Description:
Civil War historian Frank E. Vandiver prefaces his book with the confession that "the length, breadth, cost, and anguish of the American Civil War cannot be encompassed in 1001 entries." He does, however, give it a good shot, offering up a "highly personal selection" of Civil War people, places, and events. Vandiver is careful to avoid words such as "essential" when describing his list--it's clear that some entries are included because they're funny. (For example, General Joseph Hooker did little to discourage female camp followers, thus lending his name to practitioners of the oldest profession.) The entries are arranged chronologically from the start of the war to some final analyses and presented as a coherent (though slightly choppy) narrative. Capsule biographies of important figures are interspersed with information on munitions, individual battles, technology, medicine, and "oddities"--factoids which Vandiver takes obvious pleasure in relating. Although the book is aimed primarily at the general reader, Civil War buffs will still enjoy learning about the lesser-known figures, such as Mrs. Mary Jackson, who led a mob of women in a food riot in Richmond, and John Burns of Gettysburg, a septuagenarian who enlisted on the side of the Union. Dozens of black-and-white photographs illustrate the text and help make it an excellent choice for anyone interested in this sad part of American history. --C.B. Delaney
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