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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Way to Understand What Led Up to the Civil War
Review: A wonderful informative book that shows how all the political justifications for the war started (states rights, secession) but also showed the basic issue which was wrong; southerners should never have purchased humans from the slave traders of Africa.
Rating:
Summary: Unique approach - very good reading
Review: I first read Oates' Whirlwind of War and enjoyed that so much that I thought I'd give this one a try. My interest in the Civil War was broadened by this book into a desire to better understand the setting prior to 1860. I really liked Oates' "first person" writing technique. It takes an extremely good understanding of the person as well as the historic facts to do this and Oates carries this off well. Read both books!
Rating:
Summary: Unique approach - very good reading
Review: I first read Oates' Whirlwind of War and enjoyed that so much that I thought I'd give this one a try. My interest in the Civil War was broadened by this book into a desire to better understand the setting prior to 1860. I really liked Oates' "first person" writing technique. It takes an extremely good understanding of the person as well as the historic facts to do this and Oates carries this off well. Read both books!
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good on the politics of ONE of the causes of the WBTS
Review: I was skeptical of this book when I read in the preface that Oates was going to tell us what the key players said and what "they might have said". However, I was very pleased with the even handedness and accuracy of his content. The style of the book proved refreshing and placed the chronological events into an interesting weave. HOWEVER, he leads the reader to believe that slavery and its politics was the ONLY reason for the eventual conflict. The resulting carnage was a product of many more and very complicated factors of which we should all be aware.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a real page turner!!
Review: Oates has been able to seamlessly combine historical facts with well-reasoned, insightful extentions of the speakers thoughts and motives.In order to understand one of the most important chapters in American history, it is imperative to not only read the documents left behind, but to delve into the thoughts and motives behind those documents. Oates has done this in an easy-to-read, yet historiclly accurate tome. This is a must read for all those wishing to know why the Civil War was an inevitable chapter in American history.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Look at the Causes of the Civil War
Review: The Civil War. It facinates us to this day. Americans from the North and the South set in bloody combat against each other. But why? The easy answer is to simply say slavery. But was there more to it than this? Stephen Oates' book takes the first person perspective of 13 characters from this pivotal time in history. Ranging from Thomas Jefferson to Stephen Douglas to Harriet Beecher Stowe, Oates portrays the feelings, actions, desires, and events that occured in the lives of these individuals and how they shaped the views of all Americans. Rightly titled, the book takes a more hostile and agressive air with each page as 19th century "movers and shakers" seem to shout at each other from their respective sections in the book. Oates' does a wonderful job of allowing us to see why America would turn against itself to survive and made it clear that, by the time the Civil War began, there were few options but to fight. Oates gives each of his characters personality and strong views about slavery, abolition, states rights, and the role of the federal government. It is as if we can almost see the line between North and South being drawn as the book progresses. An excellent read for any Civil War buff or historically inclined individual.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent first-person history of Civil War causes
Review: This book retells the events leading up to the Civil War through first-person accounts of themain players, reconstructed by the author. It is a fascinating method for retelling the story, as it allows the author to communicate much more of the emotion and opinions of the players, and makes the conflict come alive. Oates does an outstanding job of getting inside the mind of each of the characters, and making you understand the firmly held opinions on all sides of the issue. He also picks an interesting period, in exploring the causes leading up to the beginning of the war, rather than recounting the specifics of the war itself. This period is the too little discussed and understood part of history from which we can draw the real lessons of the ultimate outcome of this kind of conflict. There is also an eerie parallel between the slavery conflict of the early 1800's and the abortion issues of today. Reading the book with this parallel in mind is downright scary. You see the side that argues from personal liberty lined up against the side that argues from moral right and wrong. All of the current players are in place, from militant reactionaries to defenders of the status quo to the thoughtful minority hopelessly trying to find some middle ground. Each side was just as intransigent as the parties are today. Only the liberal/conservative roles seem to be reversed in today's struggle. Someone once said that those who ignore history are destined to repeat it. Ignore this book at your peril. My only complaint with the book is that the format of strictly first person narratives does not allow for the author to directly draw his own conclusions. I came away wishing I could better understand his opinions about the conflict. This, however, is a minor issue. Overall, the book is just excellent.
Rating:
Summary: No Better Way To Read History
Review: This is an incredible work deserving of the highest awards and accolades for scholarship and literature. What an exhilirating way to read history! The first person narrartives, so skillfully and beautifully written, drew me into the events and emotions in ways that I have never experienced reading other history texts. This is the way to learn and enjoy history and I hope parents and educators take note.
Rating:
Summary: No Better Way To Read History
Review: This is an incredible work deserving of the highest awards and accolades for scholarship and literature. What an exhilirating way to read history! The first person narrartives, so skillfully and beautifully written, drew me into the events and emotions in ways that I have never experienced reading other history texts. This is the way to learn and enjoy history and I hope parents and educators take note.
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