Archive for the ‘Books & Reviews’ Category

The Grand Design: Strategy and the U.S. Civil War Donald Stoker (Hardback, 512 pages) I'm going to go out on what should be a well occupied limb ready to break under the weight and say that Donald Stoker's The Grand Design: Strategy and the U.S. Civil War will win award(s) next year. Stoker's book is ... Full story

Kenneth C. Davis, A Nation Rising: Untold Tales of Flawed Founders, Fallen Heroes, and Forgotten Fighters from America’s Hidden History. HarperCollins, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-06-111820-3. Mr. Davis attempted to cover the first 50 years of the 19th century by following the narratives of 6 events: Burr's trial, Weatherford's War, the Madison Mutiny, Dade's promise, Morse's ... Full story

A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War, By Daniel E. Sutherland From the News-wire: Newswise — Daniel E. Sutherland, professor of history at the University of Arkansas, has been awarded the Distinguished Book Prize by the Society of Military Historians for his work A Savage Conflict: The Decisive ... Full story

First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama (Fourth Edition) Betty Caroli From the press release: Dr. Betty Boyd Caroli, historian and biographer of first ladies in the United States, will speak at Manhattan College on Saturday, March 28 at 1:00 p.m. in ... Full story

Sex and War: How Biology Explains Warfare and Terrorism and Offers a Path to a Safer World by Malcolm Potts Malcolm Potts explores the questions concerning the biological connections of actions such as war and sex. Potts has a broad background in working with various organizations world wide including war-torn and Third world ... Full story

A People at War Civilians and Soldiers in America's Civil War Carol Sheriff and Scott Reynolds Nelson 384 pages; Paperback Editorial Review - Library Journal vol. 132 In a crowded field of books on the Civil War era, Nelson (Steel Drivin' Man ) and Sheriff (The Artificial River: The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, ... Full story

Robert H. Wiebe is the professor of history at Northwestern University, and is the author of The Segmented Society and Self Rule: A Cultural History of American Democracy, and The Search for Order, 1877-1920, the focus of this short post. This is a book assigned to me in my graduate class and I am ... Full story

Type in "Samuel Adams" and do a google.com search and you are just as likely to come up with links and images referring to the Beer Company Samuel Adams. As historian Ira Stoll notes, "History has not been kind to Samuel Adams," and indeed one might ask why? As an APUS History teacher ... Full story

The recent controversy surrounding Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell when he issued a proclamation in honor of Confederate History Month that did not include a reference to slavery -- an unforgivable omission -- the fact that the Civil War is still a significant part of American history cannot be denied and indeed it still ... Full story

I received a surprise email from the publicist at McFarland that a new review of my book, The 11th Wisconsin in the Civil War: A Regimental History, McFarland & Co. (Fall 2008) recently came out, which was a surprise as the book has been out for almost 2 years! Anyway the ... Full story

I am finishing up my research paper for my Civil War Command and Leadership class that I spoke of a few months ago. Next week I start a full load of 12 credit hours which will place me at 27 credit hours with one class and my thesis remaining (9 credit hours). ... Full story

I spent some time this afternoon at Barnes and Noble book store (not virtually) as I love to browse their large selection of Bargain Books and in particular, of course, the history section. I made two nice purchases. Journals: 1952-2000 by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. and Reading the Man: A Portrait ... Full story

I don't know when or if I will get a chance to read and review Colin Grant's Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey from Oxford University Press due to come out in March. 544 pp. $17.95. But I appreciate the folks at Oxford for sending me ... Full story

I received today my A.P. United States History catalog from SocialStudies.com which was filled with books, DVDs, and other resources and guides for purchase. First off, I wish I had a budget I would order a ton of materials from this resource. But I would be remiss if I did not mention that ... Full story

Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness." "My baby boy..." she whispers before dying. Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually ... Full story

To be sure, Americans have always been against large standing armies, yet we are the poster child for the Military Industrial Complex. For that matter, we have been ardent anti-tax; anti-big government; ect, ect. And what have we evolved into? Neither Republicans nor Democrats escape culpability. This brings me to an excellent book ... Full story

By: Michael A Dreese. McFarland & Co, Jefferson N.C. & London, pp 190. A decade ago historian Michael A Dreese resurrected one of the more unheralded fighting units of the American Civil War. McFarland has recently published a new paperback edition of Dreese's excellent narrative. Unheralded as they were one of the "9-month" regiments and curiously enough, they ... Full story

I received a copy of Joan Waugh's U. S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth several months ago and put it in the "pile" and promptly moved on. Yet 2 weeks ago for some reason I picked it up and looked at it. This turned into actual reading and I am pleased to have done so. Waugh's ... Full story

Received my copy of William L. Shea's Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign (Civil War America). Publish date: November, 2009. Hardcover: 392 pages Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press ISBN: 0807833150 From the publisher: "William Shea offers a gripping narrative of the events surrounding Prairie Grove, Arkansas, one of the great unsung battles of the Civil ... Full story

What are the best American Civil War Regimental Histories? Not the best regiment, but the best book about a Civil War regiment? I'd like to invite my fellow Civil War bloggers to join in and let me know what regimental histories they have enjoyed and why. My pick: Stand Firm Ye Boys from Maine: The 20th Maine ... Full story