But I was daunted by the plethora of information on the American Civil War. I found that I wanted to know more about the circumstances surrounding that battle, the situation of the two armies, the generals, the politicians, and the state of the economies of the two sides engaged. I read this book after having read two other books on the Battle of Gettysburg. It tells us LOTS of things - but ultimately little if you know what I mean.Īll in all, I was pretty disappointed with the book although, as said, it must be commended at the very least for it's amazing scope and research material. The book is not about the 'cry for freedom', it's about America in the Civil War period. Or I thought it might be about the slaves' cry for freedom but they are only mentioned in passing. Sounds good, doesen't it? Yet it doesn't reflect what you get in the book! I thought the battle cry would refer to the Southern soldiers' famous battle cry but it doesn't really, at least not explicitly. I think McPherson or the publisher realized that the book didn't work and decided to get people to read it by giving it a fancy title: Battle Cry of Freedom. Why did it happen? I wanted to know what the long-term consequences of the Civil War were but Battle Cry of Freedom doesn't do that because - as said - it runs out of steam. I wanted to know what it was really like as a soldier, citizen during the Civil War. Some of it is very good, but it always a bit on the surface, like you are somewhere near the battles but not in them. Then it follows the war up and down the country, etc. The book starts off with an incredible overview of life in American before the Civil War without actually telling us why this is important. The book bites off more than it can chew and then - as a consequence - runs out of steam at the end. In my opinion, McPherson ends up telling us too much and, at the same time, very little. For this feat alone, the book deserves at least 3 stars.Īnd yet, I couldn't help feeling, after reading the book, that I still didn't really know what it must have been like to fight and live in American during the Civil War. It's not so much a narrative of the Civil War as a description of a whole nation during the Civil War years, before it and - very briefly - after it. How he ever dug up so much information and put it in one book defies my imagination and has my greatest respect. McPherson's broad canvas of the Civil War is mind-boggling. It's depth and scope are astonishing but - at the same time - and ironically, the very things that make it amazing end up being its downfall. HFS clients enjoy state-of-the-art warehousing, real-time access to critical business data, accounts receivable management and collection, and unparalleled customer service.In many ways this book is amazing. HFS provides print and digital distribution for a distinguished list of university presses and nonprofit institutions. MUSE delivers outstanding results to the scholarly community by maximizing revenues for publishers, providing value to libraries, and enabling access for scholars worldwide. Project MUSE is a leading provider of digital humanities and social sciences content, providing access to journal and book content from nearly 300 publishers. With warehouses on three continents, worldwide sales representation, and a robust digital publishing program, the Books Division connects Hopkins authors to scholars, experts, and educational and research institutions around the world. With critically acclaimed titles in history, science, higher education, consumer health, humanities, classics, and public health, the Books Division publishes 150 new books each year and maintains a backlist in excess of 3,000 titles. The division also manages membership services for more than 50 scholarly and professional associations and societies. The Journals Division publishes 85 journals in the arts and humanities, technology and medicine, higher education, history, political science, and library science. The Press is home to the largest journal publication program of any U.S.-based university press. One of the largest publishers in the United States, the Johns Hopkins University Press combines traditional books and journals publishing units with cutting-edge service divisions that sustain diversity and independence among nonprofit, scholarly publishers, societies, and associations.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |