<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Classic compare and contrast...
Review: Ayers offers a near flawless account of the initial years of the War for Southern Independence though a unique spotlight on two counties -Franklin (PA) and Augusta (VA). The "everyman" of each county is the focus of this tale -from the local newpaper editor to the local merchant to the nearby free-man-of-color. From the late 1850's to the opening of what would become the Gettysburg Campaign, Ayers examines, warts and all, the hopes, dreams and fears of Americans soon to be caught up in this dreadful conflict. Ayers is very adept at the many framing sequences which put the "smaller picture" of these respective counties into the "large" picture. This account is very reader friendly -Ayers assists the novice Civil War student with his framing sequences, yet those more versed in the history of the conflict will enjoy the micro-examination of Franklin County, PA, and Augusta County, VA. The focus is not Lee, or Grant, or Jackson -the interest is in the loves, the lives, and the sense of loss felt by the "little guy". This is not necessarily a story of war, but a story of "people". Well done, indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Classic compare and contrast...
Review: Ayers offers a near flawless account of the initial years of the War for Southern Independence though a unique spotlight on two counties -Franklin (PA) and Augusta (VA). The "everyman" of each county is the focus of this tale -from the local newpaper editor to the local merchant to the nearby free-man-of-color. From the late 1850's to the opening of what would become the Gettysburg Campaign, Ayers examines, warts and all, the hopes, dreams and fears of Americans soon to be caught up in this dreadful conflict. Ayers is very adept at the many framing sequences which put the "smaller picture" of these respective counties into the "large" picture. This account is very reader friendly -Ayers assists the novice Civil War student with his framing sequences, yet those more versed in the history of the conflict will enjoy the micro-examination of Franklin County, PA, and Augusta County, VA. The focus is not Lee, or Grant, or Jackson -the interest is in the loves, the lives, and the sense of loss felt by the "little guy". This is not necessarily a story of war, but a story of "people". Well done, indeed.
Rating:
Summary: The war as they lived it!
Review: This is not an introduction the American Civil War but the war as people lived it. Starting in 1859 and ending in 1863, the reader "lives" through these years with a county in the north and a county in the south. You learn about people and get an idea of how they felt and reacted to ongoing events. Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862 becomes very real with rumors, wounded, killed and wagons to transport captured supplies. John Brown is that man that rented the room in the local hotel on his way to Harper's Ferry. Nashville, Shiloh, enlistments, wives and mothers live and die in what becomes a very personal story for the reader.Very well written, easy and fun to read, this may be the best gift for your Civil War Buff.
Rating:
Summary: Life in time of war.
Review: This is the first book from The Valley of the Shadow Project and may become the classic Civil War home front book. Two counties, one in Pennsylvania one in Virginia were selected and life during the war closely documented. Very few of the people in this book are even minor players in the war, which is the books greatest strength. Without "important" figures, the story concentrates on what's in the newspapers, changes in prices and local problems, in other words the normal daily life of the people living in the counties. An excellent introduction tells us about counties and the people free, slave, white, black, rich, middle class or poor. We learn how they make a living, farmers for the most part, what industry and jobs are open to them. How they learned of the events beyond the county and how they reacted to them. We are taken through the election of 1860 and into war. We gain an understanding of a war that isn't generals and battles but separation, death and sadness. Battles are reported in terms of local men killed, wounded or missing and in letters that are printed in the paper or passed from house to house. Fear of the enemy army and invasion is very real and happens. Politics is very important and the divisions in the North contrast with the solidarity in the South. As Pennsylvania's Democrats and Republicans fight for power and over emancipation. While in Virginia, the papers report the problems as evidence the North's war effort is failing. This is a book for the serious student of the war and for a person who wants to learn about life in America 140 years ago. This is one of the most informative books on the Civil War that I've read and recommend it to you.
Rating:
Summary: Life in time of war.
Review: This is the first book from The Valley of the Shadow Project and may become the classic Civil War home front book. Two counties, one in Pennsylvania one in Virginia were selected and life during the war closely documented. Very few of the people in this book are even minor players in the war, which is the books greatest strength. Without "important" figures, the story concentrates on what's in the newspapers, changes in prices and local problems, in other words the normal daily life of the people living in the counties. An excellent introduction tells us about counties and the people free, slave, white, black, rich, middle class or poor. We learn how they make a living, farmers for the most part, what industry and jobs are open to them. How they learned of the events beyond the county and how they reacted to them. We are taken through the election of 1860 and into war. We gain an understanding of a war that isn't generals and battles but separation, death and sadness. Battles are reported in terms of local men killed, wounded or missing and in letters that are printed in the paper or passed from house to house. Fear of the enemy army and invasion is very real and happens. Politics is very important and the divisions in the North contrast with the solidarity in the South. As Pennsylvania's Democrats and Republicans fight for power and over emancipation. While in Virginia, the papers report the problems as evidence the North's war effort is failing. This is a book for the serious student of the war and for a person who wants to learn about life in America 140 years ago. This is one of the most informative books on the Civil War that I've read and recommend it to you.
<< 1 >>
|
