Touched by Fire: A National Historical Society Photographic Portrait of the Civil War [Hardcover]

William C. Davis (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 1997

This two-volumes-in-one collection of 1,200 rare black-and-white photographs, gathered through the joint efforts of the National Historical Society and the Civil War Times, covers the leaders and the common soldiers, the compact of comradeship, the ideologies of the governments at war, the aspirations of the people who supported them and the devastation wreaked on the nation.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

WILLIAM C. DAVIS is the director of programs at the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies and chief consultant for the AE television series Civil War Journal. Davis teaches history at Virginia Tech and lives in Virginia. 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 648 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; 1st Edition in this form edition (January 12, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579120016
• ISBN-13: 978-1579120016
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,038,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for any reader of the Civil War., June 14, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Rhoadesville, Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Touched by Fire: A National Historical Society Photographic Portrait of the Civil War (Hardcover)

In very few words, this book should be in the libraries of any serious reader of the civil war. The short stories coupled with the enomorous number of photographs is very comprehensive and educational. Great for readers of all ages. Jim Nichol

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A massive, intense look at the Civil War, March 3, 2004

By 

Mercy Bell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Touched by Fire: A National Historical Society Photographic Portrait of the Civil War (Hardcover)

This book is a remarkable collection of Civil War images. They're striking, disgusting, personal, posed, spontaneous, beautiful, ugly, brutal, profound, fascinating or plain old interesting, extraordinary, run of the mill, boring, and with all of them this collection gives you an amazing glimpse of life. It's a smorgasbord of pictures, from people, to landscapes, to architecture, to machinery of war; the death and destruction, or the grandiosity and pomp, this has it all, and much more.

Even if you're a Civil War buff, you probably won't have seen most of these photographs. I believe there are about 1,000+ in this, and it's immensity and diversity bombards you with a continual, ongoing, and very varied glimpse into that time and that life (A note though, the focus of the book is 95% military, with very few photographs of civilians. They are in there, but usually in a military setting.) It doesn't take long to get through, I've managed in half an hour, and I've read it dozens of times now. The images pull you back, as there is always something to discover or appreciate or wonder at hidden inside the photo.

William Davis' commentary is pretty and emotional and light. He doesn't write a history lesson here, the photos take care of that, but enough to put things in perspective.

It's been said (over and over and over) that an image can speak a thousand words, and although it's a well worn cliche, it's one of the truest of cliches. I find that photographs, Civil War included, help me to have a greater understanding of the world, of history, because they almost reach in and suspend a moment for all time, and within that moment are cross-sections of existence. They can teach you as well, better in certain ways, as any lesson or research book or whatnot. "Touched By Fire" is no exception, and is one of the best Civil War books I own for it's sheer size and power and grand capturing of life during the Civil War.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Photographic History, July 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Touched by Fire: A National Historical Society Photographic Portrait of the Civil War (Hardcover)

If Civil War photographs are as fascinating to you as to me, this topically arranged volume has hundreds of examples for your perusal, many never seen before. The short essays range in quality from the well crafted to the pedantic, depending on their author's creativity. The captions also vary widely. Some reflect the critical eye of William Frassanito, the "photographic consultant," while others add little to the image and occasionally distract from it.