Saturday, September 28, 2019

Picture History of the American Civil War (read for fun)

Believe it or not this is not another book that I kept from a college class. It's actually a gift from my mom because she knows I am a history buff. Anyway, it is a general history of the American Civil War from its background to Lincoln's assassination. As the title indicates it is composed predominantly pictures instead of text.

Each chapter has five or so pages that give an overview of the chapter itself, and the rest of the chapter is filled with relevant pictures alongside a couple paragraphs going into a little more detail on the subjects from the overview. For instance, the chapter relating to the Battle of Gettysburg will have pictures taken from early cameras of the battlefield and the military camps, more modern pictures of the area as it is now, maps showing the routes taken by the armies, and one more thing.

It is a drawing of the battles and how they progressed. Just one image for the major moments in a given battle that lasts two days or more. One is supposed to follow the numbers to follow the events. It is an interesting concept, but I found it confusing. Maybe I wasn't reading it right.

It is a mostly chronological account focusing on the land armies and their leaders but a few chapters divert from this. There is a chapter focusing on the naval battles and there is one for the political battles fought by diplomats at home and abroad. There is one for the common soldier on both sides and the kind of live he lived.

It is a fun book that does more than list dry facts. There is such a force of personality in the prose that one can imagine Bruce Catton lecturing on the subjects.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "American Heritage Picture History of the American Civil War" a A+

Click here to read my next book review (for fun): Who Sang the First Song

Click here to read my previous book review (for fun): My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom - volume 1

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).
His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback

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