every point. I would have liked to see more of an economic analysis since 30% of the U.S. population (the South) was providing at least 70% of the income to the Federal Government. This was because the only important taxes that supported the Federal Government were Tariffs and Customs Revenues, and Cotton and Timber from the South were America's only important exports. But, Government expenditure was controlled by the North who could out-vote the South, and this led to unhappiness and was certainly the basic economic cause of the war. Aside from this, Mr. Crocker has done a masterful job of shining light on many truths usually hidden in this modern "Dark Age" in which we live.

To the victor goes the spoils, and greatest of these is the right to compose the approved history.
That history has been taught to generations of schoolchildren, and embraced by biased, completely indoctrinated historians and educators.
Now, after 143 years, the facts regarding a government gone astray from the visions of the Founding Fathers, Taxation and Tariffs, Mr Lincoln's political objectives, and the South's decision to legally and constitutionally secede from unbearable tyranny finally see the light of day.
It is becoming more and more difficult for the indoctrinated to assert the simplistic explanation that "the Civil War was over slavery" as insurmountable evidence to the contrary becomes available to the public. In fact, the War for Southern Independence was not a "civil war" at all (the South sought not control of a central government, but freedom from same, and the constitutional establishment of their own government).
The dreams of the Founding Fathers ended in 1865. States Rights and individual liberty - as well as the noble democratic experiment itself - were irreparably altered by the Northern "victory."
Southerners have known for generations that the Union victory was a defeat for all Americans. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War precisely why this is true.
This book should be used in every history class in the United States. Given time, the concept of the "civil war" being over slavery shall be as laughable as the long undisputed concept that the Earth was flat.
Deo Vindice.

In his newest work, Harry Crocker makes history come alive. The Civil War has not often been taught well in schools, with the teaching model focused on dates, and not individuals. In "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War", as he did in his acclaimed book "Robert E. Lee on Leadership", Harry corrects this, making history entertaining, with humor and wonderful anecdotes. I cannot think of a better birthday or Christmas gift for any lover of history that this wonderful book.

The Civil War was a war of aggression; Lincoln was a tyrant; and a slave was better situated than someone in the lower laboring class. These are just some of the tall tales this book is telling. Of course the Politically Incorrect Guide would say these tales only seem tall. In reality, it would say, they are much closer to the truth than we think, as is the notion that the War was about much more than slavery.

All in all, the Guide paints an interesting and thorough picture of the Civil War that few of us can comprehend. Recounting the lives of the men who fought the War, the battles they endured, and the reasons they did so, the Guide will be appealing to some and disturbing to others. For me, it was intriguing, and were it not for two shortcomings, I would rate the book higher.

The first shortcoming is that the book lacks a supporting narrative, presenting its message to the reader in five disparate parts with no transition in between. If this is the usual approach of the Politically Incorrect series, I don't find it inviting. Second, the book should have went to the editor one more time. Some sentences were clearly missing words and some quotes appeared randomly enough throughout the text that I got the feeling there was a rush to get this book to the printer.

Fortunately, these mistakes, while distracting, were not so prevalent as to undermine the presentation completely. Given the rarity of its viewpoint and the number of references it provides, the text is worth reading. But use it as a stepping stone for further study and not as an authoritative text. While many can claim modern history is not entirely objective, no one can claim this one is.

This is a well written book that is also fairly easy to read. Though it seems to take a pro South stance, when compared to where we came from to now, one may find that it is really a pro Union stance. The difference is that the book talks about states rights and individual liberty which seems to have been lost today.
Most people involved on the Southern side wanted a union, but wanted it to be voluntarily made up of the several states.
There is a lot of very interesting, fantastic history in this book and I would highly recommend it.

I love learning about the real Civil War and not what everyone wants us to know. I reinforced many of the ideas I had about the War and also learned some things that I had never know. Great informative book. If you like learning about the Civil War I would definitely suggest this book

In writing history, authors tend to write from their own viewpoints and biases, employing the "cafeteria" method of selecting and omitting material. Some of them distort facts--either deliberately or inadvertently. Someone once said that the winners get to write the history of a conflict, and to some extent, that is probably true. Some authors feel that to achieve or retain acceptance in some circles, they must be politically correct in their writings. If you are into political correctness, you may not like this book.

I loved this book, however; I've been a buff of the War of Northern Aggression (now that's biased, isn't it?) for over 40 years. While I was familiar with some of these lesser-known facts, others were new to me. It was an eye opener to read about the intricacies and complexities of that terrible war and of the personalities involved--especially facts that are the opposite of what I had read or had been led to believe for many years.

Harry Crocker documents his work exceptionally well, so if there is any doubt as to anything he says, the notes are there to refer readers to the primary sources.

In my view, he presents subjects from both sides of the conflict, and I believe the book is relatively free of bias. If you like reading about the War, be sure to get a copy of this one.

As for gifts, I have a friend of many years whose birthday is today, 11 December, and I sent him a copy, confident that he will enjoy reading it as much as I have.

As a graduate history instructor, I found this book to be a refreshing view of history. It's nice to read some critical reasoning that goes against the popular biases by presenting facts that are conveniently over-looked by many others. While detractors of this book will naturally try and rationalize their views, they normally make emotional, not factual analyzes and arguments to support their points. I deal with this all the time. I highly recommend this book to high school seniors and college undergraduates as an excellent basis to their understanding of the war.

This book not only includes some fascinating historical information, it makes for entertaining reading as the author delves into the lives of several Union and Confederate generals to reveal a much different picture of the era and the conflict.