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Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating Photographic History
Review: If Civil War photographs are as fascinating to you as to me, this topically arranged volume has hundreds of examples for your perusal, many never seen before. The short essays range in quality from the well crafted to the pedantic, depending on their author's creativity. The captions also vary widely. Some reflect the critical eye of William Frassanito, the "photographic consultant," while others add little to the image and occasionally distract from it.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Photographic History
Review: In very few words, this book should be in the libraries of any serious reader of the civil war. The short stories coupled with the enomorous number of photographs is very comprehensive and educational. Great for readers of all ages. Jim Nichol
Rating: 
Summary: A must for any reader of the Civil War.
Review: In very few words, this book should be in the libraries of any serious reader of the civil war. The short stories coupled with the enomorous number of photographs is very comprehensive and educational. Great for readers of all ages. Jim Nichol
Rating:
Summary: A massive, intense look at the Civil War
Review: This book is a remarkable collection of Civil War images. They're striking, disgusting, personal, posed, spontaneous, beautiful, ugly, brutal, profound, fascinating or plain old interesting, extraordinary, run of the mill, boring, and with all of them this collection gives you an amazing glimpse of life. It's a smorgasbord of pictures, from people, to landscapes, to architecture, to machinery of war; the death and destruction, or the grandiosity and pomp, this has it all, and much more. Even if you're a Civil War buff, you probably won't have seen most of these photographs. I believe there are about 1,000+ in this, and it's immensity and diversity bombards you with a continual, ongoing, and very varied glimpse into that time and that life (A note though, the focus of the book is 95% military, with very few photographs of civilians. They are in there, but usually in a military setting.) It doesn't take long to get through, I've managed in half an hour, and I've read it dozens of times now. The images pull you back, as there is always something to discover or appreciate or wonder at hidden inside the photo. William Davis' commentary is pretty and emotional and light. He doesn't write a history lesson here, the photos take care of that, but enough to put things in perspective. It's been said (over and over and over) that an image can speak a thousand words, and although it's a well worn cliche, it's one of the truest of cliches. I find that photographs, Civil War included, help me to have a greater understanding of the world, of history, because they almost reach in and suspend a moment for all time, and within that moment are cross-sections of existence. They can teach you as well, better in certain ways, as any lesson or research book or whatnot. "Touched By Fire" is no exception, and is one of the best Civil War books I own for it's sheer size and power and grand capturing of life during the Civil War.
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