The Definitive One-Volume History of the American Civil War The American Civil War (1861–1865) was the pivotal conflict of the nation’s history. It was a war defined by savage brutality, untold human costs, and monumental political crises that left the literal and social landscape of the nation forever changed. One hundred fifty years later, it continues to hold a powerful grip on the American psyche. In A Short History of the Civil War, noted historian James L. Stokesbury dramatically and concisely chronicles the important events leading up to the war and, using maps, recounts its decisive battles while describing the strategies and tactics of the North’s and South’s prominent commanders. Drawing on fascinating details and little-known facts, Stokesbury also brings to life the generals—Grant, Lee, Hooker, McClellan, Jackson—and the unsung heroes of this great struggle between the Union and the Confederacy.
Here is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Bruce Catton’s unsurpassed account of the Civil War, one of the most moving chapters in American history. Introduced by Pulitzer Prize-winner James M. McPherson, the book vividly traces the epic struggle between the Blue and Gray, from the early division between the North and South to the final surrender of Confederate troops.
Best one-volume history brings the events, figures, and battles of monumental conflict vividly to life. Absorbing details of military campaigns, battlefield strategies, and personalities revealed in an audacious style.
One hundred and fifty years after the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter, the Civil War still captures the American imagination, and its reverberations can still be felt throughout America's social and political landscape. Louis P. Masur's The Civil War: A Concise History offers a masterful and eminently readable overview of the war's multiple causes and catastrophic effects. Masur begins by examining the complex origins of the war, focusing on the pulsating tensions over states rights and slavery. The book then proceeds to cover, year by year, the major political, social, and military events, highlighting two important themes: how the war shifted from a limited conflict to restore the Union to an all-out war that would fundamentally transform Southern society, and the process by which the war ultimately became a battle to abolish slavery. Masur explains how the war turned what had been a loose collection of fiercely independent states into a nation, remaking its political, cultural, and social institutions. But he also focuses on the soldiers themselves, both Union and Confederate, whose stories constitute nothing less than America's Iliad. In the final chapter Masur considers the aftermath of the South's surrender at Appomattox and the clash over the policies of reconstruction that continued to divide President and Congress, conservatives and radicals, Southerners and Northerners for years to come. In 1873, Mark Twain and Charles Dudley wrote that the war had "wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations." From the vantage of the war's sesquicentennial, this concise history of the entire Civil War era offers an invaluable introduction to the dramatic events whose effects are still felt today.
From the “preeminent historian of Reconstruction” (New York Times Book Review), an updated abridged edition of Reconstruction, the prize-winning classic work on the post-Civil War period which shaped modern America. Reconstruction chronicles the way in which Americans—black and white—responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery. It addresses the quest of emancipated slaves’ searching for economic autonomy and equal citizenship, and describes the remodeling of Southern society; the evolution of racial attitudes and patterns of race relations; and the emergence of a national state possessing vastly expanded authority and one committed, for a time, to the principle of equal rights for all Americans. This “masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of American history” (New Republic) remains the standard work on the wrenching post-Civil War period—an era whose legacy still reverberates in the United States today.
A gripping and informative visual guide to one of the bloodiest conflicts in US and world history Journey through the Vietnam War; exploring detailed accounts of the men and women that were there. Explore their stories of struggle, sacrifice, and bravery through the iconic events that defined this conflict. This visual guide is the perfect read for any military history enthusiast. Inside the pages of this retelling of America’s bloodiest conflict, you’ll discover: • A vivid, moving, and informative read, written in an engaging style • Offers a clear and compelling account of the conflict, in short, self-contained events from the Battle of Ia Drang to the Tet Offensive and The Khmer Rouge • Biography spreads highlight major military and political figures • Features on everyday life in the war offering additional context • Stunning image spreads display weapons, spy gear, and other equipment that defined the war • Maps and feature boxes provide additional information on major events during the conflict A carefully constructed, in-depth guide to Vietnam This definitive history of the Vietnam War was written in conjunction with the Smithsonian. SI A Short History of the Vietnam War showcases every aspect of the fighting and the wider political landscape from both the side of the Viet Cong and the US military. Compelling text, diagrams, and maps show exactly how decisive moments and battles unfolded to help the reader to visualize the conflict. Eyewitness accounts and iconic photographs bring events to life - from the creation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail to Operation Passage to Freedom and the evacuation of the US embassy in Saigon. From weapons and aircraft to armored vehicles and spy gear, explore the machinery used in the war through breathtaking photography. Lastly, biographical entries give a fuller insight into the minds of key figures and the decisions they made and include Henry Kissinger, President Nixon, Pol Pot, and more. More in the series Combining expert historical insight, eyewitness accounts, and archive photography, A Short History series seeks to summarise key historical events and provide a wider context to what was happening around these events. Titles include SI A Short History of World War II, SI A Short History of the American Civil War, and SI A Short History of Flying and are the perfect addition to any history enthusiast’s library.
Succinct, with a brace of original documents following each chapter, Christopher J. Olsen's The American Civil War is the ideal introduction to American history's most famous, and infamous, chapter. Covering events from 1850 and the mounting political pressures to split the Union into opposing sections, through the four years of bloodshed and waning Confederate fortunes, to Lincoln's assassination and the advent of Reconstruction, The American Civil War covers the entire sectional conflict and at every juncture emphasizes the decisions and circumstances, large and small, that determined the course of events.
Infinitely readable and absorbing, Bruce Catton's The Civil War is one of the best-selling, most widely read general histories of the war available in a single volume. Newly introduced by the critically acclaimed Civil War historian James M. McPherson, The Civil War vividly traces one of the most moving chapters in American history, from the early division between the North and the South to the final surrender of Confederate troops. Catton's account of battles is carefully interwoven with details about the political activities of the Union and Confederate armies and diplomatic efforts overseas. This new edition of The Civil War is a must-have for anyone interested in the war that divided America.
