5 comments about Eyewitness to the Civil War.

1. I bought this book for my husband for christmas, he's a war buff, and hea absolutely loved it. It has so many interseting pics and stories that even I enjoyed parts of it. (Usually I am not into history at all - more of a science person). It may seem a little pricey but it is well worth the money and it is something that many people will enjoy, even those who think they know all there is to know about the Civil War!!!



2. This book has tremendous details about the Civil War. It actually takes you back to that time.



3. Purchased this book as a gift for my husband who has many books on the Civil War. He says this is one of the best books he's seen in years. He's very impressed with it and is quite happy with his gift.



4. "Eyewitness To The Civil War" is a wonderful book. It is large enough to be a "coffee table" book, and a great addition to anyone's Civil War
   library. I highly recommend it!.



5. The item came in great shape.Was very happy with my order and would order from them again..

5 comments about Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (Lewis & Clark Expedition).

1. I would recommend this book/audio to anyone.
   It is fasinating to any one interested in US History and elploration of American. The book manymaps to relate to during yoour read. I later listened to the audio a year later and I really enjoyed it so much the second time through. I had read book reviews before and this one was claimed to the best about Lewis and Clark. Thumbs up!



2. Read this as a first edition hardback---my Amazon reviewing is a little behind, to say the least---outstanding book. The best book on L&C in print. Ambrose collaborated on a book with Nat'l Geo that is spectacular as well. OUTSTANDING from cover to cover.
   If you read only one book on the topic, read this one---and prepare to be hooked.



3. Historical novels are one of my favorite types of text, and I have been an avid reader of Stephen E. Ambrose through his World War II works. Every American child knew about Lewis & Clark and the Louisiana Purchase (Thank you Schoolhouse Rock), but this book brings to life the true and amazing task these men went through to help open America into the vast and great nation she is now.
   
   After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase from France, President Thomas Jefferson, a man of knowledge and curiosity himself, issued a continental exploration Corps of Discovery to travel to the Pacific Ocean. If you could imagine walking across your own state, now imagine walking (horse/canoe allowed) across the country, no roads, no cellphone, no Walmart, no bathrooms, no electric lights, wild animals...the grizzlies read like monsters, potential attacks from hostile natives, the weather...it is unimagenable that any human could have survived or endured such hardships!
   
   It is important to realize that Lewis and Clark were the leaders, but also traveled with a large group of brave men, unique and talented in their own respects, including the female Native American Sacagawea and her baby, plus the sad tale of York, Clark's slave who shared the pain, dangers, and loyalty, but received none of the rewards, promises, or respects afterwards...this subject raises my ire, so I will not continue on York's betrayal by Clark.
   
   Regardless of whether you read this as pure history, this book reads like an adventure tale like Krakauer's Into Thin Air, a testament of man versus nature, the book is also a cultural exploration as the "White man meets the Red man" no disrespect meant. On so many levels this book will offer insight, information, and entertainment that few books balance so well. So you might as well read a good tale and actually improve your own academic knowledge.
   
   Thank you and keep reading.
   John Dae Min



4. What I liked best about this book is that it reads like a neighbor telling you all about his favorite nephew. Ambrose's descriptions and judgments and asides have almost an avuncular feel. If this is not your thing, the book will probably bug you.
   
   What I liked least about this book is Ambrose's unquestioning high regard for Jefferson, but since Ambrose's attitude reflects that of Lewis's, I can go with it.
   
   The outtakes of the journals, the excellent maps, and the good-natured commentary combine to make me LIKE the characters. I feel familiar with them after reading this book. I am impressed by their accomplishments, and feel I know them as people much better.
   
   It is also clear that Ambrose knows the areas where Lewis and Clark explored. Many of his notations tell how the area described look to present-day canoers or hikers, and he gives highway exits and directions to some of the less-remote campsites and overlooks. Ambrose's love for the beauties of western America comes through, and they add to the fond tone of the book.



5. I will keep it simple. Next to the Holy Bible ~ best book I ever read. I have since then read several of Stephen Ambrose's books and highly recommend them. He and his family put many years of research in before writing any book. I have travelled across the country all the way to Cape Disapportment as a result of reading the book and following the trail. Everything Mr. Ambrose claimed in the book is accurate, very interesting, and provides us a heritage for our country that everyone should be proud of.

5 comments about For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War.

1. I was very satisfied with the level of customer service that I recieved from Amazon.com. I love the low prices and the customer service.



2. This book is mainly for academics and true historians. It's a short book, which makes it a quick read, but it's not as good as some of McPherson's other Civil War books. (like "Ordeal by Fire"). His thesis is that Civil War soldiers, both Union and Confederate, fought for three different reasons (or "motivations"). These are related to reasons why soldiers chose to enlist (enlistment motivation), to fight (combat motivation), and to stay in the service (sustaining motivation). The book seems pieced together to me and the chapters are not put in chronological order like most history books are. He uses so many excerpts from soldier's letters and diaries that it was hard for me to follow. Even though I understood his thesis, I did not like the book's style. I would give this one a pass unless you have nothing else to do!!



3. This month marks the 147th Anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War and the fight to preserve the union and end slavery.
   
   Any war, as a violent, organized explosion of human emotions, produces some very unnatural responses on the part of soldiers and civilians alike. James McPherson, undoubtedly now the preeminent American Civil War scholar has, in the words of his own introduction, tried to make sense of what was similar to other wars but also what was different about that experience for the soldiers on both sides of the divide in that war. Working from a plethora of soldiers' letters and other observations he has tried to explain why the citizen soldiers on both sides of that bloody conflict kept at it despite the grueling circumstances, including extremely high casualty rates.
   
   I make no bones about my partisanship for the Northern, Union and anti-slavery side in that conflict. However in war, and civil war in particular, one can note the attributes of bravery, honor and heroism of the opposing side without giving an inch on the political questions. If one thinks about it if one does not recognize those characteristics in the soldiers of the other side one places oneself in a very hard place. The Geneva Conventions, weak as they are, codify that understanding.
   
   McPherson goes into great detail about the phases of the war-the general bloodthirsty and energetic desire of both sides to get at it; the sobering effects of actual combat; the psychological traumas produced in men before, during and after battle. In short, the passion and anger that drive men to fight-and soldiers to reflect a bit afterward. He details the sense of patriotism, honor, manhood, shame and other virtues of mid-Victorian America that further drove these men. Probably his weakest part is an examination of the personal politics of the soldiers, although that may be, in part, a function of the fuzziness of their goals as they became overwhelmed by the other considerations previously listed.
   
   However, overall, McPherson more than adequately makes his point that many considerations entered into the calculations of those who freely volunteered for the citizen armies on both sides, fought tremendous and bloody battles and slogged on through thick and thin. I will stop here with one comment that struck me from a Northern soldier about his reasons for fighting. Admittedly this soldier was a high abolitionist but here is what he said-" I want to be able to sing `John Brown' [John Brown's Body, the anti-slavery hymn and precursor for the Battle Hymn of The Republic] in the streets of Charleston [South Carolina]." Yes, I can, indeed, get behind that sentiment as a reason for fighting.



4. ...well almost. In 'For Cause & Comrades' James McPherson has set out to explain exactly why the average soldier sacrificed so much for his respective cause in the American Civil War. He has succeeded in convincing me. As the backbone of his thesis, McPherson has used hundreds of letters and diary entries from both Confederate and Union soldiers that offer some glaring insight into their motivations and beliefs. He first touches on the more universal motivations of warriors such as honor, duty, comradery, religion, vengeance and so on. And while these all played a significant part in the Civil War, McPherson argues that what ultimately separated Civil war soldiers from those of most other wars was a fervent belief in the righteousness of their cause. In other words, this was a truly ideological war and these convictions of righteousness, on both sides, was what carried these men through such horrific fighting to the bitter end.
   
   While I can't say there were any shocking revelations here, I was slightly surprised, for instance, at how many Union soldiers were fervently dedicated to their cause. It usually goes without saying that the Confederate side was truly motivated to defend their cause, but I had always assumed that most Union men served out of a grudging sense of duty. It turns out that many truly felt that they were defending the American experiment as a whole from the despised "traitors and rebels." In fact, this seems to have been a bigger factor than slavery for most, as a large portion of Union men were just as racist as their Southern adversaries. Which makes it somewhat ironic that they felt they represented the cause of the entire free world against tyranny and oppression. It should be noted though that many Union soldiers did passionately oppose slavery and this was an equally compelling cause for them. The Union side seems to be very complex. On the other hand, the Confederate cause seemed to be much less complicated. They were fighting not only for the right to continue slavery, but also for their independence from the hated Yankee. As much as white supremacy was a chief motivator (even poor, non-slaveholders resented the notion of black equality), most Southerners truly believed they were fighting for their own liberty and way of life.
   
   Of course McPherson concedes that not every soldier fit this description. There are skulkers, dodgers, draftees, and otherwise reluctant soldiers in every army, but as McPherson shows, there was a significant core of truly ideological fighters on both sides who refused to accept anything less than total victory. While those well versed in Civil War history might not find anything new here, I found it to be a concise and convincing survey on Civil War motivations and I would highly recommend it.



5. James M. McPherson's For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War aims to answer the simple question of what motivated the men who became solders in the Civil War to fight and die in this conflict. The simple answer according to McPherson was duty, honor, patriotism, ideological beliefs such as liberty and freedom, and religious beliefs. These ideals or ideas are pretty much the same motivating factors soldiers from other wars in the 20th Century or those historians of ancient wars give to explain why they fought and died. McPherson certainly did his homework by reading twenty-five thousand letters and two hundred fifty diaries from soldiers to come to his conclusion that it was truly duty, honor, patriotism, ideological beliefs in liberty and freedom, and religious beliefs that motivated these men to fight and die in the Civil War cause. As a reader I was hoping for something more or different than the tired and tedious five reasons that every soldier indicates as motivating factors for them. There is not a dispute that these five factors are for the most part true. The excerpts from the letters indicate these five motivating factors over and over. Even though these were excerpts and pulling text out of the original context of a document can significantly change its meaning, for the most part the excerpts painted the picture that supported McPherson's argument that, "Yet for Civil War soldiers the group cohesion and peer pressure that were powerful factors in combat motivation were not unrelated to the complex mixture of patriotism, ideology, concepts of duty, honor, manhood, and community or peer pressure that prompted them to enlist in the first place." (p. 13)
   
   The reading of For Cause and Comrades felt as though it was another book that put soldiers and war up on a pedestal of what a great sacrifice soldiers gave to their country by participating in the horrors of war and akin to a child's hero worship. For Cause and Comrades also seemed as though it was reiterating the tired and worn out American patriotic themes of liberty, freedom, duty, honor, and religion. The book generated visions from daily life on par with "The Few, the Proud, the Marines" commercials on television to recruit soldiers, or popular mass media inundating the masses with typical American ideology such as Superman standing for truth, justice, and the American way, or another person who feels a particular generation was the "Greatest Generation" above all others. Watch out Tom Brokaw, McPherson feels Civil War soldiers out does any other group of soldiers including your beloved World War Two soldiers in the area of duty, honor, patriotism, freedom and liberty loving, and devotion to a higher power. McPherson did mention through the words of the soldiers that war was a horrible affair, but then uses it to idolize these men in their accomplishment of overcoming adversity and "staying the course" instead of ever mentioning that war is lowest form and action of human existence and should be something to be avoided at all costs. A true hero is one that can solve problems without resorting to violence. A truly wise hero knows not only how to solve problems without violence but also knows that war that involves murder, gruesome mutilation, and destruction which result in unspeakable pain, misery, and suffering whether physical or the destructive psychological impact on soldiers and civilians of the society and is a course that should never be traveled.
   
   McPherson's expertise in writing about this subject is not disputed nor is his findings. McPherson has been a professor at Princeton University since 1962 and his entire academic career has been focused on many aspects of the Civil War era. He has been nationally recognized numerous times for his work in this field including receiving the Lincoln Prize for For Cause and Comrades. For Cause and Comrades has made an important contribution in historical research by giving a voice to people who can no longer speak for themselves and illustrates their experience to give a more in depth well rounded picture of history. Futhermore, everyone is entitled to their own perspective and interpretation on any subject. Unfortunately, for this reader, it was filled with too much hero worship, idolization, and the standard tired historical interpretations of soldiers and war as being something someone does if they have a sense of duty, are honorable, patriotic, revere freedom and liberty, and are spiritual. These themes should stay in fiction such as stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable. People in the real world should find other avenues besides war to achieve the admirable qualities of duty, honor, patriotism, believing in ideals, and spirituality and it should be the responsibility of learned people to point that out instead of seemingly making war and people who fight in wars the pillar and standard for achieving all those admirable qualities.

5 comments about The Slaves' War: The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves.

1. As someone who has been an amateur Civil War historian for over 40 years, this is a glimpse of the war from an entirely new, and sobering perspective. The reader needs to understand Ward has captured the oral testimonies of former slaves, and as such, the style of presentation is unavoidably choppy and not congruent. But that pales in comparison to the CONTENT of what the former slaves relate in this book. It is a unique, and again, very sobering collection of stories. And I HIGHLY recommend reading it. I am adding it to my library.



2. I have recently purchased The Slave's War after seeing the author on The Daily Show promoting it. I absolutely love reading about history and real events from real people, but I found this a kind of difficult read. It started out good, but it seemed like halfway through, the stories seemed to be repeating, like I kept reading the same stuff over and over again. And it sort of jumps from one account to the next, confusing me some. Maybe it's just me, but I thought is was a slow read.



3. Although this book is a hard one to read more than a few chapters at a time, it is worth the effort. I think you need time to let each section sink in and be mentally absorbed before takling the next one. I found it a bit difficult to follow exactly the narrations, as they tended to get mixed together a bit. However, of course, I waa reading late at night, so that may account for some of it. But, I did plod through and found this book an informative and unique one in recounting the harshness and suffering for both the northern and southern soldiers,plantation owners in the south, and. of course. the slaves. The damage done to the south by this war,and the lack of support to the slaves after the warby the Union was made vivid.Since the south was phycially and mentally devastated by the war,and the slaves had no real chance for decent jobs ,due to their inablity to read or write, or even do math, and the plantation owners almost total dependancy on their slaves to do manual tasks and their loss of them threatening their own survival, certainly brought home the starkness of the post war southern landscape.All in all, a definite read for people who wish to know more in depth about the American Civil War.



4. This was by far the best book of its kind written about this particular event in American history. The author used great care in weaving a histroical story by first person accounts of the events surrounding some of the major battle of the civil war. Few authors have possessed the courage to write such an unbiased account of the slaves and how the civil war affected them both individualy and as a people as a whole.
   
   I highly recommend this book to any and all students of history especially those students of African American history. Five stars plus.



5. I had just finished reading Complicity (The North's involvment in the slave trade) when this book arrived. It is a wonderfully written "history" book & I love history

5 comments about Lincoln Unmasked: What You're Not Supposed to Know About Dishonest Abe.

1. Well worth the time to read. Break free from the State-run history taught in public schools!



2. Kudos to DiLorenzo for systematically presenting well researched arguments about the true nature of the Lincoln presidency. This book stands tall, especially when viewed in contrast to such works as Doris Kearns Goodwin' "Team of Rivals". "Team of Rivals" focuses almost exclusively on Lincoln's personality and political prowess, and misses essential points of the cause of the war (tarifs - not slavery) and Lincoln's desire to centalize power and authority (suspension of habeous corpus, shutting down of newspapers). This book focuses on Lincoln's actions, his political strategy, and unabashed use of Presidential power - at the expense of Congress, personal freedom, and ultimately thousands of lives. If you want to challenge your long standing understanding of the Lincoln presidency, this is the book!



3. I am an Australian who has admired Mr Lincoln from afar for most of my life. Mr DiLorenzo is not a Historian but a bare-faced apologist for a failed ideology from a putrid system that existed in the Southern States of the USA before the Civil War. Slavery.
   There are racists everywhere, even today and to assert that the 16th President was a despot and a centralist is to ignore several historical facts. For instance, DiLorenzo contends that the US was a 'loose association' of States that could come and go as they please and that Lincoln destroyed Jeffersonism and was anathema to the wishes of the founding fathers. Well, funny about that. If that is the case, why did the founding fathers start the 1787 Constitution with "We, the people of the United States, In order to FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION...??? Surely if it was loose association of States they would have said "to form an enduring free association..."
   Lincoln is accused of being rascist and that he strongly supported slavery yet there are numerous quotes throughout his political career "...as I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master...". "It is the same tyrannical principal throughout the world, that says you work and toil and earn bread and I'll eat it...", etc. Lincoln made it quite clear throughout his career that he was anti-slavery - for god's sake, that was one of the principal reasons for the South entering rebellion!!! Because an 'abolishonist' had been elected President!!!
   The sad thing is that if you read a little bit about this author, away from his books, you soon discover he is a Southern Independence Supporter (in this day and age) and advocates the dissolution of the United States and the creation/re-instatement of the CSA - A nation that never 'technically' existed.
   I would not waste my money.



4. Very good reading. It reiterates much of what I had learned in school many years ago, before society, as a whole, changed history books in order to become more "politically correct."



5. DiLorenzo offers nothing new: no new facts; no new argument. Rather he regurates poorly reasoned attacks on Lincoln that have been advanced by the Lost Causers for years and that have be soundly discredited by every serious scholar.

1 comments about Lincoln and His Admirals.

1. It is difficult to imagine that some aspect of Lincoln and the Civil War has not been covered in detail, but until now that was the case with Lincoln's role as commander in chief of the Navy. Craig Symonds has not only filled that void but has done it masterfully. In the tradition of the finest Civil War authors, he has created what will surely become a classic that will be treasured by scholars and buffs alike. Could not have been done better.

5 comments about With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln.

1. This reviewer is fortunate to be a former student of Stephen B. Oates, both in his History of the American Civil War and in his seminar on biography writing. WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE gives what Mr. Oates calls "a portrait" of Abraham Lincoln. Oates cautioned students about presuming that any portrait was "definitive." His classes in biography writing were thorough and strict (illustrated by his own index cards and reams of notes), so of course when bogus plagiarism charges were slung at him, his students knew he would run them down with a truckload of substantiation of his work. How sad that he had to defend himself against "academia at its pissiest."
   
   What I particularly enjoyed about reading WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE was the sense of again being in his Civil War classroom. Mr. Oates has an uncanny ability to create a scene in the mind of the listener. His description of Abraham Lincoln's assassination plot took two classes -- and he managed to end the first class at the point where John Wilkes Booth drilled a hole in the door of the private seating area in Ford's Theater. Needless to say, every student attended every class! And reading the book gave a sense of that classroom presence.
   
   I do take exception to the reader who criticizes Oates on "psychoanalyzing" Lincoln, when in fact Oates clearly and masterfully is combining a series of documented facts to arrange the portrait in a story form. There is no guessing other than where it is admitted.
   
   All in all, WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE is a worthwhile and accessible biography of a complex and fascinating man, and I enthusiastically recommend it.



2. Will anyone dare to write an accurate assessment of the 16th President or are the myths that surround him just to strong to penetrate? I await a writer willing to discuss the wholesale destruction of property in the South that left thousands of civilians to starve, destruction sanctioned by Lincoln. I await a discussion on the hostage taking and the indiscriminate killing of Southern civilians. I await a thorough discussion of the Dahlgren Raid and its implications, I await a real assessment of the Lincoln/Seward relationship, and I await a real judgement on Lincoln's lack of religious belief. This book, like all the others ignores anything that might be the slightest cotroversial and that might dent the aura surrounding Abraham Lincoln.
   Alan Lowe. BA. Manchester Metropolitan University.



3. This book generated controversy among Lincoln scholars. The general reading public, however, will probably enjoy both the book's prose and its story. Regardless of whether there is much, or anything, new in the volume, its account of Lincoln is told with flair. Points that disturbed some Lincoln scholars will probably not be noticed by general readers. I read the book before I knew about the dispute, and found the volume enchanting.



4. Consider the great biographies of Lincoln: Nicolay and Hay,[10 volumes] his secretaries, Carl Sandburg's Abraham Licoln [6 volumes], Benjamin's single volume and all those that preceed and follow this, you must conclude this is the best single volume biography of Abraham Lincoln, indeeed the best general biography of the President and the man. The closest rival is Carwardine's Lincoln which deals in depth in one aspect of his life. WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE IS THE BEST INTRODUCTION TO THAT COMPLEX MAN AND HIS TIME AND ACHEIVEMENTS THAT WE HAVE TO DATE.



5. Professor Oates in my opinion did an outstanding job in the biography he did on Lincoln. While it is not as verbose as Donald's, it was well written and to be honest I could not set the book down. For anyone who does not have the time to read a larger volumn on Lincoln I suggest Oates. If you have time then I suggest you read both and also read "Team of Rivals. They are all outstanding volumns. This biography though is articulate, a good length and at times you can see the great passions in Lincoln the boy from Kentucky, the youth in Illnois and the 16 President of the United States. I give it a 5 stars a must read for any history student and I think a must for every American.

5 comments about Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness.

1. Anyone who suffers from depression should read this story. Lincoln was a man who learned how to overcome this illness to achieve great things for God and for himself. A very inspirational read.



2. "Lincoln's Melancholy," by Joshua Wolf Shenk, is a superb account of how the lifelong depression suffered by Lincoln was overcome by his own strength of character and led to his greatness. Initially an obstacle, Lincoln triumphed over the melancholy he probably inherited from his family by focusing on a larger goal, stopping the spread of slavery into the new, western territories and finally, preserving the Union itself.
   
   Lincoln suffered two major depressive incidents in his youth, the first after the death of Ann Rutledge, and the second when his engagement to Mary Todd was broken. His indecisiveness led to a mental breakdown which was only alleviated when he finally married her. After these incidents, Lincoln settled into a state of chronic depression, which nonetheless did not interfere with his likeability and gregarious nature. Lincoln used humor, storytelling, and reading and writing poetry to cope with his bouts of sadness.
   
   Shenk gives an account of earlier biographies of Lincoln, which were sometimes off the mark. Early in the 20th century, when Freud was the rage, it was speculated that Lincoln's sorrow was due to an Oedipus complex and guilt over his mother's death. Later writers insisted that he could not have been in love with Ann Rutledge because they distrusted the source of that rumor, William Herndon, Lincoln's law partner. It is now believed that the eyewitnesses Herndon interviewed may have been correct.
   
   The book was written in a compelling, easy-going style complete with poetic references. I especially loved the preface wherein Leo Tolstoy tried to explain Lincoln to a group of local tribesmen in the Caucasus. It is such a beautiful, concisely written biography that I have been inspired to use it as the basis of a speech on Lincoln that I will deliver on the occasion of his bicentennial in February.



3. I can truthfully say that this is the first book I have ever read about A. Lincoln. I loved it! It had intimate deatils and insight looks into the depression of the former President himself. I would reccommend this book to anyone wanting to read something "different, appeal'n" on Lincoln. Great book.



4. Carl Becker said that every man is his own historian, and so it seems fitting that Lincoln be reinterpreted in the light of modern approaches to depression and mental illness. What is most admirable about this book is the author's respectful approach to Lincoln and the past; he insists on viewing Lincoln's behaviors in the context of the mores and culture of his time, which were far different from those prevailing today. The author persuasively argues that there was a romantic connotation to melancholy back then. This, combined with the cultural acceptance of greater emotion from single young men, explains some of Lincoln's publicly expressed emotional troubles as a young man
   
   On the other hand, the author insists on defining Lincoln as suffering two "breakdowns." It's not clear what relevance this modern term has, nor can the author distinguish between mental illness and the culturally acceptable level of melancholy and love-sickness a young man was permitted to manifest at the time.
   
   In short, given the lack of data (most notably the inability to interview the subject, Mr. Lincoln) and the different culture back then, why even try to import these modern day notions of depression to the 1830's-1860's?
   
   Still, the book does make three points exceptionally well, which makes this a very worthwhile effort.
   
   First, he destroys the idiotic notions that Lincoln was gay by virtue of close emotional relationships with men that were permitted and encouraged by the culture back then. Superficial modern day notions of sexual identity have no place in a different time with different (and perhaps healthier) approaches toward the permissibility of emotional intimacy between men.
   
   Second, he argues that Lincoln's struggles with melancholy were part of his larger struggles against adversity that toughened him up for the greatest trial faced by any American President since Washington. This is an old theme, but it is well constructed here. On paper, hugely successful men like Buchanan, Jefferson Davis, and General McClellan should have been the ones to lead successfully during this crisis. But in some ways their previous success was a curse. The depressive's realism and ability to solider on during adversity is perhaps far better preparation. A fascinating point and one that is completley lost in modern Presidential races.
   
   Third, the author argues that Lincoln's mental makeup allowed him to resist the compromises and stop gap measures that seduced men like Buchanan, Douglas, and Crittenden. Lincoln saw that the country had to recognize the evil of slavery and put it on the path to ultimate extinction. This was, of course, Lincoln's greatest insight, though I'm not convinced that his melancholia necessarily predisposed him to accept it. But there is some appeal in the contention that depressives can be curiously more disposed to realism in a world that is frequently evil and unfair.
   
   This is an insightful book, though the ability to analyze Lincoln's psyche given the absence of data and intervening culutural changes is, of course, a doomed venture.



5. Shenk's study of Lincoln and depression is fascinating, and Richard Davidson does an excellent narration. I found the audiobook entertaining and thought-provoking.
   
   Shenk provides a detailed biography of Lincoln interspersed with musings on psychology and related topics. He points out that modern culture has unfairly criticized depressives as negative people, with only a minority of scientists pointing out that depressed people may actually be more realistic than optimists. In light of the threats facing mid-19th century America, Lincoln was more in touch with what was likely to happen than his happier peers. Shenk also shows that Lincoln's long-standing depression contributed to some of his outstanding character traits, such as his desire to be of service to his country and an unwavering determination to complete necessary tasks, no matter how unpleasant. This made him strong enough to lead his country through an incredibly bloody war.
   
   Shenk finishes the book with a discussion on Lincoln's biographers and how historians inject their own prejudices into published research. The final CD concludes with an interesting interview with the author.

5 comments about Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862.

1. According to the introduction to this wonderful book, the editors, Gary Joiner and Timothy Smith, more or less saved O. Edward Cunningham's book from forever being a dog-eared samizdat available only to the tour guides at the Shiloh battlefield. I for one am grateful that they did. This is a terrefic book that really educates the reader about what went on during the battle of Shiloh. Cunningham has covered the battlefield, before and after the battle, in such detail that it's hard to imagine finding a better, or at least more informed, work. The research that went into the book is evident on every page. Also, thanks to the editors, a second set of research is available in the form of copius footnotes. All of this combines to make one of the most informative books on a battle in the Civil War that I've read. Unfortunately, sometimes the detail can be a bit overwhelming, more in the way that it's presented than in the sheer volume. The volume of detail is what makes the book such a wonderful read. The writing is just a tad too structural in parts and doesn't flow well. Maybe if the author had lived to publish the work himself these rough spots would have been smoothed down. Either way, this is a fantastic read and will help expert or beginner alike achieve a much higher level of understanding about this pivotal Civil War battle.
   
   The maps were well done and helped illustrate the narrative very well. The photos in the appendix of the battle field today helped set to the scene a bit too.
   
   Finally, and most importantly for me, I didn't detect any bias in the writing. Sometimes, especially in Civil War history, the authors bias, pro or anti whatever side he's pro or anti about, comes out in the writing. I find that can seriously detract from otherwise very good books. None of this was evident here, again, making this a book worth reading.



2. This is a very good book to read about one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.The author does a very good job in his research about everything that happened those 2 days on April 1862.I especially liked to read about details regarding the soldiers, the way the fought, their strategies, the way they reacted to the chaos around them.This book should be in the shelves of all us who like to read about the Civil War.Also the book analyzes the big questions of that war. Why Beauregard didnt press his attack on the Landing? Why Halleck didnt attack Corinth when he had the chance? These questions will remain without answer but due to those situations the War was prolonged.The only thing i didnt like about the book was that the author gives you too many details that sometimes made the reading a little dry.But, otherwise, a very good book



3. When this book was written, it was a new vision of the battle of Shiloh. The editors considered it important enough to resurrect from the Shiloh NMP archives and bring to a wider audience. The book was very easy to read and follow. The book moved quickly through the movements and battles of the first major Union campaign in the Western Theater. The centerpiece is a detailed account of the battle of Shiloh and finally, a brief account of Halleck's capture of Corinth. Footnotes on the page with the citation were appreciated and the editors did an excellent job pointing out where they had changed the original account and why.
   This book reevaluated the significance of many events at Shiloh. The author rejected the importance of traditional turning points; Hornet's Nest, Johnston's death, and correctly points out that battles are contingent and are the result of many events involving all the participants. No single event determines the outcome; it is the sum of all the actions like a series of dominos.
   The editors made excellent use of numerous good maps to allow the reader to follow the campaign and the action at Shiloh. There were 18 pages of photos of the leaders (4 per page) on both sides, some familiar and others that I had not seen before. After the Order of Battle for the armies (thank you), there is a photographic tour of the Shiloh battlefield park and a map showing the location and direction of the photo. This gave the reader an excellent sense of the terrain and action.
   I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Western Theater.



4. I would highly recommend this book. Being a novice at Civil War history this one opened my eyes on this little reported or storied second large battle of the War of the Rebellion. One can find many parallels on events of present day. Such as what happened to the major players (generals) after the battle. Had leaders listened to the likes of the newspaper reporters of the day (substitute NY Times for NY Herald) reporter who had an agenda (where have we seen that one?) or traitorous politicians with their own self serving agendas, the war would have turned out MUCH differently than it did! Grant and a few others would have been back benched for good along with much of the Confederate generals as well.
   
   The personal stories even though they are a sentence long on virtually each one make the battle more personalized than any before that I have read. I really felt like I was there smelling the gun-smoke and feeling the cold rain, muddy conditions, and gut wrenching hunger for proper food on both sides!
   
   
   If I had one negative comment it would be the use of Maps. The book needs better, more detailed maps in legend reference to feet-miles and naming of creeks and roads. This battlefield is MUCH smaller than I ever expected (using the internet and discussions with people who have actually been there)
   
   Yes I recommend the book and will keep my copy as a reference for the future discussions on Shiloh.



5. I was excited to read this book, based in no small part on the many good reviews it has received. Unfortunately, it was very disappointing. I have no doubt that the scholarship is unmatched...the editors did a fine job in not being "intrusive" while correcting mistakes and updating the various footnotes with more recent scholarship...The first few chapters were actually quite enlightening and well-written: I learned a lot about the "big picture" of the war in the West and the gathering of the armies at Shiloh.
   
   However, the rest of the book is - in a word - *unreadable*. The title of this review gives the main problem: there is so much company-level and regimental detail on each page that it becomes a chore to slog through.
   
   In writing a battle narrative, there is a way to combine scholarship (in which Cunningham excelled) with readibility...Stephen Sears and Gordon Rhea are expert at it...unfortunately, the late Dr. Cunningham failed in this regard.
   
   If the publisher and editors intended only to make this research material - originally a PhD dissertation - more accessible, they succeeded admirably...if they intended it to be a readable and enjoyable account of the Battle of Shiloh, we are still waiting.

5 comments about A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation.

1. Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs are among a handful of former slaves in the Old South who wrote famous narratives of their lives in slavery and their ultimate escape to freedom. It is a rare and important event to find additional first-person narratives that document the efforts of slaves to become free. The noted historian David Blight had the good fortune to become aware of two such narratives which had previously been held close by the families of their authors. Blight has published these accounts in his recent book "A Slave no More" (2007), together with background information on the manuscripts, a discussion of the lives of the authors following their escapes from slavery, and a brief history of Emancipation during and following the Civil War.
   
   The attraction of this book lies more in the narratives than in Blight's commentary. The narratives were composed by John Washington (1838 -- 1918) and Wallace Turnage (1846-1916). Washington and Turnage both discuss their lives in slavery and the factors impelling them to make their escape. The narratives do not extend to the subsequent lives of the narrators in freedom. The narratives are written in a non-literary style which nevertheless have great power from their very simplicity. Neither man was writing for the public. Their accounts of slavery offer the opportunity to get to know two people who did not make it into the history books but whose storyies have much to teach.
   
   The narrative of John Washington, which he titled "Memorys of the Past" is the more literary of the two. Washington vowed to escape from slavery when his mother was sold away when he was a child. Washington spent most of his early life as an urban slave in Virginia working as a house servant,in a tobacco factory, and in an inn, among other places. With the advance of the Union army through Fredericksburg in 1862, Washington saw his opportunity to cross the river to the Union lines. He became an aide to several Union officers and ultimately established himself with his wife, who had been born free, in Washington D.C. Washington's narrative has some excellent portrayals of the movements of the soldiers on both sides and of his experiences with the Union army.
   
   Turnage's account is untitled and substantially less polished that Washington's. Turnage spent most of his time in slavery in the deep south near Pickensville, Alabama. He was a field hand and subjected to more cruelty and violence than was Washington. His account is replete with descriptions of whippings given to himself and, especially, to women. Witnessing and receiving these whippings made Turnage determined to escape. Turnage made at least four unsuccessful attempts at escape before he succeeded, after each of which he was punished with increasing severity. In the first several attempts, Turnage went west to try to reach the Union lines in Corinth, Mississippi. He nearly succeeded but was returned to his master on each occasion. Turnage finally succeeded in a daring attempt to reach Mobile Bay, the site of a great Union naval victory. Turnage had to cross snake-infested swamps and achieved freedom only when Union soldiers rescued him from the sinking makeshift boat in which he had been riding to freedom. Turnage offers a graphic, gritty account of his escape and of the harshness of slavery in the deep south. Importantly, Turnage does not show bitterness towards his oppressors. He writes at the outset of his narrative: "I do not mean to speak disparagingly of those who sold me, nor of those who bought me. Though I seen a hard time, it had an attendency to make a man out of me." (Blight, page 213)
   
   In his introductory material, Blight retells and expands upon the narratives of Washington and Turnage. Through laborious historical research, Blight also describes the lives of the two men and their families after their escape. Washington spent most of his life as a painter in Washington D.C. and was active in the church and the developing African-American community. His five children went on to careers, with his youngest son enjoying success as a science teacher and athletic coach. Turnage had a much more difficult time of it living in the overcrowded, disease-infested sections of New York City and witnessing the deaths of his mother, wife, and several children. One of his daughters was able to "pass" for white, and she was the source for recovering her father's manuscript.
   
   Blight also offers an interesting discussion of the Emancipation Proclamation which focuses on the immediate reaction to it in African American communities in both North and South. I found Blight's discussion somewhat broader and more polemical than it needed to be to elucidate the narratives of Washington and Turnage. But most of his discussion makes for interesting reading.
   
   Washington and Turnage wrote inspiring narratives of their journey from slavery to freedom. Blight has done a service in making these narratives available to the public. This book will be of interest to readers concerned with American slavery, the Civil War, and African American history. Readers unfamiliar with other slave narratives may wish to explore Frederick Douglass's autobiographies and the volume titled "Slave Narratives," both of which are available from the Library of America.
   
   Robin Friedman



2. Recently two new important African-American slave narratives have come to light, published here along with scholarly commentary for the first time. They are considered significant by historians because they support a theory that slaves played a role in bringing about their own freedom. Traditionally slavery is thought to have ended with Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation - Lincoln freed the slaves, we are taught in school. However, is it possible that the slaves themselves played a role in their own freedom, that their own actions, conscious or not, helped bring about Emancipation? This is what today many historians contend, and these two narratives support that view. "For most slaves", Blight says, "freedom did not come on a particular day; it evolved by process." It was the process of waves of slaves escaping into Union lines as the war moved south, often forming shanty towns of "contrabands" (as the Union called escaped slaves, they were initially classified by the north as property). Eventually something had to be done about the"contraband" and Lincoln signed some limited laws that gave them freedom, which eventually morphed into the Emancipation Proclamation. But it was the slaves desire for freedom, willing to risk life by escaping, that forced the issue of Emancipation. Further, many of these freed slaves then took up arms and joined the Union army. It is estimated over 700,000 of the nearly 4 million slaves found freedom through this "process", the remaining 3.3 million achieving freedom with the 13th Amendment.
   
   Whatever the historical debates, these narratives are interesting and even thrilling. Although not as well written as Frederick Douglass, in many ways the adventures of these young men are more real and tangible - as private documents they were not written to be published, not filtered through an editor. They were meant for friends and family and thus have a rough, raw real edge to them.
   
   David Blight has done a great service to historians and the public by both publishing the original sources and summarizing and expanding on them. Each of the two narratives has a corresponding chapter that re-creates the narrative in more detail and clarity for the modern reader. In addition there are two chapters that examine what happened to the men after the war including some fascinating pictures. No two slave narratives are alike and these will surely not disappoint as important historical case examples and thrilling stories. America has two new unsung heroes representative of 100s of thousands who sought and found their own freedom.



3. This book makes the Civil War period and slavery come alive, partly through the real voices of 2 emancipated slaves, and partly through the consumate writing skill of the author. The level is just right: carefully documented sources (endnotes) that authenticate the story, plus a wonderfully accessible writing style that is clear, never boring, and quietly compassionate. This is an engaging book I recommend even to those having only a casual interest in history.



4. The book provides an in depth look at the lives of two black men who were determined to escape slavery. The book also reveals the hopelessness experienced by slaves in their daily lives. It also exposed the cruelty of slave owners, who were considered in all other respects to be genteel and upstanding citizens in their community.



5. History buffs in general will find "A Slave No More" a highly valuable read. For students of American history, and particularly for those who are interested in the Civil War and Reconstruction period, this book is must reading. There are not many first-person accounts by former slaves available to us. This volume contains two such narratives, hitherto unpublished: one is by Wallace Turnage and the other is by John Washington, both former slaves who found their way to freedom during the Civil War. David Blight presents them here in their original form "with virtually no changes to the grammar and spelling," although he has done some minor editing in their structure (primarily providing paragraph breaks) to assist in reading.
   
   The reader is not, however, immediately thrust into the narratives themselves. Blight spends the first 162 pages introducing us to the two writers, using genealogical data, and to the context in which the narratives were written. Turnage's and Washington's escape to freedom occurred during the chaos of this nation's most bloody war (over 600,000 casualties) and amidst a political and cultural conflict (state's rights and slavery) which had been ripping the country apart for many decades. It is, I think, essential to understand the plight of the Black slave on a personal level, to understand what it means to be someone else's "property," completely and totally subject to someone else's will, to recognize and accept that slaves were not thought to be fully "human." Blight does an outstanding job of providing the necessary background for the narratives.
   
   I recommend this book to all readers who love the study of history. It is a valuable contribution to the genre.