Friday, August 23, 2024

The Civil War: An Illustrated History


 Shirley J.            Adult Non-Fiction              The Civil War explained in detail, the battles, the generals,       the times, the strategies, the sentiment, the north, the south, slavery, correspondence, life during war at home.

The Civil War: An Illustrated History by Geoffrey C. Ward, with Ric Burns and Ken Burns   425 pages         

What a truly wonderful work.  So many eye-opening things you will learn here from the first hand accounts of those who were in the midst.  From Lincoln to Jefferson Davis, politicians, abolitionists, generals, soldiers, slaves this book brings to life a time long passed as if it were taking place right in front of you.   It will make you laugh at times but it will also make you cry.   The photos are all of actual people and places significant during the war.   I kept thinking of the years and the ages of my parents and great-grandparents to place where they might be on the timeline and what they might have been experiencing in the areas of the United States they were in.   I found the answer to some questions I had when doing genealogy I came across terms I did not understand but was enlightened on while reading.   WOW!   This book really made the Civil War a reality to me not just something you read about in history class.   I highly recommend this book and the accompanying 9 episode documentary film (PBS) that goes with it.   It is beyond words.  It literally takes you right there.   It is spellbinding.  I recommend this to anyone with an interest in the 1860s in America and the Civil War in particular.  So moving, you will never think about the Civil War without associating certain faces and acts with it.

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