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: 10/26/16
BYRD: Confederate Sharpshooter Major William E. Simmons (2016)
Confederate Sharpshooter: Major William E. Simmons: Through the War with the 16th Georgia Infantry and the 3rd Battalion Georgia Sharpshooters by Joseph P. Byrd, IV. Mercer University Press, 2016. Cloth, ISBN: ...
Published: 10/19/16
PETERSON: Confederate Cabinet Departments and Secretaries (2016)
Confederate Cabinet Departments and Secretaries by Dennis L. Peterson. McFarland, 2016. Paper, ISBN: 978-1476665214. $35.00. A quick trivia quiz: Name any member of Jefferson Davis’ cabinet. Even those who aced this...
Published: 10/12/16
MORGANS: Grenville Mellen Dodge in the Civil War (2016)
Grenville Mellen Dodge in the Civil War: Union Spymaster, Railroad Builder, and Organizer of the Fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry by James Patrick Morgans. McFarland, 2016. Paper, ISBN: 978-0786470693. $29.95. The title...
Published: 10/5/16
BRENNEMAN, BOARDMAN & DOWLING: The Gettysburg Cyclorama (2015)
The Gettysburg Cyclorama: The Turning Point of the Civil War on Canvas by Chris Brenneman, Sue Boardman, and Bill Dowling. Savas Beatie, 2015. Cloth, ISBN: 978-1611212648. $34.95. This is not just...
Published: 9/28/16
GALLAGHER & WAUGH: The American War (2015)
The American War: A History of the Civil War Era by Gary W. Gallagher and Joan Waugh. Flip Learning, 2015. Paper, ISBN: 978-0991037537. $34.95. In the preface to James I. Robertson,...
Published: 9/21/16
BARRINGER: Fighting for General Lee (2016)
Fighting for General Lee: Confederate General Rufus Barringer and the North Carolina Cavalry Brigade by Sheridan R. Barringer. Savas Beatie, 2016. Hardcover, ISBN: 978-1-61121-262-4. $32.95. Among Confederate cavalry leaders, the name...
Published: 9/14/16
GRAMM: Sharpsburg (2015)
Sharpsburg: A Civil War Narrative by Kent Gramm. Resource Publications, 2015. Paper, ISBN: 978-1-4982-3906-6. $17.00. Strong ground can make all the difference in battle. Military men know it, and writers do,...
Published: 9/7/16
HESS: Braxton Bragg (2016)
Braxton Bragg: The Most Hated Man of the Confederacy by Earl J. Hess. University of North Carolina Press, 2016. Cloth, ISBN: 978-1-4696-2875-2. $35.00. A great deal of ink has been spilled over...
Published: 8/31/16
BRETZGER: Observing Hancock at Gettysburg (2016)
Observing Hancock at Gettysburg: The General’s Leadership through Eyewitness Accounts by Paul E. Bretzger. McFarland, 2016. Paper, ISBN: 978-0786499786. $29.95. Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, commander of the Second Corps, Army...
Published: 8/24/16
SOKOLOSKY & SMITH: “To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming” (2015)
“To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming”: The Battle of Wise’s Forks, March 1865 by Wade Sokolosky and Mark A. Smith. Savas Beatie, 2015. Cloth, ISBN: 978-1611212662. $27.95. At the outset of...
Published: 8/17/16
GALLAGHER & JANNEY (eds.): Cold Harbor to the Crater (2015)
Cold Harbor to the Crater: The End of the Overland Campaign edited by Gary W. Gallagher and Caroline E. Janney. University of North Carolina Press, 2015. Cloth, ISBN: 978-1-4696-2533-1. $35.00. Civil War...
Published: 8/10/16
McCARDLE: A Just and Holy Cause? (2016)
A Just and Holy Cause? The Civil War Letters of Marcus Bethune and Martha Frances Ely edited by Linda S. McCardle. Mercer University Press, 2016. Cloth, ISBN: 978-0881465693. $35.00. Marcus Bethune...
Published: 8/3/16
WOODWORTH & GREAR (eds.): The Tennessee Campaign of 1864 (2016)
The Tennessee Campaign of 1864 edited by Steven E. Woodworth and Charles D. Grear. Southern Illinois University Press, 2016. Cloth, ISBN: 978-0-8093-3452-0. $34.50. John Bell Hood’s invasion of Tennessee in...
Published: 7/27/16
CONLIN: One Nation Divided by Slavery (2015)
One Nation Divided by Slavery: Remembering the American Revolution While Marching toward the Civil War by Michael F. Conlin. Kent State University Press, 2015. Cloth, ISBN: 978-1-60635-240-3. $39.95. Michael F. Conlin’s One...
Published: 7/20/16
EGAN: The Immortal Irishman (2016)
The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero by Timothy Egan. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. Cloth, ISBN: 978-0544272880. $28.00. Half-truths about an historical figure can lead to misconceptions about his or her deeds....
Published: 7/20/16
KURTZ: Excommunicated from the Union (2015)
Excommunicated from the Union: How the Civil War Created a Separate Catholic America by William B. Kurtz. Fordham University Press, 2015. Paper, ISBN: 978-0823268863. $35.00. I recently participated in a conference...
Published: 7/13/16
BLUMENTHAL: A Self-Made Man (2016)
A Self-Made Man: The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1849 by Sidney Blumenthal. Simon & Schuster, 2016. Cloth, ISBN: 978-1476777252. $35.00. In the first book of his multi-volume biography of...
Published: 7/6/16
HODES: Mourning Lincoln (2015)
Mourning Lincoln by Martha Hodes. Yale University Press, 2015. Cloth, IBSN: 978-0300195804. $30.00. A few months ago, I picked up my six-year-old daughter from first grade, and as we drove...