Architects of Our Fortunes: The Journal of Eliza A. W. Otis 1860-1863 With Letters and Civil War Journal of Harrison Gray Otis

Rating:
Summary: The Civil War through the eyes of two literary stars
Review: My review may be somewhat prejudiced because Ann Condon and I collaborated on our books. Ann has taken the diaries and correspondence of two literary figures from southern California whose writing efforts may have started in the mountains of West Virginia during the Civil War and put them together in a fine book. Dr. Condon sets the stage for the works of Harrison Gray and Eliza Otis with an introduction to this husband and wife team. The diary of Eliza Otis is particularly well writen and a wonderful insight to a woman's view of the Civil War. Her descriptions of the wild country of the Kanawha, New and Gauley River country of West Virginia are exceptional. What is sad from a historian's perspective is that these writers did not continue their diaries beyond the summer of 1863 or that they are not available. This wonderful book provides a view of the Civil War beyond battles and campaigns giving a wonderful insight of the time.

Rating:
Summary: The Civil War through the eyes of two literary stars
Review: My review may be somewhat prejudiced because Ann Condon and I collaborated on our books. Ann has taken the diaries and correspondence of two literary figures from southern California whose writing efforts may have started in the mountains of West Virginia during the Civil War and put them together in a fine book. Dr. Condon sets the stage for the works of Harrison Gray and Eliza Otis with an introduction to this husband and wife team. The diary of Eliza Otis is particularly well writen and a wonderful insight to a woman's view of the Civil War. Her descriptions of the wild country of the Kanawha, New and Gauley River country of West Virginia are exceptional. What is sad from a historian's perspective is that these writers did not continue their diaries beyond the summer of 1863 or that they are not available. This wonderful book provides a view of the Civil War beyond battles and campaigns giving a wonderful insight of the time.