Book Reviews
The digital home of book reviews and author interviews—and your source of the most up-to-date information on all things Civil War literature
Published: 1/15/25
The Mexican-American War Experiences of Twelve Civil War Generals (2024)
Readers of Timothy Johnson's volume will appreciate the chance to learn more about the early lives and careers of a dozen Civil War generals.
Published: 1/8/25
Holding the Political Center in Illinois (2024)
"Holding the Political Center in Illinois" is fascinating account of Prairie State politics in the 1850s.
Published: 1/1/25
American Civil Wars (2024)
Alan Taylor's "American Civil Wars" offers a lucid, engaging, and spritely account of the period.
Published: 12/25/24
Freedom Was in Sight! (2024)
"Freedom Was in Sight!" represents a synthesis of popular art and solid historical scholarship.
Published: 12/18/24
The Carceral City (2024)
John Bardes' "The Carceral City" is an important and careful history of slavery, freedom, and incarceration in the United States.
Published: 12/11/24
Between Extremes (2024)
Jack Furniss's welcome book shows how loyal state governments defined the purposes of the Civil War when calling upon their citizens to sacrifice for the Union cause.
Published: 12/4/24
Reckoning with the Devil (2024)
"Reckoning with the Devil" distinguishes itself as the most informative and comprehensive account of Nathan Bedford Forrest’s life and legacy to date.
Published: 11/27/24
“Digging All Night and Fighting All Day” (2024)
“Digging All Night and Fighting All Day” is a fantastic look at one of the Civil War’s final campaigns, demonstrating federal prowess, Confederate resolve, the intricacies of interservice cooperation, and the complexities of how wars end.
Published: 11/20/24
Plants in the Civil War (2024)
Plants in the Civil War is a helpful book, highlighting the ways in which the botanical world provided for humans’ needs during times of peace and during times of war.
Published: 11/13/24
Gettysburg in Color, Vol. 2 (2024)
Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, "Gettysburg in Color" is a handsome and visually stunning volume.
Published: 11/6/24
The Civil War Diary of Emma Mordecai (2024)
Emma Mordecai’s diary is a valuable addition to southern women’s history, to Confederate history, and to Jewish history that will prove rewarding to general readers and researchers alike.
Published: 10/30/24
Young Abolitionists (2024)
"Young Abolitionists" succeeds in highlighting a dramatically understudied facet of both the history of childhood and the history of reform and abolitionism.
Published: 10/23/24
Yankees in the Hill City (2024)
"Yankees in the Hill City" straddles the line between a local history of Lynchburg and a micro history of a prisoner of war camp.
Published: 10/17/24
Magnificent Intentions (2024)
Adrienne Lundgren's "Magnificent Intentions" provides a remarkably fresh look at American visual culture during one of the most extraordinary and formative periods in United States history.
Published: 10/9/24
‘Tis Not Our War (2024)
Paul Taylor's "'Tis Not Our War" supplies a detailed narrative of how the federal government sought to fill its ranks, and how northerners responded.
Published: 10/2/24
Our Ancient Faith (2024)
Allen Guelzo's "Our Ancient Faith" is at once thought-provoking, learned, and eminently readable.
Published: 9/25/24
Lincoln’s Lost Colony (2023)
"Lincoln's Lost Colony" is a tragic yet fascinating chapter of Civil War history.
Published: 9/18/24
High-Bounty Men in the Army of the Potomac (2024)
"High-Bounty Men" breaks new ground and makes an historiographical intervention by reclaiming the honor of late-war recruits.