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Rating: 
Summary: An intriguing look at a the Civil War from a different angle
Review: "I am en route to Washington with details of a great battle. We have carried the day." Thus, the headline of the New York Herald stated about the perceived Union success in that seminal foray the day after the first Civil War battle at Bull Run. General William Sherman vilified them as "the buzzards of the press." George G. Meade "strapped one of them backward on a mule and rode him out of camp" complete with a sign embellishing him as "Libeler of the Press." In fact, Army commanders on both sides distrusted a free press they could not control. The "scoundrels" in this event are the reporters who roamed the battlefields chasing a story. The self-proclaimed Bohemian Brigade was a "group of men who tried to make sense of the most dramatic event in American history" and they did it by writing columns in various newspapers for the Union, Confederacy, and at point's abroad. Author James M. Perry writes that the civil war reporters, to many, were a preposterous, controversial, infuriating, and disarming band of rogues and heroes. Perry, himself a journalist and author of Arrogant Armies and recipient of the prestigious Fourth Estate Award, is a modern day version of those that packed the Civil War battlefields and then scurried to send their messages and stories either in person or by telegraph. This is what makes A Bohemian Brigade: The Civil War Correspondents unique; it is written by a son of their own, someone who is profoundly qualified to develop this wonderfully constructed chronicle of those reported on the war between the states. From the battlefield of the first encounter at Bull Run came the scouring assembly of news-seekers like Charles Charleton Coffin, Henry Villard, and Uriah Painter of the North, Peter Alexander and Felix Gregory de Fontaine who worked for Southern papers, and William Howard Russell of the Times of London. It was the first deployment of the Bohemian Brigade and the results were mixed at best. As described on the inside cover of the dusk-jacket, which by the way, is part of one the most aesthetically appealing book covers on the market, "much of our understanding of the American Civil War is based upon newspaper dispatches written under horrible battlefield conditions, and journalists' memoirs penned under more reflective moments after the war's end. As a result, modern American journalism emerged from the Civil War and Perry makes it clear that, thanks to the telegraph and the importance placed on breaking news and scoops, the conflict was the first instant-news event. It was a time of sending message using "the lightning" or the telegraph. Perry draws upon his experience as a newspaperman to show for better or worse that for the most part, these reporters put their lives at risk on the battlefield and he brings each reporter, "rogues and heroes alike," to life in this wonderfully crafted book. There is no doubt they were pompous and arrogant, highly inventive, they lied and cheated, they got the story wrong more often than they should have, and they drank too much. By his own admission, Perry claims that, ``They did a lot of things reporters are still doing today.'' But they were also, Perry admits, that for all their faults, these correspondents who endured Civil War prisons, battlefield skirmishes, and intense colleague competition to get the story to print. In short, it is wonderfully readable narrative worthy revealing the historical significance of the battlefield reporter.
Rating:
Summary: An intriguing look at a the Civil War from a different angle
Review: "I am en route to Washington with details of a great battle. We have carried the day." Thus, the headline of the New York Herald stated about the perceived Union success in that seminal foray the day after the first Civil War battle at Bull Run. General William Sherman vilified them as "the buzzards of the press." George G. Meade "strapped one of them backward on a mule and rode him out of camp" complete with a sign embellishing him as "Libeler of the Press." In fact, Army commanders on both sides distrusted a free press they could not control. The "scoundrels" in this event are the reporters who roamed the battlefields chasing a story. The self-proclaimed Bohemian Brigade was a "group of men who tried to make sense of the most dramatic event in American history" and they did it by writing columns in various newspapers for the Union, Confederacy, and at point's abroad. Author James M. Perry writes that the civil war reporters, to many, were a preposterous, controversial, infuriating, and disarming band of rogues and heroes. Perry, himself a journalist and author of Arrogant Armies and recipient of the prestigious Fourth Estate Award, is a modern day version of those that packed the Civil War battlefields and then scurried to send their messages and stories either in person or by telegraph. This is what makes A Bohemian Brigade: The Civil War Correspondents unique; it is written by a son of their own, someone who is profoundly qualified to develop this wonderfully constructed chronicle of those reported on the war between the states. From the battlefield of the first encounter at Bull Run came the scouring assembly of news-seekers like Charles Charleton Coffin, Henry Villard, and Uriah Painter of the North, Peter Alexander and Felix Gregory de Fontaine who worked for Southern papers, and William Howard Russell of the Times of London. It was the first deployment of the Bohemian Brigade and the results were mixed at best. As described on the inside cover of the dusk-jacket, which by the way, is part of one the most aesthetically appealing book covers on the market, "much of our understanding of the American Civil War is based upon newspaper dispatches written under horrible battlefield conditions, and journalists' memoirs penned under more reflective moments after the war's end. As a result, modern American journalism emerged from the Civil War and Perry makes it clear that, thanks to the telegraph and the importance placed on breaking news and scoops, the conflict was the first instant-news event. It was a time of sending message using "the lightning" or the telegraph. Perry draws upon his experience as a newspaperman to show for better or worse that for the most part, these reporters put their lives at risk on the battlefield and he brings each reporter, "rogues and heroes alike," to life in this wonderfully crafted book. There is no doubt they were pompous and arrogant, highly inventive, they lied and cheated, they got the story wrong more often than they should have, and they drank too much. By his own admission, Perry claims that, ``They did a lot of things reporters are still doing today.'' But they were also, Perry admits, that for all their faults, these correspondents who endured Civil War prisons, battlefield skirmishes, and intense colleague competition to get the story to print. In short, it is wonderfully readable narrative worthy revealing the historical significance of the battlefield reporter.
Rating: 
Summary: Bohemian Brigade
Review: A very readable book. Sometimes humorous, always informative and flows like Perry's articles in the WSJ. What more can you ask of a book? It's fun to read.
Rating: 
Summary: And they ain't changed much, huh!
Review: Perry offers a look at the War Between the States through the exploits of key and minor journalist personalities of the era. More of a "fun" account -not too heavy on military history or the politics of the times - just a "you are there" approach as the reader goes along on the oft-times zany adventures of these reporters of sometimes questionable merit. The author is very up-front in his criticisms of their craftsmanship, yet balances his barbs accordingly.Keep in mind this is NOT a "day in the life" of a correspondent.
Each chapter usually dwells on a different writer/journalist or highlights a key battle.
Rating:
Summary: And they ain't changed much, huh!
Review: Perry offers a look at the War Between the States through the exploits of key and minor journalist personalities of the era. More of a "fun" account -not too heavy on military history or the politics of the times - just a "you are there" approach as the reader goes along on the oft-times zany adventures of these reporters of sometimes questionable merit. The author is very up-front in his criticisms of their craftsmanship, yet balances his barbs accordingly. Keep in mind this is NOT a "day in the life" of a correspondent.
Each chapter usually dwells on a different writer/journalist or highlights a key battle.
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