Confederate Nation: 1861-1865

Rating:
Summary: A compelling summary
Review: First of all, I am surprised no one has bothered to review this book! I used it in a seminar on the American Civil War at the Japanese university where I teach English and history. It was excellent as an introduction to the subject matter it describes. The chapters were not dauntingly long and Thomas's gift for language presented an abundance of ideas and episodes with a striking economy of words. My students, who are not native speakers of English, were very satisfied with the book and had a sense of accomplishment once they got through it. A Japanese language version of Ken Burns's celebrated documentary on the Civil War was helpful in making much of the book understood; but even without that useful aid, Emory Thomas's book offered a gripping narrative of the Confederacy's short and turbulent history. Having read Confederate Nation my students have a firm and intelligent grasp of the single most tumultuous episode of the American experience.

Rating:
Summary: A tremendous book on the Civil War!
Review: I can hardly believe that this book has been almost ignored on this site. I have read thousands of Civil War books over decades, and this is one of the top dozen in the list. It is an
outstanding account of the Confederacy, well-written and scholarly. As a bonus, it contain the text of the Confederate
Constitution in an appendix! Buy and read this book!