Rating: 
Summary: If you read one book on history this year, make it this one.
Review: Jay Winik's "April 1865" is a gem. I hesistated to read this book as I have read rather extensively on this period of U.S. history and wanted to expand the scope of my knowledge to other topics. I am so glad that I couldn't help myself. Winik does not hesitate to express an opinion and back it up factually. His research is obviously extensive and his ability to convey just how precariously the future of our Union was after Lee's surrender and Lincoln's assasination is riviting. The author's use of collective reference rather than numerical citation makes the read that much more enjoyable. This belongs with McPhearsons "Battle Cry of Freedom" and David Herbert Donald's "Lincoln" on the bookshelf of any budding historian.
Rating: 
Summary: Certainly gives the reader reason to think...what if?
Review: I read for entertainment and to learn...not to be bored. This
wonderful work certainly fulfilled the former rather than the
later! I've enjoyed reading "history" for forty years yet still
discovering books which still teach & excite are as welcome
as a fine scotch and a good cigar. Pages 253-272 covering the
shooting of Lincoln to the swearing in of Andrew Johnson certainly attests to our nations strength
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting History but Overlong and Overblown
Review: Anyone interested in American's transition from Civil War to modern nation would be well-advised to slog through this weighty volume-even with all its deficiencies. Winik's premise is that the month of April 1865 was a pivotal moment in American history (one of the "tipping points" that are currently in vogue in the field of popular history) in which the nation could have plunged into further chaos. His thesis is that only the sound and statesmanlike judgment of a few men (Lincoln, Lee, and Grant, primarily) resulted in a lasting peace and the country we are today. This of course mandates that you buy into the "great man" school of thought-one that asserts that history is made by "great men" making "important decisions." Winik interweaves this notion with another currently popular strain of inquiry, counterfactulaism (better known as "What If? scenarios). What emerges is an overblown book-length treatment of what have been an interesting dinner conversation or magazine piece. Winik excels at recreating on there ground,"you are there" moments, especially the evacuation of Richmond, the surrenders of Lee and Johnson, and the death of Lincoln. Unfortunately this comes at at a cost, as Winik indulges in breathless, overstated prose throughout the book, never using one adjective when three will do the same work. The sloppy writing results in many of his ideas being repeated several times throughout the book. Winik appears to have done an excellent job of research, although he's clearly writing outside his field of expertise (as the errors othes have pointed out attest to). In order to bolster the "counterfactual" side of his argument, he seems to have exaggerated the Confederate capability for prolonged guerilla warfare. And to bolster his "great man" ideas, he seems to have largely bought into the Robert E. Lee mythos. To fill out the book, he includes lengthy sketches of important men of the time, such as Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, Lee, Jefferson Davis, Joe Johnston, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Booth, and so on. While interesting, they interrupt the flow of the narrative and more properly belong as sidebars. There are all kinds of other digressions throughout the book, that, while interesting, have no direct bearing on Winik's thesis. In the end, the book must be commended for bringing some lesser-known events of the time to light, fleshing out some of the better known ones, and generally emphasizing their chronological proximity. One only wishes Winik was better able to restrain himself in recounting the history (throughout the book, people and events are the "most," "best," "worst," "unequaled" and so on), and less prone to accepting the Lee mythos at face value. A kind of interesting book to read along with it would be Tony Horowitz's Confederates in the Attic.
Rating:
Summary: The way History SHOULD BE Written...
Review: I listened to Jay being interviewed on PBS Radio, and was so captured by his verbal Executive Summary of his book's thesis that I just had to get a copy that day (plus, he is so interesting and enjoyable to listen to). As a previous Reviewer said, you can easily get engrossed reading this book all through the night non-stop, and I did! The book has a fresh perspective that is both easy to read and at the same time provides enough complexity in explaning each side's position. Jay has you witnessing situations and events as they unfold before you. He paints each scene in your mind's eye, so you can see what those who lived the events were faced with, what was going through their thoughts, and why they chose the decisions they made. We could have easily gone the way of the French Revolution (complete with Mass Public Executions), but did not thanks to a few Key Events in April, 1865, and the resulting High Mindedness of People on both Sides who each chose the High Road over Continued Brutality. Jay makes History come alive... you feel you are actually there!! This is the way History SHOULD BE written... students would be clamoring for more (unbelieveable as that may seem). I VERY HIGHLY recommend "April, 1865", and rather than try to retell (and spoil) the whole story here, I leave you to discover the many complex and interesting situations that will stir both your mind and your heart. BRAVO, JAY !!
Rating: 
Summary: April Fool
Review: Whenever an author focuses on a thin slice of time or single event from a lager historical context there is always a risk that the narrative will appear as if in a vacuum. Therefore there must be some background material developed in order to get the readers where they need to be in an effort to begin the story at hand. Having said that, we can also assume that the author is attempting to appeal to those who already have a better than average understanding of the larger material, mitigating contextual risk. Restraining the urge to get too lost in the background makes the best of these efforts worth reading This is a temptation the author, Jay Winik, of "April 1865: The Month That Saved America" doesn't resist very well, if really at all.
A full two thirds of his book is background histories, extended biographies and filler of the type readily known by those who would be drawn to the material in the first place, or worse, wholly irrelevant to the subject at hand as is occasionally the case.
As for the actual month that is dramatically described by the title, the author does get most of it in. The two major events are told in great detail, others given a cursory glance and some are omitted altogether. For example we know more of John Wilkes Boothe's outcome than we do Jefferson Davis'.
Winik gives careful attention to the detail of Lee's last weeks as he leads his army through its final days and to the events leading up to and after Lincoln's assassination. This is as it should be for to the two key events of the month, but he ruins these narratives with aimless speculation and an ill-advised attempt to build outcome-suspense into these well-known events.
For example, the author stops in the middle of the narrative on Lee's final retreat, to speculate as to whether Lee would encourage his men to continue the war effort as guerillas; melting into the hills to fight a prolonged war of attrition. Using this speculation as a foundation, Winik then detours into a history of this type of warfare for twenty pages or so, including some seriously out-of-context paragraphs about 20th century guerrilla warfare before returning to Lee and April 1865.
While focusing on an option which even Winik early on admits was remote, the author neglects to explore any of Lee's other possible choices or inner struggles stating simply, "Lee had been vacillating among ending the hostilities, waging last-ditch attempts at escaping and dying at his post." Once the subject has been dismissed the author is reluctant to let go of it. Sadly, Winik returns to whether the Confederacy would fight a guerrilla war several more times throughout the remainder of the book.
The attempt to build suspense is repeated again, in occasionally awkward passages, in the pages leading up to Lincoln's assassination. For example, "The comedy is playing at the Tenth Street theater between E and F streets. At Ford's." The author proves beyond a doubt how nearly impossible it is to build tension when dealing with such well-known events.
Finally in slice of time histories there is the need to reveal the "what happened next?" part of the narrative. Here again, one final time Winik has his way with the reader revealing only those events the author is interested in, not surprisingly beginning with a paragraph on "guerrilla Jesse James." Though there are additional paragraphs on Twain, Barnum, Ford, Woolworth, Bell and Edison among others, notably absent is any real coda on Jefferson Davis and his fate, and no further mention whatsoever of Grant, Lee or Johnson.
Unfortunately, there is nothing new here and the author lets the opportunity slip through his hands. His reliance on inappropriate material as filler wastes the readers' time and energy and in some instances insults their intelligence. The text starts out promising, but soon loses its focus.
Rating:
Summary: 4 1/2 stars...Jay Winik does it again...
Review: For me, this was a pleasantly unique look at the Civil War...Jay Winik has proven capable of taking complex/integrated issues and breaking them down into damn fine story-telling. His book "On The Brink" dealt with the Reagan administration's managing of the end of the Cold War and more than met this tough standard. In "April 1865" we get the final month of the Civil War put under the microscope and many new details (to me) surfaced that were not part of my Civil War common knowledge (...the very high potential for guerilla warfare while surrender terms were being discussed at Appomattox, the details of the Sherman-Johnston surrender at Bennet House...etc.) Winik also tells the story of April 1865 without sacrificing the "big picture" (we get a decent summary and perspective on how the war got to this point). He also goes into the main reasoning of how the war started (slavery) and covers, sometimes in gruesome detail, strategies of some of the major battles. Also, his summaries of the "Wilderness" battle and subsequent confrontations leading to and including the siege at Petersburg (the Overland campaign) is as well told as I've read from Catton or Foote. The real eye-opening aspect of this book, however, is Winik's conclusions that draw the reader to the realization of how close we really came to a disjointed nation at the end and how this country owes much to the leaders of both sides, following Lincoln's assasination and before the "Reconstruction" effort started, for pulling the Nation together. My only critique (and the reason that it gets 4 1/2 stars) is that the Epilouge really needed to talk in more detail about the the results of the Reconstruction and the timeline that it followed (he did a marvelous job, for example, telling us that most of the major Southern states didn't re-join the Nation until 1870). Overall, this book deserves to be mentioned right up there with most of the popular Civil War books and should be required Civil War reading. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: April 1865 Considered
Review: If you can get by the re-canonization of R.L. Lee and the errors in continuity, plus the, at times, stark discriptions, this book is a good read. There are "facts" here new to me, after 35 years of reading on the Civil War. I give the book 4 stars only because it is interesting to read, not because it is that great a book. Winik weaves the story well, though sometimes bending incidents to fit. He does reveal a real zest for Civil War history. I would read other book he has written.
Rating:
Summary: An absorbing read
Review: This is an absorbing delve into the backscenes of the events that led to the conclusion of the Civil War. Jay Winik proves an excellent storyteller. His character descriptions of the personalities involved are very informative. His comparisons with other civil strifes and how ours managed to avoid their tragic consequences, is fascinating. If there is a fault in the book, it would center around the exhaustion of being bombarded with too many superlative adjectives.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I have ever Read
Review: This book is absolutely fascinating. It gives a perspective on the Civil War that I have never seen before. What sets the book apart from others is the way it transcends discussion of the Civil War and discusses other cultural and military issues and national issues of this country and others. I am not finished the book yet, and I cannot do it justice in my review, but please read it for yourself and see what I am talking about. Give it a chance.
Rating:
Summary: So You Think You Knew About The Civil War?
Review: If one were to read only one book about the Civil War, this would be the book. Short on battle details but long on creating human beings out of historic characters. I live on the ground upon which the Battle of The Wilderness was fought and Winik brought new insight and feeling concerning the latter part of the war. He also did well in explaining the Confederate position in not demonizing all the Rebs. I did not award 5 stars because early on he made it clear that the peace could have turned out badly (as it did in many other civil wars) and I feel he reiterated this point more than necessary throughout the book. It is, however, a great book that I strongly recommend to all.
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