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: 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.
Published: 8/14/24
Texas Coastal Defense in the Civil War (2024)
William Nelson Fox’s new book supplies an introduction to military operations along the Texas Gulf Coast during the U.S. Civil War.
Published: 8/7/24
Wide Awake (2024)
Jon Grinspan's "Wide Awake" is a must-read for 2024.
Published: 7/24/24
A Fire Bell in the Past, Vol. II (2021)
The contributors to this volume have interrogated new themes and examined old issues with new lenses.
Published: 7/17/24
We Shall Conquer or Die (2024)
With his debut book, Derrick Lindow has depicted an element of the war that certainly deserves more attention.
Published: 7/10/24
Convicting the Mormons (2023)
Janiece Johnson's "Convicting the Mormons" offers an engaging account of the narrative nineteenth century Americans created about the Mountain Meadows Massacre.