1 comments about Mary Boykin Chesnut: A Biography (Southern Biography Series).

1. This is the best biography of Chesnut to date. Muhlenfeld draws from all of Chesnut's writing, not just her famous Civil War diaries, to build a picture of a woman and a writer.

No comments about A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital Vol 2 (Collector's Library of the Civil War).

3 comments about Fallen Soldier: Memoir of a Civil War Casualty.

1. I am not generally a reader of Civil War books, but found this work to be an amazing insight into the life of a soldier, and into the human condition. Highly recommended.



2. Fallen Soldier is a portion of the Civil War diary of Andrew Roy. It is interesting as a portrayal of what happened to badly wounded men both on the battlefield and in later life. It certainly works as a story of medical incompetence (the result of low medical technology, not necessarily doctors' negligence). It really isn't particularly gory or harrowing to read -- very few Civil War memoirs are and this is consistent with the genre. What I found annoying about this book was the editing. The text has been cut down so as to only mention Roy's wounding and medical treatment, but the original document, as the editor admits in passing, was much longer. Some segments are given as appendices. Why not just give the entire diary as it was written, or at least include all the material not related to the wound as one appendix?



3. What a pity that Miller was so narrowly focused that he did not even mention the important reforms brought about by this early proponent of mine safety and the formation of labor unions in the United States. Roy, the first mining inspector for the state of Ohio, was the author of A History of the Coal Miners, The Coal Mines, and the Practical Miner's Companion.

   This self-taught Scottish immigrant went on to change the face of coal mining in America because his wound gave him the time to write and speak up for his friends underground in the mines.

No comments about A reunion in death: Gravesites of Quantrill's men and the James gang.

1 comments about Edward A. Wild And the African Brigade in the Civil War.

1. General Edward A. Wild was one of the more controversial officers of the Civil War. A staunch abolitionist, after losing an arm at South Mountain (prelude to Antietam), Wild aided Massachusetts governor John Andrews in raising all-black fighting units. A number of black regiments were created and together were known as the African Brigade. Sent to South Carolina, Wild and his men arrived only weeks after the action at Battery Wagner that saw the heroism of 54th Massachusetts Volunteers (Colored) and the death of its leader, Robert Shaw.
   
   Wild was an unyielding defender of his black troops and their ability to be the equal of any soldiers in the army. His outspokenness and, at times, disobedience of orders, on their behalf got Wild in trouble. He hated Southern sympathizers and especially guerrilla fighters; his treatment of them was at time horrendous. In 1864 he led a raid through northeastern North Carolina against these "land pirates" (Wild's words). Sometimes prisoners taken (these might include civilians, even women, and not just soldiers) would be tortured, even hanged. Authorities North and South became outraged at Wild's actions. Eventually he was court martialed and demoted (for disobeying orders and not for his treatment of others). Suspended from the battlefield for 6 months, he returned in time to lead the XXV Corps before Richmond in April 1865. After the war Wild stirred up more controversy with his confiscation of private property in Georgia as a member of the Freedman's Bureau. The last years of his life were spent silver and gold mining, first in Nevada, then in Canada, and finally in Colombia, South America, where he died in 1891.
   
   His wife probably summoned up Wild best: "He was very heroic, he would not give up, he had a very strong will and proved it all his life." Sometimes that "strong will" got him in a lot of trouble and prevented him from seeing how his actions might be misconstrued or outright wrong. But it also made him a hero to his black troops, who saw a man willing to fight for his convictions and their rights.
   
   Casstevens presents a thoroughly researched and detailed account of her subject's life (though 90% of the book deals only with his Civil War years). The information is presented in bullet fashion: short subsections within each chapter dealing with specific events or incidents. Style is not a concern with Casstevens, only presenting the facts in a clear, straightforward manner. In that she succeeds well. The notes, bibliography, and index are excellent; the book is definitely designed for the researcher in mind.

1 comments about William Wilberforce: Exceptional Lay Leaders (Heroes of the Faith).

1. No book that mentions the dawning of Darwin's theory of evolution is complete without a story of the debate between Thomas Huxley and William Wilberforce. Thomas Huxley used a devastating one liner to Wilberforce's detriment and so it seems Darwin's theory of evolution was unleashed to become a commonly accepted fact or so these books seem to suggest. When I saw this book I just had to read it. I discovered that William Wilberforce had a long political career as a MP in England. Mr. Wilberforce devoted most of his political career, over 40 years to abolishing slavery. Wilberforce was almost single-handedly responsible for England's repudiation of slavery within its empire and forbidding British ships to engage in the slave trade. He is also credited with creating a religious revival in British society as a result of his policies based upon a high moral code. Wilberforce's life ends with a Hollywood flair, receiving news of his political success within hours before his death. But what about the debate? Darwinism, evolutionism, and the Thomas Huxley debate? It was not mentioned at all. I was a little disapppointd that the debate was not mentioned, but on second thought in the perspective of Wilberforce's life it probably does not rate mentioning. This book is well written, compact; it is this reader's type of book, short and to the point. The author explained Wilberforce's accomplishments and his guiding principals. More importanltly the Author in outline form sums up Wilberforce's life achievements in the last chapter, a very good technique that more authors should use to help instill the major points of a text. The appendix consists of the a chapter of a book that Wilberforce's wrote. This book had a great effect upon the British upper class and gives the reader a chance to sample the personal style of Wilberforce himself, in case the reader wants to read some of his original works. Very well done.

4 comments about The Myth of Nathan Bedford Forrest (The American Crisis Series).

1. Let me see if I can clear up some of the misinformation floating around about this book:
   
   1. This book is not, nor does it claim to be a history of Nathan Bedford Forrest. It is an always-compelling, often-convincing retelling of the emergence of an American myth. The authors are at places concerned with "facts" and "truths," but more to the point they focus on how something seemingly as concrete as "fact" or "truth" morphs into mythology. In this quest, they've chosen their subject well, as hardly a figure in American culture lends itself so favorably to such an effort.
   
   2. The authors use well-known literary devices to draw out their subject. They do not call Forrest a comic book character but use the analogy to illustrate a point. They do not liken him to Forrest Gump but merely note the power of NBF's legacy, a legacy so enduring that many a Southern lad has been named "Forrest" in tribute.
   
   3. There is no "bias" against Forrest in this book, nor is there a "bias" for him. For many Southerners, this is a cardinal sin in and of itself. An earlier review claimed the book is full of "manufactured lies." To the contrary, Ashdown and Cawdill are deft in their handling of "facts." They are careful to note where historic information on Forrest is conflicting and describe how this disparity is used to feed competing myths. But, full of lies? Such a claim should always be accompanied by direct quotes from the book.
   
   4. The first-half of the book is indeed the better half, as the second part seems rushed and largely superfluous. Forrest's fame and infamy prevail. We hardly need a laundry list of books and movies to confirm this fact.
   
   Anyone who comes to this book with an agenda - to either praise or bury Forrest - is likely to be disappointed and possibly even incensed when they find nothing to feed their zeal. Objective readers, however, will be well-rewarded.



2. New Yankee Doodle
   
   Yankee Doodle had a mind
   To whip the Southern traitors,
   Because they didn't choose to live
   On codfish and potatoes.
   
   Yankee Doodle, doodle doo,
   Yankee Doodle dandy,
   Aand so to keep his courage up,
   He took a drink of brandy.
   
   He was the best Confederate general of the entire Civil War, according to his superior. Born in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, into a well-to-do family, he was a Southerner born and bred for greatness. After the war, he had ties in Memphis, (a world away from the values and customs of Middle Tennessee) where a park including a statue of him is in existence. There is an unusual statue of him outside Nashville on I65; look for the Confederates flags and you'll marvel at this site created and paid for by a prominent lawyer. This slanderous book (all Myths) was devised by two UTK English professors with false information from Memphis sources.
   
   I can't fanthom why this review was not listed on my site. It is a sore spot for me as I personally told one of the writers that what they had researched is not true. After the book was printed anyway, I told the other one on the phone the same thing. He said the nasty part about Fort Pillow which they based their myth on was in Memphis documentation. That does not make it right or true. None of us at the meeting had heard about what happened at that place, and yet they based a slander about what might not have happened.



3. Let me attempt to tell you something about this book without trying to make it yet another episode in the continuing (after 140 years) saga of the Civil War, which, obviously, in some minds (the world's bloodiest battlefields by far) still rages as ferociously today as it did, say, on a hillside outside a once-peaceful little town in Pennsylvania on a warm July afternoon in 1863.
   
   The book tries to explain how Nathan Bedford Forrest, the man and some of his exploits, became mythologized by various forces (newspaper accounts, biographies, personal reminiscences, popular histories, novels, and movies) down through the years[...]
   
   The first half of the book is by far the best. Where the first half looks carefully at how Southerners and Northerners both looked at Forrest and took from his life-story what best suited them (the South: his fearless personal bravery, his victories in battle, his backwoods reputation and man-of-action personality, his defense for the Lost Cause; the North: his racial butchery at Ft. Pillow, his hate-filled association with the KKK, his guerrilla warfare tactics rather than the "manly, honest" standard tactics practiced by the "better" generals), the second half becomes just a cursory summary of all the books and movies that featured Forrest as a main character.
   
   It's obvious that Forrest still has the ability to touch nerves in this country, especially in the South. The authors attribute Sherman as saying there would never be peace in Tennessee until Forrest was dead; maybe there's still some truth to that. Forrest had very little impact on the outcome of the war (ironically, his own generals shunned him), and the claim that if Forrest had been leading the Southern Armies instead of Lee, the South would have won is wishful thinking that borders on the ludicrous. But that's what myths can do to people - give hope where no hope has any right to exist. Of course in a negative sense myths can also house and comfort bad decisions and poor choices. Forrest's mythology continues to do both, good and bad.



4. We all know that some fictional characters become "real"...James Bond...Sherlock Holmes...heck, you'll never convince me that Nero Wolfe isn't real, and that if I go to 918 West 35th. Street, I won't find him. Conversely, sometimes real people, who lived real lives, become so shrouded in myth and legend that they become "fictional"...Houdini...Babe Ruth...Patrick Henry [a Nurse once engaged me in a hot arguement about him; I never did convince her]... Nathan Bedford Forrest......
   
   This book is an attempt to show him in both aspects. This is NOT a biography of the greatest Cavalry officer who ever lived, and doesn't pretend to be. There is a good, basic, sketch of the high points, and that's sufficient here. Forrest was well and truly real, but a lot of myths have grown up around him. A good portion of those are addressed. For example, the stories of his semiliterate English are exaggerated. Unlike Yogi, he really said the things he said, but not nearly as badly as we've been led to believe. Several novels have used him as a fictional character, but, interestingly, he's never made it to the silver screen. [the portrayl in "Birth of a Nation" is so far off as not to count].
   
   The Civil War continues to generate passions; many of us think if its personages as a living presence. Nathan Bedford Forrest remains controversial, and real, to this day. If you want a full biography, there are several good ones. If you want to look at some aspects of his life that you hadn't thought of before, this volume is a good place to start.

2 comments about A Benjamin Franklin Reader.

1. This is a great collection of the writings of Benjamin Franklin. For me, the real value here lies not so much in the fact that he was a self-made man, but in the advice he gave about connecting with people and interacting with others both from a business and from a personal point of view. His ability in that area led directly to his success (along with some luck). I wish more people read the Autobiography and other papers just for that reason alone. In the long run, that may be the greatest contribution made by Ben Franklin.



2. This is a fine selection from Franklin's writings, including the entire 'Autobiography'. All texts have been judiciously chosen by the editor, arranged in chronological order and prefaced by intelligent, concise and well written introductory notes. Franklin's importance and permanence clearly emerge from the reading.
   
   I only wish there were more excerpts from Franklin's delightful 'Poor Richard's Almanac'. The selections presented in this edition come from the Almanacs for the years 1733, 1734, 1736, 1737, 1738 and 1739, and they barely fill 15 pages. Nonetheless they might well satisfy the reader and in any event there is plenty of rarely published letters and articles from the Pennsylvania Gazette to make up for the possible lack of material from the almanacs signed by 'Richard Saunders'.
   
   This is the perfect book to discover Franklin and also a very good one for those who already know him, thanks to the editors insightful notes and to the opportunity to review Franklin's writings in chronological order, from a historical and biographical perspective.

No comments about Andrew Foote: Civil War Admiral on Western Waters (Library of Naval Biography).

No comments about Brothers' War: Civil War Letters to Their Loved Ones from the Blue and Gray.