Rating: 
Summary: Well,,,at least the maps were nice.
Review: A good basic,, strictly introductory account of the so called CIVIL war from a revisionary point of view. At least it did point out that lincoln USED the slavery issue to help win the war and NOT as a reason to fight it.
Lots of pics of confederate dead,,only confederate dead?? no union dead,,why is that??
Any way the maps are nice.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book
Review: An outstanding book...you get all the emotion and history of the war and you don't even need to watch the video version. Most accounts of the war that I've read do not approach this level of personal touch (James MacPherson a notable exception)and this weaving of everyday life with the battle details makes for an exceptional perspective. I especially enjoyed the integration of photos with Ward's outstanding writing style and the digressions into cultural issues (slavery, politics...)that really give the reader an intimate "feel" of what the times and the war were all about. The war in the West is given an equal billing with the more celebrated Virginia accounts and Ward proves that the Union momentum sprang partly from these battles. Lastly, I've never seen better and more abundant maps of all the battles...these really made each confrontation stand out and gave me a better "picture" of "who went where". I bought this book thinking I'd get a summary of the video and a brief overview of the war...I now think that this belongs on any Civil War library shelf. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Civil War as an illustrated history...
Review: An outstanding book...you get all the emotion and history of the war without even watching the movie. Most accounts of the war that I've read do not approach this level of personal touch (Bruce Catton being a notable exception) and this weaving of everyday life with the battle details makes for an exceptional perspective. I especially enjoyed the integration of photos with Ward's outstanding writing style and the digressions into cultural issues (slavery, politics...)which really gives the reader an intimate "feel" of what the times and the war were all about. The war in the West is given equal billing to the more celebrated Virginia account and Ward proves that the Union momentum sprang largly from these battles. Lastly, I've never seen better maps of all the battles...these really made each confrontation stand out and gave me a better "picture" of "who went where". I bought this book thinking I'd get a summary of the movie and a brief overview of the war...I now think that this belongs on any Civil War library shelf. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT BOOK - ONLY ONE THING I WOULD CHANGE...
Review: FINALLY, A WONDERFUL, READABLE BOOK ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR. I UNSUCESSFULLY TRIED TO TACKLE MR. MCPHERSON'S BOOK "BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM," AND THIS IS SO EASY AND DELIGHTFUL TO READ. I LOVE THE PICTURES AND YOU FEEL AS IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTED BACK IN TIME AND THAT YOU ARE A PART OF THE STORY. I ONLY HAVE ONE RECOMMENDATION, GENTLEMEN, AND THAT IS TO INCLUDE THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD IN THE SAME MANNER. I HOPE IF THE AUTHORS READ THIS, THAT THEY WILL CONSIDER DOING SO.
Rating:
Summary: When Hell was Incarnate on Earth
Review: Gepffrey Ward's narrative is a complete departure from the textbook Civil War stories that we tend to read today. His is a fascinating account that deals with the ordinary people and the history that they lived through. I found this book an especially rewarding buy because of it's very interesting and absorbing language and illustrations. Overall, this book has made a particularly deep impact and led me to look at the civil war as a time, when hell was truly incarnate on earth. In view of Ward's excellence in writing I would give him five stars, and also because he tells the full stories of Gettysburg, Bull Run (both of them), Antietam, Shiloh, and Appamattox Court House. He brings the Civil War to life like nobody else can. I am especially touched by his quotation from the letter of Col. Sullivan Ballou of Rhode Island, it was a tear-jerking moment for me when I saw the series and when I read this book over and over again. This book is an amazing readable account of a gone-by era and I appreciate the effort that Ken Burns and Geoffrey Ward to bringing this bloody, romantic, and adventurous era to life just as they have in The West with Dayton Duncan, Baseball, and Lewis & Clark. Read this book for the story and the pictures!
Rating:
Summary: A Good Primer on the Subject...With some Reservations
Review: If you've never read any books on the Civil War, this is a good book to start with. Avoid the Vintage quality paperback edition which is simply the text of the book without the wonderful illustrations. I think the illustrations and the text are made for each other and Knopf did a wonderful job pairing them together. Ward and the Burns brothers (remember, Ric Burns had a hand in this project too so Ken shouldn't get all the credit) chose judiciously and well. The book admittedly doesn't match the overall power of the series but it certainly does well on it's own. The end result is a big, beautiful book you'd be proud to have on your coffee table. If there is a downside to this volume, it's probably in the tone in which it was written. It's definitely got a Yankee bias to it. The idea that either McClellan or Meade could have "destroyed" Lee at any time seems a bit absurd given Lee's military gifts and leadership. No doubt they could have possibly inflicted grievous losses on Lee (McClellan prior to and during Sharpsburg, and Meade following Gettysburg), but that was highly unlikely and only on the condition that the Army of Northern Virginia would have been placed in a do or die fight (except possibly Chancellorsville). Other flaws I'd have to say is the typical slavery argument and Barbara J. Fields. Slavery was a major cause, but that isn't all. Frankly, I'd like to think that the War started simply because there was too much antagonistic feelings between North and South. They simply didn't like each other anymore. Fields' essay is utterly dismissable. Her comments on the series were annoying and her "knowledge" of the war shallow. There was much more to the war than that. Despite these flaws, the book has far more strengths. James McPherson contributes a good essay as does C. Van Woodward. Ken Burns' two day interview with Shelby Foote (which gave the series the majority of its warmth) is included in here albeit in edited form and to me, is nearly worth the price alone. If you're just starting out reading about the Civil War, buy this or borrow it. It's worth the time. Certainly worth the money if you can afford it.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Primer For Further Civil War Study
Review: It is hard to imagine the United States engaged in a savagly brutal cival war. The idea of America being literally torn in two by the emergence of seperate and opposing government seems so far-fetched as to seem surreal.
Although aware that the war indeed occured, I, like most Americans knew very little about this era in American history. However, inorder to understand one's nation and subsequently the Self, it is imperative to understand the socialization of one's native country.
The book served as an excellect primer for further study of the American civil war. It discussed the war chronologically, each chapter explaing one year of the conflict. For exaple, chapter one is entitled, "1861: A House Divided," and provides discussion on the causal events that led to the rise of secessionist parties and the division of the Union.
At the end of each chapter a reknowned scholar of the Civil War contributes an essay which serves as a synopsis and conclusion of the chapter; a very interesting and enjoyable addition. Having gathered the basic facts through the main body of the chapter the reader is prepared for the more rigorous works of the academics.
In particular, I enjoyed learning of the more peculiar and eccentric characters of the Civil War. For example, Stonewall Jackson and his religious furor towards the destruction of Northern oppressors, as well as Gen. Sherman, one of the first military commanders to wage total war on the civilian population with the goal of breaking the Confederate army, a tactic later seen in the bombing of civilian populations during World War II.
Aside from the colorful men conducting the Civil War, I was interested to learn the scholar's opinions of just what the ultimate results of the war were on the United States. Shelby Foote argues that the Civil War acctually led to a more cohesive nation, saying that the United States served as a loosly bound group of independent states, each holding strongly to their independence from Federal control. Following the war, a stronger central government emerged which served as an encompassing umbrella to all states, even regaining the cofidence of those sepratist states of the Confederacy.
I was also suprised at many of the technological advance that emerged during the war, perhaps most notably the creation of iron-clad warships and even rudimentary submarines-technology that seems out of place next to the set piece battles in which tens of thousands of men walk willingly into each other's musket balls and bayonets.
The British, for many years the undisputed King's of the Seas took special note of this naval advancements. With the creation of the Union ship, The Monitor, one British observer wrote, "About a week ago, (the British) discovered that their whole wooden navy was useless." And such began a change in the balance of global power.
Although a great first book about the Civil War, it ended abruptly with the assassination of Lincoln on April 4, 1865. I would have liked to see more discussion of the reconstruction following the war; how the shattered pieces of the Republic were reassembled.
It seems that when a reconstruction effort is run well, with a genuine desire to rebuild and reintegrate, such as the Marshall Plan in Europe, and MacArthur's rebuilding of Japan, the result is often a better and stronger entity. For at the time, America was torn assunder, but within a few short years, Manifest Destiny took control, and Americans from both North and South spread West and America grew-not only larger, but more integrated and closely woven. This being a most important histroy lesson for the present day global community.
Shelby Foote was correct in arguing that those five years did bring the nation closer together. The Civil War may have been a baptism of fire, but from the ashes a stronger America emerged.
Rating:
Summary: "The Universe of Battle"
Review: The Civil War, written by Ken Burns, Ric Burns and historian Geoffrey C. Ward, is the companion volume to the outstanding 1990 documentary series from the Public Broadcasting System. Lavishly illustrated with paintings, photographs and maps, this book tells the dramatic and tragic story of America's bloodiest conflict. Like the television series from which this project was derived, its narrative is both informative and awe-inspiring. Its prose is lovingly crafted, and one can almost hear the voice of historian-writer David McCullough, who narrated the TV episodes, when reading from any of its five chapters. "By the summer of 1861, Wilmer McLean had had enough," write the authors in the introduction, The Crossroads of Our Being. "Two great armies were converging on his farm, and what would be the first major battle of the Civil War -- Bull Run, or Manassas as the Confederates called it -- would soon rage across the aging Virginian's farm, a Union shell going so far as to tear through his summer kitchen. Now McLean moved his family away from Manassas, far south and west of Richmond -- out of harm's way, he prayed -- to a dusty crossroads town called Appomatox Court House. And it was there in his living room three and a half years later that Lee surrendered to Grant, and Wilmer McLean could rightfully say, 'The war began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor.' " Although the hardcover edition is a coffee table sized volume, it is not a terribly long or exhaustive work. There are only five chapters, each one dedicated to a year of the war and followed by an essay by an eminent historian. My personal favorite is the essay "Men at War" by Shelby Foote, whose award winning three volume history of the Civil War is considered by many to be among the best on the subject. More interview than essay, "Men at War" attempts to explain why Civil War battles were so bloody; "It was brutal stuff," Foote explains, "and the reason for the high casualties is really quite simple: the weapons were way ahead of the tactics." Foote also discusses the primitive medical techniques of the time, and has this to say about Lee at Gettysburg: "Gettysburg was the price the South paid for having Lee." On the issue of who won the war, Foote says, "I can tell you who lost it -- the South lost the war. But I'm not sure anybody won that war. It's a tragedy." Other essay writers include Barbara J. Fields, James M. McPherson, Don E. Fehrenbacher and C. Vann Woodward. The Civil War follows the structure of Ken Burns' documentary, and most of the individuals portrayed in the PBS series (ranging from Presidents Lincoln and Davis to Union soldier Elisha Hunt Rhodes -- who rose from private to colonel during the war -- and Confederate soldier-turned-author Sam Watkins) are wonderfully described in the text. While definitely not a substitute for the film on which it's based, The Civil War is a fine book and a good one-volume introduction to the worst internal crisis the American people ever faced.
Rating:
Summary: "The Universe of Battle"
Review: The Civil War, written by Ken Burns, Ric Burns and historian Geoffrey C. Ward, is the companion volume to the outstanding 1990 documentary series from the Public Broadcasting System. Lavishly illustrated with paintings, photographs and maps, this book tells the dramatic and tragic story of America's bloodiest conflict. Like the television series from which this project was derived, its narrative is both informative and awe-inspiring. Its prose is lovingly crafted, and one can almost hear the voice of historian-writer David McCullough, who narrated the TV episodes, when reading from any of its five chapters. "By the summer of 1861, Wilmer McLean had had enough," write the authors in the introduction, The Crossroads of Our Being. "Two great armies were converging on his farm, and what would be the first major battle of the Civil War -- Bull Run, or Manassas as the Confederates called it -- would soon rage across the aging Virginian's farm, a Union shell going so far as to tear through his summer kitchen. Now McLean moved his family away from Manassas, far south and west of Richmond -- out of harm's way, he prayed -- to a dusty crossroads town called Appomatox Court House. And it was there in his living room three and a half years later that Lee surrendered to Grant, and Wilmer McLean could rightfully say, 'The war began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor.' " Although the hardcover edition is a coffee table sized volume, it is not a terribly long or exhaustive work. There are only five chapters, each one dedicated to a year of the war and followed by an essay by an eminent historian. My personal favorite is the essay "Men at War" by Shelby Foote, whose award winning three volume history of the Civil War is considered by many to be among the best on the subject. More interview than essay, "Men at War" attempts to explain why Civil War battles were so bloody; "It was brutal stuff," Foote explains, "and the reason for the high casualties is really quite simple: the weapons were way ahead of the tactics." Foote also discusses the primitive medical techniques of the time, and has this to say about Lee at Gettysburg: "Gettysburg was the price the South paid for having Lee." On the issue of who won the war, Foote says, "I can tell you who lost it -- the South lost the war. But I'm not sure anybody won that war. It's a tragedy." Other essay writers include Barbara J. Fields, James M. McPherson, Don E. Fehrenbacher and C. Vann Woodward. The Civil War follows the structure of Ken Burns' documentary, and most of the individuals portrayed in the PBS series (ranging from Presidents Lincoln and Davis to Union soldier Elisha Hunt Rhodes -- who rose from private to colonel during the war -- and Confederate soldier-turned-author Sam Watkins) are wonderfully described in the text. While definitely not a substitute for the film on which it's based, The Civil War is a fine book and a good one-volume introduction to the worst internal crisis the American people ever faced.
Rating:
Summary: Too Breezy
Review: This book did not hold my interest, primarily because it is too breezy. It is a companion to the PBS documentary. Unfortunately, it is not as successful as the video, perhaps because it is more difficult to write a documentary than to do a video of one. Ward provides a useful description of the difference between historians and documentarians: "Historians delight in telling us what our history is and what it means. The documentarian, on the other hand, as often delights in recording and conveying the simple fact that we have had a history at all: that there was once a time when people looked like this, or sounded like that, or felt these ways about such things. The historical documentary is often more immediate and more emotional than history proper because of its continual joy in making the past present through visual and verbal documents." The most compelling parts of this book are not by documentarians, but by historians. These are essays by prominent Civil War scholars, including Shelby Foote and James M. McPherson, authors of the most highly regarded books about the Civil War--"The Civil War: A Narrative" by the former and "Battle Cry for Freedom" by the latter. The illustrations in this book are not as good as those in "The American Heritage New History of the Civil War," but does have more and better maps. Persons interested in an overview of the Civil War would be better off turning to the PBS video or to a book.
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