Don't Know Much About the Civil War

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Informative
Review: This book was an easy and captivating read. However, I felt that the author used a bit too much of his energy trying to convince the reader that slavery was wrong. WHO is he trying to convince? People who think that slavery is a good idea certainly do not have the mental capacity to read comics, let alone a book, so I felt that my intelligence was a bit slighted. It WAS a bit interesting to see how many synonyms for HORRIBLE that he could come up with. Overall, I did learn many things that I had never known, especially about slavery and pre-war America, so I would recommend this book. I find that there are many things that I didn't learn in school, and I suspect it's the same for alot of people, so Mr. Davis's books are a great (and welcome) idea! I just hope that people read more than this one book (ANY one book) before they decide that they DO know something about the Civil War.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Anecdotes
Review: To judge any new book, look into the index to find a topic that you are familiar with, then decide from that. Your results may vary. The 'Introduction' asks about the interest in the Civil War. Aside from a trend of fashion, it marked a turning point in America. Before, most Americans lived not too differently from past centuries. After, the railroads, canals, and electricity created modern life (as in other countries during the Victorian Age). It is also politically safe, unlike the Revolutionary Wars. The concerns of that time are still with us, although the question of secession was settled. Perhaps the major change was the creation of large corporations, and the lessening power of the middle class. Davis doesn't grasp that Official History, as a collection of battles and dates, is a way to avoid the still important political events of that era. Income tax, greenback dollars, Federal control to aid corporations, corporate control of politics, are all controversial topics. No one can create controversy by sticking to the simple facts, however dull and dreary they are (p. xvi). The fashionable theory about the cause of the Civil War (p.xxx) is another way to avoid reality and mislead students.

This collection of anecdotes will educate and entertain the reader, and is the purpose for this book. Mike Wright's "What They Didn't Teach You ..." books cover events left out of the academic histories. The original intent of history is for popular entertainment: the Iliad, the Odyssey, Beowulf, the Song of Roland. Or the dramatizations on TV and film ("rewriting history" was George Orwell's description.

Every book reflects the author's outlook and bias. Page 78 fails to note that the state of Zacatecas also revolted against Santa Anna's dictatorship, and were crushed. Davis oversimplified the Mexican War (p.79). Other military dictatorships have proved incompetent against foreign troops (Greece, Argentina). The discussion about earlier political parties fails to mention the Anti-Masonic party (p.115). Page 119 does not explain "Beecher's Bibles". Davis should read the book on the US Camel Corps (p.153). A few hundred "wealthy and upper-middle-class men" still decide the destiny of millions (p.154). The paragraph on blockade running didn't mention the British Bahamas (p.171). The page on Southern cotton didn't mention the greater importance of Northern wheat (p.199).

Davis correctly complains that American history ignores events elsewhere (p.196). In describing the battle of the ironclads (p.216), he does not mention whether Great Britain or France had built one earlier. Do you think politicians have to compromise? Page 251 explains why. Those who wanted a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy wore a copper penny that then had a Liberty head on it (p.296). After wards Congress ordered the use of Lincoln's profile on the penny. The St. Albans bank robbery does not mention this area as a supply center for horses (p.380). Davis says the military commission that investigated the conspiracy "should have been a civilian" (p.415), but ignores the fact that Washington was under martial law. I once read that "kuklux" imitated the sound of a musket hammer being cocked (p.432). Davis doesn't know much about George Armstrong Custer "eccentric cavalry commander" (p.438). Davis fails to mention Lew Wallace's term as Governor of New Mexico Territory (p.448). The notes about John Singleton Mosby was informative (p.444). Appendix II lists the many Presidents who had no Vice-President.