Customer Reviews

Voices of the Civil War (Meridian)

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I bought Richard Wheeler's Voices of 1776 and really enjoyed it. This book is just as well written. I appreciate Wheeler's use of first-hand narratives and accounts. The book covers the first fire on Fort Sumpter to the end of the war. Wheeler has added maps throughout the book. Like I said, I am willing to tri any book that has a good, solid, foundation built on historical accounts. One of my favorite books is Henry S. Commager's Spirit of Seventy-Six. This is also a must read for anyone who loves history.

Every once in a while an author produces a book that simply takes your breath away. That is what Richard Wheeler has accomplished in Voices of the Civil War.

Next week celebrates the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War. With the passage of so much time, it is simply impossible to understand the impact of that war on the lives of those who experienced that conflagration. Studying today's literature, which is quite copious, is useful for understanding the stakes, the accomplishments, the engagements and the tactics. But all of the literature is spun by the agenda or the opinion of the various authors. Today, it sometimes seems that what-if is as important as what actually happened. Richard Wheeler's approach is different. This author works hard to deliver a book structured not so much by the writer but by those who experienced our Civil War as it was fought, suffered, seen and recorded.

Voices of the Civil War is focused on the major battles fought between the North and the South. From 1st Bull Run through Appomattox Court House Wheeler tells this story through the diaries, memoirs and after action reports of those who participated in each of these contests. Major and minor players, from commanding generals to privates in the ranks, doctors, chaplains and newspaper reporters, are all quoted as this amazing tapestry is woven to reveal the poignant story that occurred.

This book by is, if nothing else, humbling. It is a new take on both the North's and the South's heritage, moving away from conjecture, spin and interpretive revisionism and focuses the reader on the experiences of those who fought this war that claimed over 600,000 lives, 3% of the then current American population. One gets the feeling that the American Union, its liberties and the hopes for the future of those who fought, died and were maimed in this war were very precious to the people so engaged. It is a book that takes you a step closer to the personal impact of this war. The sacrifice, terror and fear contained within these pages eloquently speak for themselves. Through it, you to begin to understand what a precious gift our system of government really is.

I cannot recommend this fine work too highly.

I purchased this recently and just breezed through it. I'm amazing at how great a book this is. It consists of commentary and on-the-spot stories of the important battles of the Civil War culled from letters and diaries of participants, from the Commanding Officers to Privates as well as civilians. I learned much about the people and practices of that era I didn't know. This book kept me riveted throughout. It's like a time machine in print!

Being somewhat of a Civil War "buff", I have read numerous books on the subject over the years - some good, some not-so-good, and a few that stood out. R. Wheelers book "Voices ..." I place in the latter category. It is a relatively short book which describes major engagements of the war, each engagement constituting one chapter, with the chapters (battles)arranged in the order in which they occurred. Each chapter begins with a short one- to two- page introduction by the author which "sets the scene": how was it that the armies came to be facing one another at this particular place? What was trying to be achieved by each side? Who was in command? What were the relative combat strengths of the two armies? After this groundwork is established, the author lets the battle begin and progress by a narrative composed of first-person accounts of the participants, from commanding generals right on down to the lowliest private on the field. Once the battle is concluded, a short synopsis by the author at the chapters end describes the results of the engagement to each side in terms of both casualties and overall strategy. For me, the result of this approach was that I came away with a much clearer understanding of the circumstances,the "feel", and the effects of the major Civil War engagements than I have been able to glean from other works many times its length. I highly recommend this book!