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 | | Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford History of the United States) by James M. McPherson ISBN-10: 0195038630 ISBN-10: 0-19-503863-0 ISBN-13: 9780195038637 ISBN-13: 978-0-19-503863-7 Hardcover 1988-02-25 Oxford University Press, USA Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Amazon.com Published in 1988 to universal acclaim, this single-volume treatment of the Civil War quickly became recognized as the new standard in its field. James M. McPherson, who won the Pulitzer Prize for this book, impressively combines a brisk writing style with an admirable thoroughness. He covers the military aspects of the war in all of the necessary detail, and also provides a helpful framework describing the complex economic, political, and social forces behind the conflict. Perhaps more than any other book, this one belongs on the bookshelf of every Civil War buff. | ||
Product Description Filled with fresh interpretations and information, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, Battle Cry of Freedom will unquestionably become the standard one-volume history of the Civil War. James McPherson's fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomattox. Packed with drama and analytical insight, the book vividly recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the Civil War--the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry--and then moves into a masterful chronicle of the war itself--the battles, the strategic maneuvering on both sides, the politics, and the personalities. Particularly notable are McPherson's new views on such matters as the slavery expansion issue in the 1850s, the origins of the Republican Party, the causes of secession, internal dissent and anti-war opposition in the North and the South, and the reasons for the Union's victory. The book's title refers to the sentiments that informed both the Northern and Southern views of the conflict: the South seceded in the name of that freedom of self-determination and self-government for which their fathers had fought in 1776, while the North stood fast in defense of the Union founded by those fathers as the bulwark of American liberty. Eventually, the North had to grapple with the underlying cause of the war--slavery--and adopt a policy of emancipation as a second war aim. This "new birth of freedom," as Lincoln called it, constitutes the proudest legacy of America's bloodiest conflict. This authoritative volume makes sense of that vast and confusing "second American Revolution" we call the Civil War, a war that transformed a nation and expanded our heritage of liberty. | ||
Reviews | ||
Extremely valuable I can't imagine someone doing a better job with that subject matter than McPherson. He covered all the important events and policies that led to the Civil War, going back to war with Mexico, and he provided a great history of the Civil War era that is sure to turn readers into Civil War buffs who will seek out more books on the time period. Because there is so much information packed into these 800-plus pages, it was not a remarkably quick read; everything is so important, it's hard to breeze along. But his style of writing is outstanding, mixing in humor and emphasizing the right points. It was very valuable for me. | ||
Great Civil War Book If your a Civil War Buff this is one of those books you cannot put down. It covers more of the the political aspect and skimps on the battles. This book put me in the frame of mind of how I would feel living in the 1860's reading the Daily news about how the war was progressing. Instead of cursing Bush I would be cursing Lincoln. | ||
The Civil War - Causes and Exposition Unlike many other treatments of the Civil War, Battle Cry of Freedom gives a detailed explanation of life in America in the 1850s and shows how and why the differences over slavery cannot be resolved peacefully. These 250 pages of background history give detail and insight into the decisions made by Lincoln, Davis and others that is lacking from other treatments (say Ken Burns excellent documentary, The Civil War). McPherson writes in a fluid, compelling style that makes this book hard to put down. Although the treatments of battles are brief, the narrative focuses on how these individual events changed the big picture. If you want to delve into details about the 2nd day at Shiloh or how Lee's cigars wrapped in war plans impacted Antietam, you can find that elsewhere. If you want a readable introduction to and synthesis of one of the most dramatic periods of American history, you must start with this book. If you enjoyed this, you should check out some of the other titles in the Oxford History of the United States series. Too bad the volume on the reconstruction era has yet to be written. | ||
The best one-volume civil war history? That's what many say and it is hard to argue. From a lengthy survey of the pre-war forces that led the country to fracture through all the battles to the war's aftermath and legacy it is all here. Not just a textbook data-dump, it is written engagingly and does not bore. Personally, I much prefer McPherson's opinion that the war left us with an activist federal government to some of the daffy views expressed at the end of Ken Burns' war documentary (although the rest was excellent) that modern day homelessness is really the civil war still being fought. Beware- this book can turn a simply-curious-about-the-war reader into a Civil War history buff!! | ||
Shoot boy, shoot. Excellent book, very detailed and tells me about history that I was not taught in school. I like the book and its contents such that I cannot put it down and will have it read within several days. | ||