The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
by James M. McPherson
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Book Summary Information
Author: James M. McPhersonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-11-06
ISBN: 0195159012
Number of pages: 800
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
Book Review: Essential, Important, & Inclusive, but falls short of "Best"
Summary: 4 Stars
Widely praised as the best single volume history of the American Civil War, James McPherson's `Battle Cry of Freedom' comes close, but does not quite live up to that high praise. It has many virtues to recommend it, yet it contains flaws that are closely related to its virtues which, to my mind, make it fall short of the admittedly arbitrary "best" status.
The book's strength is in its inclusiveness. Sub titled `The Civil War Era'; it truly lives up to its billing. It begins not with the opening of the Civil War, but with the Mexican War and the developing sectional crisis which that war helped to escalate. The first seven chapters of the book chronicle the many related social and political crises which continued to rive the country into two separate and hostile camps, making war all but inevitable. Even after McPherson launches into the story of the war proper, his book is much more that a simple tale of battles and generals. He devotes whole chapters to related subjects such as manufacturing capabilities North and South, the medical situation, the financing of the war, political crises which affect the war effort, foreign diplomacy, and the developing importance of the issue of slavery as an overwhelming factor in the war. He successfully gives the big picture of the overall social and political environment which is absolutely necessary to put the war into context and truly understand it.
The greatest virtue of this volume, however, is its continued insistence on emphasizing the importance of the issue of slavery. McPherson repeatedly points out that while the war was fought for Union, its primary and overriding cause was the slavery issue. Many historians downplay or avoid this issue as much as possible, as it causes controversy and resentment among a large subset of Civil War students who are committed to the myth that slavery was a wholly peripheral issue that had little or nothing to do with the war. Though many of these people may be well meaning and sincere, I believe this myth to be as historically odious and dangerous as the idea of Holocaust denial, and it is much more pervasive and widely believed than that latter myth. McPherson tackles this myth head on, and from beginning to end drills in the importance of slavery as the primary cause of division in the country, the catalyst for secession and war, and one of the primary stumbling blocks to a peaceful settlement of the hostilities. He also clearly shows that while the North primarily fought the war for the cause of Union, that as the war progressed, the issue of freedom and emancipation took on greater and greater importance, until by war's end, many in the North saw the two as intertwined and of equal importance.
`Battle Cry of Freedom' is not, however, without flaw. McPherson writes well enough to make this longish and comprehensive history flow along nicely without bogging down and boring the reader, but his prose lacks the charm that could make the events he writes of come passionately to life. This is compounded by the fact that his comprehensive take on the entire era limits the detail that he can devote to any single battle or personality of the war. All of the important events and people are here, but they are mere utilitarian sketches that mostly lack depth, color, and insight. This is a book to read for an overview, but the reader must go elsewhere for a deeper understanding of any single event or personality of the times.
This Illustrated Edition is a heavy, oversized volume filled with many excellent maps, photographs, illustrations, and period cartoons on every page that nicely complements the text. Its bulk makes it unwieldy to carry about and read. Also, the illustrations have replaced the book's footnotes, so it is not the edition to have for anyone who needs to reference it for scholarly reasons. It would be most useful to those who do not already have large volumes of Civil War photographs and illustrations in their collections.
`Battle Cry of Freedom' is an outstanding, important history of the American Civil War. Though it falls just short of its billing as the best single volume history of the war (Fletcher Pratt's `A Short History of the Civil War: Ordeal By Fire' still holds that distinction), it should be considered absolutely essential reading for any Civil War scholar or anyone wishing to gain a full knowledge of this great American conflict. It has my recommendation.
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Summary of The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
Winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for History and a New York Times Bestseller, Battle Cry of Freedom is universally recognized as the definitive account of the Civil War. It was hailed in The New York Times as "historical writing of the highest order." The Washington Post called it "the finest single volume on the war and its background." And The Los Angeles Times wrote that "of the 50,000 books written on the Civil War, it is the finest compression of that national paroxysm ever fitted between two covers."Now available in a splendid new edition is The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom. Boasting some seven hundred pictures, including a hundred and fifty color images and twenty-four full-color maps, here is the ultimate gift book for everyone interested in American history. McPherson has selected all the illustrations, including rare contemporary photographs, period cartoons, etchings, woodcuts, and paintings, carefully choosing those that best illuminate the narrative. More important, he has written extensive captions (some 35,000 words in all, virtually a book in themselves), many of which offer genuinely new information and interpretations that significantly enhance the text. The text itself, streamlined by McPherson, remains a fast-paced narrative that brilliantly captures two decades of contentious American history, from the Mexican War to Lee's surrender at Appomattox. The reader will find a truly masterful chronicle of the war itself--the battles, the strategic maneuvering on both sides, the politics, and the personalities--as well as McPherson's thoughtful commentary 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.
A must-have purchase for the legions of Civil War buffs, The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom is both a spectacularly beautiful volume and the definitive account of the most important conflict in our nation's history.
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