No comments about Only a Private: A Texan Remembers the Civil War : The Memoirs of William J. Oliphant.

No comments about In the Woods Before Dawn: The Samuel Richey Collection of the Southern Confederacy.

No comments about The Civil War Letters of General Robert McAllister.

5 comments about Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation.

1. Engrossing and lucid, Mr. Klingaman has written a superb book on a subject that is given little scrutiny. Filled with anecdotes and witticisms this book should be read by those who are sick of the usual fat best sellers.



2. William Klingaman's book, "Abraham Lincoln and the Road to Emancipation" traces the personal and social development of emancipation in the the 1860s in a refreshing and enlightening way.

   By blending both historical events, with the inner turmoil of Lincoln, Klingaman sheds new light on the processes that lead to the historical proclaimation. The Lincoln in this book is torn between his desire to do what is right vs. what he perceives his Constitutional duties. Klingaman doesn't shy away from the reality that Lincoln initially didn't favor emancipation over saving the union, but embraces his struggle and his eventual turn around. This allows for a more dynamic, interesting Lincoln to shine through. Lincoln would finally do the right thing, which we come to understand the depth and complexity of his decision.

   For Lincoln fans, for people with a casual interest, I highly recommend this book for a new view on an incredible man during incredible times.




3. Author William Klingman has written an excellent book about Lincoln's development and issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Klingman brings forward the birth of the concept and how Lincoln faced so much aversion to its release. The book clearly illustrates how difficult such a task was to complete it and also how well it was received.
   
   Besides the opposition in the South, Northern opposition towards the war and constant defeats were making many question Lincoln's ability to be the President. Faced with horrible Union defeats and lackluster leadership Lincoln understands that in order to defeat the Confederacy there has to be considered the issue of freeing the slaves for political and moral reasons. Through out the book, the opposition from both Republican, Democratic and various groups are clearly defined while Lincoln debates within himself as to what is the proper procedure is to handling the freeing of slaves.
   
   It was very interesting to read about the many variables and choices Lincoln had to make while fighting multiple political battles and growing unrest in the northern states. Eventually Lincoln does get the proclamation passed and part of the book describes in detail just how this new era unfolds and how blacks become soldiers and deal with being free.
   
   To understand Lincoln, the political unrest of the time and also the birth and issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, I highly recommend this book. Klingman writes and chronologically carries the book very well.



4. In one of the most readable accounts available about Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War, Klingaman focuses on the Emancipation Proclamation and how Lincoln reached the decision to issue it. The author's thesis is twofold: that the Great Emancipator's primary goal was to save the Union from division and, as a result, that his decision to issue the proclamation, when he did, was based almost entirely on strategic and political factors rather than on moral grounds: "By emancipating the Confederacy's slaves as a war measure--and not as an act of justice toward the Negro--Lincoln subordinated the ideal of freedom to the preservation of the Union."
   
   Klingaman's conclusion, of course, is hardly novel; most historians and general-interest writers (for example, James Baldwin) have always assumed as much. (This claim should not, however, be confused with the ongoing debate over whether the Civil War itself was caused primarily by the institution of slavery.) The author's aim here, then, is to moderate the popular image of Lincoln as a humanitarian saint while recognizing his worth as a stalwart, compassionate, and even apprehensive leader. A byproduct of Lincoln's wartime measure, emancipation was only the first (albeit significant) step in the struggle for equal rights in America: "Freedom would be won by the descendants of slaves, not bestowed upon them by whites."
   
   The quibbles I have with the book are with the author's use of evidence. While Klingaman acknowledges in a bibliographical note that "a great deal of myth has become mixed with the fact" of Lincoln's life, he does little to sort the legend from the man. He indiscriminately blends Lincoln's words as recorded by such impeccably reliable sources as John Hay with writings by less dependable--and even suspect--observers, such as the portrait painter Francis Carpenter (who embarked on a career drawing from a seemingly inexhaustible supply of allegedly firsthand Lincoln sayings and tales). In nearly every case, however, Klingaman presents secondhand sayings and speeches as if they were Lincoln's exact words, transcribed on the spot, even though many of these are embedded as paraphrased recollections in accounts recorded twenty or thirty years after Lincoln died.
   
   An additional sixty-odd quotes are taken from Dan and Virginia Fehrenbacher's "The Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln," which, as Klingaman notes, "attempts to gauge the reliability of several hundred contemporary witnesses who claim to have recorded Lincoln's words." The Fehrenbachers rank the quotes from A (direct quotation recorded contemporaneously) to E (probably not authentic). Klingaman wisely avoids the least reliable quotes, but over half are direct and indirect paraphrases from months or years or decades later (which the Fehrenbachers have awarded a rank of C or D). These include a joke about interracial marriage attributed to Lincoln by a satirist known by the name of Petroleum V. Nasby, who was recalling the incident thirty years later; a speech allegedly delivered by Lincoln, recalled by Edward Stanly twenty years later in a report labeled by the Fehrenbachers as "self-serving, politically motivated, and chronologically erroneous"; a recollection by the minister Rudolph Schleiden ("it seems clear that Schleiden did not himself hear Lincoln speak these words," according to the Fehrenbachers); and two excerpts from a lengthy monologue attributed to Lincoln by Gideon Welles that is "a combination of Lincoln core and Welles elaboration."
   
   One cannot entirely fault Klingaman for using these various quotations in a popular account, since many of them are quite colorful and most of them may well be accurate in their essence. The problem is the lack of proper identification. In each one of the previous examples, Klingaman does not name the mouthpiece for these "sayings," nor does he assess their reliability, nor does he even indicate, in the text or the notes, that these quotes are second- or third-hand (e.g., "Years later, Stanly claimed that Lincoln told him that..."). Surely, accurately represented quotations are essential in a biographical account concerning itself primarily with Lincoln's personal motives, intellectual growth, and political development.
   
   Nevertheless, the book's portrayal of the events of the Civil War is largely accurate and, in spite of my serious reservations about the author's use of sources, even his characterization of Lincoln, in its broadest strokes, seems true to life. Although this volume will not satisfy those readers with a broad knowledge of Lincoln and the Civil War (and it should be approached cautiously by students), it's still a worthy introduction to the subject.



5. As my title says, Dr. William K. Klingaman was my 11th grade AP American History teacher, and is currently my AP English 12 teacher. The book itself I had used as a source to write a huge paper on Lincoln in 10th grade, which took the whole year. Well, it was endlessly useful. Im fact, the paper earned me a 93- no small feat considering how difficult a class it was. Then 11th grade came, and I realised that I had quoted my future Social Studies teacher. A fabulous teacher, I might add. Witty, great sense of humor, interesting lecturer. He gives THE hardest multiple choice tests a person could ever take, though. ;-)

No comments about Disgrace at Gettysburg: The Arrest and Court Martial of Brigadier General Thomas A. Rowley.

1 comments about My First Revolution (Signature Books (White Plains, N.Y.).).

1. My First Revolution by Win Knowlton is a jewel of a book. It's the author's story of his year in China, after graduation from boarding school in 1948 - the year of the Communist revolution. It is an exuberant tale of youthful experience told with the wisdom that only comes with age. Mr. Knowlton's word pictures of this complicated country during one of the most important political episodes of the 20th century makes this book essential reading for anyone interested in the region.
   For those who do read My First Revolution, there is a special dividend, namely Mr. Knowlton's quiet insights into his own life with many poignant observations that punctuate his story, but never distract the reader from the main event.

No comments about Lincoln in Text and Context: Collected Essays.

No comments about African American Recipients of the Medal of Honor: A Biographical Dictionary, Civil War Through Vietnam War.

2 comments about The Papers of John C. Calhoun, Vol. 21: January-June 1845.

1. ntry he became thidol of aristocratic Charleston, S. C. A nationalist who became a secessionist, vice-president, secy. of war, senator, spokesman for the lower South who agonized over the future of his beloved country. This edition of the Papers of John C. Calhoun belong on the shelf of every se4rious historian and political scientist. Indeed anyone who has an interest in the country's past will find them valuable.



2. John C. Calhoun was without question one of the most intelligent Statesman ever produced by the Republic of South Carolina, or this country. His understanding of Constitutional construction, along with human nature, is astounding.

2 comments about Terry Texas Ranger Trilogy: Terry's Texas Rangers, Reminiscences of the Terry Rangers, the Diary of Ephraim Shelby Dodd.

1. This book is a must have for anyone interested in Terry's Texas Rangers (8th Texas Cavalry). It contains three rare first person accounts of the Ranger's activities during the Civil War including the diary of Ephraim Dodd who was unjustly hung as a spy by Federal troops. There are also several photos and an excellent introduction by Thomas Cutrer. I highly recommend it.



2. I have been interested in Civil War history and wanted to read about Terry's Rangers since they came from the part of Texas I live in. This trilogy further reinforces how poorly equipped many of the Southern troops were and how much of their time was foraging the land for food, water, and horses. This was a good book.