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: 4/9/25
The Consequences of Confederate Citizenship (2025)
"The Consequences of Confederate Citizenship" presents correspondence that sheds light on the intricate connections between battle front and home front.
Published: 4/2/25
New York City in the Civil War (2025)
"New York City in the Civil War" covers a wide range of topics in a short space.
Published: 3/26/25
The Atlanta Campaign, 1864 (2024)
"The Atlanta Campaign, 1864" should entice readers to turn to author David A. Powell's ever-growing list of venerated masterworks.
Published: 3/18/25
A Grand Opening Squandered (2025)
"A Grand Opening Squandered" succeeds in explaining why the battles of June 15-18, 1864 deserve to be remembered.
Published: 3/12/25
Hundreds of Little Wars (2025)
"Hundreds of Little Wars" is a fitting tribute to the splendid career of historian Daniel E. Sutherland
Published: 3/5/25
Somewhere Toward Freedom (2025)
Bennett Parten finds new significance in one of the U.S. Civil War’s most storied episodes.
Published: 2/26/25
Authoritarianism in the American South (2024)
Dipboye's "Authoritarianism in the American South" is a freshly unique meditation on why the Civil War was fought.
Published: 2/19/25
William “Baldy” Smith (2022)
Union general William Smith's worst enemy was not the Confederates. It was himself.
Published: 2/12/25
Sons of East Tennessee (2022)
Jack Brubaker’s "Sons of East Tennessee" contributes to the growing literature on veterans and the problem of Civil War memory.
Published: 2/5/25
A Great and Good Man (2024)
"A Great and Good Man" is a valuable new addition to the growing scholarship on Abraham Lincoln.
Published: 1/29/25
The Beechers (2024)
Anyone interested in religion, politics, culture, and society in the nineteenth century U.S. should read "The Beechers."
Published: 1/22/25
Nat Turner, Black Prophet (2024)
"Nat Turner, Black Prophet" is only the latest in a line of recent and excellent scholarship on the Southampton revolt.
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.