Top Selling Books on the Civil War

Editorial Reviews
Offering the clearest and most comprehensive examination of the conflict that transformed the United States, the Atlas of the Civil War reveals with immediacy the numerous dimensions of this historic confrontation. Surpassing the scope of any previously published single-volume work, this atlas pairs expert scholarship with bold mapping to vividly depict the ebb and flow of destruction and reconstruction. Divided chronologically into five sections, the Atlas of the Civil War illustrates every significant battle and military campaign while simultaneously considering the important social themes that shaped the country during the same time period. All theaters of war in which armies fought and maneuvered will be covered in detail and, marking a major departure from other atlases, this volume will devote substantial attention to the nonmilitary elements of the struggle between North and South. Maps of population, economic development, elections, transportation networks and patterns of enlistment illuminate the intersections between the home front and the battlefield, demonstrating with specially commissioned cartography that no war is fought in isolation from the rest of society. Approximately forty three-dimensional maps of terrain and troop movements add yet another unique element to this ambitious reference. Written by two esteemed Civil War historians, Kenneth Winkle and Steven Woodworth, the pithy text will be accented with black and white photography and illustrations that bring key characters and settings to life. Pulitzer-prize winning author James McPherson, will guide the project, setting the tone of the atlas with a foreword and five shorter essays the open each of the sections. Click on above picture to purchase or read more.

Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
This visually stunning history traces the evolution of the Civil War from grandiose antebellum posturing to pervasive post-war despair. Accompanied by more than 700 illustrations, 23 essays cover a variety of topics, including the horrific realities of the battlefield, the gruesome responsibilities of the field surgeons, the plight of the common soldier, the crucial decisions of individual commanders, and the inevitable collapse of the Confederate cause. Though each separate article contains a wealth of insightful information, the entire narrative is held together by a compelling array of photographs, sketches, paintings, cartoons, posters, and maps that effectively capture and communicate the glory and the trauma of the most tragic and catastrophic conflict in American history. Another superb illustrated history from Time-Life Books. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description:
Culled from the finest archival collections, this extraordinary assembly of photographs, maps, cartoons, sketches, and paintings vividly illustrates the everyday lives of soldiers during the Civil War - from harsh realities to baseball tournaments between regiments. AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR depicts cavalry, medicine, spies, special regiments, important political documents, the struggle for emancipation, and the dark road to peace. Includes more than 1,000 images, many of them never previously published. click on book picture to purchase or read more. Amazon has in stock even though it says out of stock.

3 copy boxed set!

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Author Jeff M. Shaara rounds out the Civil War Trilogy started by his late father Michael Shaara, whose book The Killer Angels described the Battle of Gettysburg. While Gods and Generals covered action prior to Gettysburg, The Last Full Measure picks up with Confederate General Robert E. Lee's retreat from Pennsylvania and continues through the end of the war. The younger Shaara focuses on the characters of Lee and Union commander Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, both of whom play prominent roles in the earlier books. He also introduces a new one: Ulysses S. Grant, the Union general who would finally defeat the South--something no soldier before him could manage. The Last Full Measure is often exciting and poignant, and fans of The Killer Angels and Gods and Generals won't be disappointed. A nicely boxed edition of this classic historical fiction. --John Miller

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This beautifully written trilogy of books on the American Civil War is not only a piece of first-rate history, but also a marvelous work of literature. Shelby Foote brings a skilled novelist's narrative power to this great epic. Many know Foote for his prominent role as a commentator on Ken Burns's PBS series about the Civil War. These three books, however, are his legacy. His southern sympathies are apparent: the first volume opens by introducing Confederate President Jefferson Davis, rather than Abraham Lincoln. But they hardly get in the way of the great story Foote tells. This hefty three volume set should be on the bookshelf of any Civil War buff. --John Miller

Book Description
"Fredericksburg to Meridian" is full of the life of the times--the elections of 1863, the resignations of Seward and Chase, and the inescapable resolution that the war must go on. Told entirely through the lives and actions of the people in --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Hiram Ulysses Grant--mistakenly enrolled in the United States Military Academy as Ulysses Simpson Grant, and so known ever since--was a failure in many of the things to which he turned his hand. An indifferent, somewhat undisciplined cadet who showed talent for mathematics and painting, he served with unexpected distinction in the U.S. war against Mexico, then repeatedly went broke as a real-estate speculator, freighter, and farmer. His reputation was restored in the Civil War, in which he fulfilled a homespun philosophy of battle: "Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can and as often as you can, and keep moving on." Given to dark moods and the solace of the bottle (although far less so than his political foes made him out to be), Grant was ferocious in war, but chivalrous in peace, and offered generous terms to the defeated armies of Robert E. Lee. His enemies on the battlefield of politics showed him little honor, and they had a point: Grant's presidency was marked by a legion of corrupt lieutenants and hangers-on who built their fortunes on the back of a suffering people, and for whose actions Grant's reputation long has suffered.

Recent history has been kinder to Grant than were the chroniclers of his day, not only for his undoubted abilities as a military leader, but also for his conduct as a president who sought to rebuild a shattered nation. Jean Edward Smith, the author of fine biographies of John Marshall and Lucius D. Clay, offers compelling reasons to accept this program of revision, while acknowledging the shortcomings of Grant's administration. Surely and thoughtfully written, this sprawling but swiftly moving book stands as a true hallmark in the literature that is devoted to Grant. --Gregory McNamee

Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Ron Coddington is a visual journalist whose work has appeared in USA Today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the San Jose Mercury News. He currently writes a monthly column, "Faces of War," for The Civil War News. He lives in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife, Anne.

Product Description:
Before going off to fight in the Civil War, many soldiers on both sides of the conflict posed for a "carte de visite", or visiting card, to give to their families, friends, or sweethearts. Invented in 1854 by a French photographer, the "carte de visite" was a small photographic print roughly the size of a modern trading card. The format arrived in America on the eve of the Civil War, which fueled intense demand for the convenient and affordable keepsakes. Considerable numbers of these portrait cards of Civil War soldiers survive today, but the experiences—and often the names—of the individuals portrayed have been lost to time. A passionate collector of Civil War–era photography, Ron Coddington became intrigued by these anonymous faces and began to research the history behind them in military records, pension files, and other public and personal documents.

In "Faces of the Civil War", Coddington presents 77 "cartes de visite" of Union soldiers from his collection and tells the stories of their lives during and after the war. The soldiers portrayed were wealthy and poor, educated and unschooled, native-born and immigrant, urban and rural. All were volunteers. Their personal stories reveal a tremendous diversity in their experience of war: many served with distinction, some were captured, some never saw combat while others saw little else. The lives of those who survived the war were even more disparate. While some made successful transitions back to civilian life, others suffered permanent physical and mental disabilities, which too often wrecked their families and careers. In compelling words and haunting pictures, "Faces of the Civil War" offers a unique perspective on the most dramatic and wrenching period in American history.

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