Lay This Laurel (Hardcover)

~ Lincoln Kirstein (Author, Compiler), (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

One of the most compelling Civil War stories is that of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment, made up of African-American soldiers who volunteered for the Union Army. Their heroic but futile battle at Fort Wagner was memorialized by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Boston Common in 1897. Both the commemorative book and limited-edition volume depict the monument in stirring detail while celebrating its 100-year anniversary. For photography connoisseurs and Civil War buffs.

First Edition, 1973

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Eakins Pr Foundation (December 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871300362
• ISBN-13: 978-0871300362
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #395,344 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Immortal Memorial, July 18, 2000

By	joan a. shelton (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Generally hailed as America's finest Civil War memorial--maybe the most powerful memorial to any American war--the St. Gaudens masterpiece on Boston Common has inspired poetry, music, and probably a movie, "Glory." Lincoln Kirstein has written a stirring essay on the subjects: Colonel Shaw and his Massachusetts 54th Regiment (black), what they meant to their contemporaries, and their message for today. Although the photographs were taken in a bleak period for the Memorial (it badly needed restoration, which it received shortly after this book came out), Richard Benson's photographs are still powerful,able to transmit with finesse the messages of Shaw, his black comrades, St. Gaudens, and Lincoln Kirstein. It's a beautiful book, a labor of love.

4.0 out of 5 stars Lay This Laurel, January 16, 2007

By	Mrs. E. K. Marriage (Essex, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book was purchased for my partner who is extremely interested in the American Civil War & having seen the film Glory was interested in the first regiment of black soldiers in the war. He tells me that it was very informative together with excellent photographs and very much a 'coffee table' book and not one to hide away in our bookcase! I have visited Boston but do not recall having seen this memorial and this has inspired us both to consider another visit in the near future.