Synopses & Reviews
The bloody conflict that sundered the United States from 1861 to 1865 took 620,000 lives, laid waste to large sections of the American South, and decided the future course of the nation. Its reverberations are still felt in American life. Now from the home of "The Nation's Memory" comes
The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference. Drawn from the Library's unparalleled Civil War collections -- including previously unpublished letters and diaries, maps and photographs, as well as thousands of works by post-Civil War scholars and experts -- this is the ultimate one-volume reference on the Civil War.
A comprehensive yet accessible compendium, The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference is organized into chapters that address broad themes such as "Antebellum America," "Wartime Politics," "Armies," and "Reconstruction and Aftermath of the War." Each of these chapters includes more specific topics, such as "The Election of 1860," "Notable Civil War Officers," and "African Americans During Reconstruction." There are timelines that chronicle major events, brief profiles of significant people, and excerpts from key pieces of legislation and addresses that reflect the passions and politics of the times. Here readers can find, for example, detailed information on the arms used on both sides during the Civil War in the "Weaponry" chapter. And descriptions of significant battles, as well as information on casualties, military strategy and tactics, and logistical support, are to be found in the "Battles and the Battlefield" chapter. Topics ranging from economic conditions north and south of the Mason-Dixon line on the eve of the war to the history of slavery in the United States to the impact of the Civil War on literature and the fine arts give additional depth and context to the book's presentation of Civil War events.
The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference also looks beyond the major events and figures and examines the lives of the common soldiers (from their diet, training, and medical treatment to the struggles of the Union's black soldiers), the various roles women played in the war, and telling events on the home fronts. Along with the words of writers such as Walt Whitman and Herman Melville, readers will find excerpts from the journals and letters of nurses, soldiers, refugees and freedmen. A final chapter offers a guide to further study of the Civil War -- including information about major archival collections, important published resources, and national historic sites-for those who wish to learn more.
Prodigious in its scope, illustrated with more than 100 photographs and drawings and dozens of maps, The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference is sure to become the indispensable one-volume reference on the Civil War.
Review
David Herbert Donald
author of Lincoln
The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference is fascinating and endlessly absorbing. It is astonishing how much information this one volume contains. This is an indispensable book, one that I am going to keep close to hand on my desk.
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Certain to be the definitive one-volume Civil War encyclopedia." -- Library Journal
Review
"It is astonishing how much information this one volume contains. This is an indispensable book." -- David Herbert Donald, author of andlt;iandgt;Lincolnandlt;/iandgt;
Review
"Certain to be the definitive one-volume Civil War encyclopedia." -- andlt;iandgt;Library Journalandlt;/iandgt;
Synopsis
The authoritative, illustrated single-volume reference work on the Civil War, arranged thematically and sponsored by the country's national library.
Synopsis
Magaret E. Wagner is a writer and editor at the Library of Congress who has contributed essays on military history to many Library publications. She was coeditor of Mapping the Civil War, America's Treasures in the Library of Congress, and The Nation's Library.
Synopsis
"The Civil War was the most dramatic, violent, and fateful experience in American history. . . . Little wonder that the Civil War had a profound impact that has echoed down the generations and remains undiminished today. That impact helps explain why at least 50,000 books and pamphlets . . . on the Civil War have been published since the 1860s. Most of these are in the Library of Congress, along with thousands of unpublished letters, diaries, and other documents that make this depository an unparalleled resource for studying the war. From these sources, the editors of andlt;Iandgt;The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference andlt;/Iandgt;have compiled a volume that every library, every student of the Civil Warand#8212;indeed everyone with an interest in the American pastand#8212;will find indispensable." and#8212;From the Foreword by James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prizeand#8211;winning author of andlt;Iandgt;Battle Cry of Freedom andlt;/Iandgt;
About the Author
andlt;bandgt;James M. McPherson, PhD,andlt;/bandgt; an American history expert and one of the most distinguished historians of our time, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for andlt;Iandgt;Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era.andlt;/iandgt; His other bestselling books include andlt;Iandgt;For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War, Drawn with the Sword: Reflections on the American Civil War, What They Fought For, 1861-1865; Gettysburg: The Paintings of Mort Kunstler, Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution;andlt;/iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Fields of Fury.andlt;/iandgt; An active preservationist, he has served on the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission since 1991. Dr. McPherson was named the Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities for 2000 by the National Endowment for the Humanities. A professor at Princeton University, he lives in Princeton, New Jersey.