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: 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: 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
The Top Five Books on Johnny Reb
Matthew Christopher Hulbert offers his picks for the best books about the common Confederate soldier.
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.
Published: 9/11/24
America’s Imagined Revolution (2024)
Tomos Wallbank-Hughes's "America's Imagined Revolution" provides Reconstruction scholars with plenty new to ponder.
Published: 9/4/24
The Abraham Lincoln Book of Quotes (2023)
In "The Abraham Lincoln Book of Quotes," editor Travis Hellstrom presents some of the sixteenth president's "most loved wisdom.”
Published: 8/28/24
The Civil War in the Age of Nationalism (2024)
In "The Civil War in the Age of Nationalism," Niels Eichhorn and Duncan Campbell offer a convincing study of how the Civil War fit into broader international movements.
Published: 8/21/24
“Tell Mother Not to Worry” (2024)
Kirkwood’s study will undoubtedly appeal to Gettysburg aficionados. However, its utility should extend far beyond students of the conflict’s largest and costliest engagement.