Trial by Fire: A People's History of the Civil War and Reconstruction Period (People's History of the USA) [Paperback]

Page Smith (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 1056 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (July 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140122613
• ISBN-13: 978-0140122619
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,363,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book every American should read, April 14, 2001

By 

Patrick Gaffey (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trial by Fire: A People's History of the Civil War and Reconstruction Period (People's History of the USA) (Paperback)

This is the finest work of history I have read, thoroughly researched and brilliant. It cuts directly to the meaning of the United States and brightly illuminates today's problems and their causes without making those points directly. Mr. Page is thoughtful, balanced and even-handed throughout. Though the book is long, it is a tense and exciting read. He knows how to tell a story, and there is none more compelling than the story of our nation in its peril. This series is so well-respected that it is surprising to see negative reviews on this site. Read this book for yourself, and you'll feel its excellence on every page.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best by far, November 5, 2004

By 

GeorgiaPeach (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trial by Fire: A People's History of the Civil War and Reconstruction (Hardcover)

Page Simith's history is unparalleled anywhere. This history should be required reading in schools everywhere, in place of the boring, lifeless textbooks we were forced to read as children. If minor and pointless minutiae can be refuted, the big picture cannot. This is not "revisionist" history, it is told primarily through contemporary diaries and newspaper accounts, and assembled into a riveting narrative by a master historian. The heroes and villains of this frenzied, uncompromising, brutal and ultimately disastrous period are allowed to emerge on their own, not as fantasies of a partisan agenda. This great country can learn much from the retelling of this painful episode in our history, on our collective journey to become the great people we think we are.

7 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The end of history, June 21, 2000

By 

Armand D Sanchez - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trial by Fire: A People's History of the Civil War and Reconstruction (Hardcover)

Simply put, this book is not worth reading. The author writes in EXTREMELY vague generalizations, thereby jumping to many untrue conclusions about numerous things. And, when he is done writing about his view of "Southern Culture", he goes on to show a very poor understanding of the actual war. His commentaries on the generals alone was enough to make me stick out my tongue and put the book down in disgust. Furthermore, he cites ABSOLUTELY NO sources, so we, the readers have no way of knowing if he made everything up! I consider myself quite a Civil War Buff/Reader, and this is by FAR the WORST book on the Civil War I have ever had the displeasure to read!