Selected Book
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford History of the United States)
- Paperback
- Author: James M. McPherson
- Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
- Release Date: December 2003
- ISBN-10: 019516895X
- ISBN-13: 9780195168952
- List Price: $19.95
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryPublished in 1988 to universal acclaim, this single-volume treatment of the Civil War quickly became recognized as the new standard in its field. James M. McPherson, who won the Pulitzer Prize for this book, impressively combines a brisk writing style with an admirable thoroughness. He covers the military aspects of the war in all of the necessary detail, and also provides a helpful framework describing the complex economic, political, and social forces behind the conflict. Perhaps more than any other book, this one belongs on the bookshelf of every Civil War buff. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
More than met my expectations, but with some reservations.
Rating: 
In my opinion this book richly deserved its Pulitzer Prize. Sometimes prizewinners disappoint me, but this book met my high expectations. McPherson writes with clarity and provides rich insights into the causes, conduct and results of the Civil War. Unlike some Southern writers, which provide a very one-sided view of the war (that of a virtuous South up against an immoral, but more populous, North), Professor McPherson, while generally presenting a somewhat northern view, presents a reasonably balanced picture of the war (at least that is the way that I see it). This is especially true for such controversial subjects such as the treatment of prisoners of war and the causes of the cessation of prisoner exchanges.
This book is not a military history, so if you want a very detailed view of the conduct of each battle this is not the book for you. The major battles are covered, but not in great detail. Fully a third of the book is given over to the causes of the war, starting with the aftermath of the war with Mexico. Other sections deal with the political aspects (for both north and south) of the war, as well as the conduct of individual generals. The final sections deal how the war changed America (in much more profound ways than the defeat of the south and the ending of slavery.) While he is a major player, this is not a Lincoln centered book. Equal weight is given to all aspects of the war, so even over 860 pages are not sufficient to cover all these aspects in extreme detail. As evidenced by the footnotes, virtually every page is the subject of a book, or at least an article in a history journal. Speaking of footnotes, this book uses them instead of endnotes and while they do break up the text, I found them easier to use than having to flip to the end of the book for more detail about a given passage.
After first reading this book I was going to give it 5 stars, but further reading about Lincoln and the Civil War has caused me to reduce the rating to 4 stars. I am concerned because there appears to be errors in the book. (At least one reviewer has pointed out factual errors, but I do not consider myself enough of an expert to comment on this. I will focus only on errors of omission where I found more than one source with the omitted material.) To some degree errors of omission are unavoidable in a volume covering the whole Civil War, as opposed to one that is very narrowly focused, but I found several of these omissions to be serious enough that had this material been presented I would have drawn somewhat different conclusions about the events being discussed. For instance, the author, in agreement with many other Civil War historians, has little use for General George McClellan. While a very efficient organizer and trainer, he was timid and vacillating when it came to using the army that he had trained so well. The author ascribes this, in part at least, to McClellan's erroneous belief that he was always outnumbered, but does not mention that these overestimates of the strength of the Confederate armies facing him were partly at least the result of faulty intelligence provided by Alan Pinkerton. To be sure, Pinkerton's assessment agreed with McClellan's feelings and unwillingness to fight and possibly lose, but the fact that McClellan's inaction was not completely a result of a failure of nerve is, in my opinion, important. Another omission that I found troubling concerned the emancipation proclamation. The author presents it as almost entirely due to Lincoln, but does not sufficiently discuss the internal pressure for emancipation. (The external pressure produced by the need to prevent Britain and France from recognizing the Confederacy is discussed, but the Congressional pressure for emancipation is not discussed sufficiently.) There was no mention at all of the Congress's Second Confiscation Act of 1862, which was an important antecedent to the Emancipation Proclamation. Since the Emancipation Proclamation was, in effect, the implementation of this act, neglecting to mention it at all is, in my opinion, a serious omission.
I do not consider myself a Civil War historian or even a Civil War buff and I certainly have not read every one-volume history of the Civil War, but in my opinion this has got to be one of the best general histories (omissions and all), if not the best one. It is a great place to start learning about the Civil War, but the reader is cautioned to read more in order to get a more complete view of all aspects of the conflict.
Battle Cry of Freedom
Rating:
This is a very good general history of the Civil War in one book. It is easy reading. Do not get this book if you are looking for great depth of history on the War. But if you are a novice enthusiast of the Civil War, this is a great book to read. It will give you a good base of knowledge to build upon.
A Feast of Facts and Intrigue
Rating:
This hefty tome is comprehensive and cram-packed with details. But fear not. You know the basics. You know the outcome. You know many of the key events. And yet this book is a gripping, edge-of-the-seat page turner.
The amount of research done in preparation for this book is simply incredible. Readers need not doubt the facts presented. Extensive quotations make the sentiments from all viewpoints come alive.
A large portion of the book is devoted to an exposition of factors that contributed to the Civil War: an economic downturn, legislation lowering tariffs impacting the North negatively but advantaging the South who imported many products, anti-immigrant proclivities, and so on.
The author does not shy away from offering personal opinions on some issues, but he presents enough facts for the reader to reach independent conclusions. For example, McPherson tackles the Constitutional legality of secession. He also examines the extent that non-slaveowners in the South where pro-slavery. Plantation magnates feared that non-slaveowners would sympathize with the anti-slavery movement and destroy the Confederacy from within, so they began a campaign preaching white supremacy.
Every twist and turn is there for your delight. Many abolitionists were dedicated to peaceful resistance, but as they witnessed the treatment of slaves who had escaped to free states, many became convinced that violence was necessary to break the bonds of slavery. John Brown was an early advocate of the necessity of violence in removing the cancer of slavery. McPherson's breathes life into Brown's exploits in the Kansas territory and his later misconceived attack on Harper's Ferry, leading to the popular perception of his martyrdom for the anti-slavery cause.
All in all, this is a fantastic book. And it's detail and heft is a boon, because it only makes the reader want more.
Enjoy!
Dale
Rating:
I own over 500 Civil War books and this is by the best. It's very detailed, but still very interesting. I would recommend this book to an individual wanting to know something about the Civil War or to an individual already very knowledgeable on the Civil War.
Kindle Edition has problems
Rating:
This review is purely as to the flaws of the Kindle transfer -- the book itself is a masterpiece I've reread with pleasure on paper over the years. Unfortunately the transfer is a rough scanned-PDF type that is MUCH harder to read than other Kindle books. Caveat Emptor.
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