Battle cry of freedom The Civil War era

An important modern interpretation of the Civil War era by one of its leading historians. McPherson deftly combines the latest research with traditional understanding of the issues to produce the most readable single-volume history of this period. He relies generally on recent studies of the war, but rejects the conclusion of a new work (Why the South Lost the Civil War, by Richard E. Beringer, Herman Hattaway, Archer Jones, and William N. Still, CH, Nov '86) that minimizes the importance of the Union blockade, and accepts the more traditional view that emphasized its role in helping to defeat the South. McPherson devotes the first third of his work to the political history of the decade before the war, agrees that slavery was the ``fundamental issue'' that caused the war. In his treatment of the war years, McPherson concentrates on the military effort itself. Armies and navies become his framework for discussing political, economic, social, and diplomatic events. Readers-professional historians, buffs, and nonspecialists-will be impressed with McPherson's fine prose, thorough research, and forceful interpretations. This is an indispensable work for all academic libraries.-E.K. Eckert, St. Bonaventure University

McPherson follows the course of American history from the cessation of hostilities with Mexico in 1848 to the termination of armed conflict between North and South in 1865, offering not only engaging description of events, but also discerning explanation of the issues and attitudes that stood behind them. A robust, glittering book. [BKL Ja 15 88]

Likely to become the standard one-volume history of our Civil War, this vivifies, with palpable immediacy, scholarly acumen and interpretive skill, events foreshadowing the conflict, the war itself and its basic issue: slavery. Photos. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

With this major work, McPherson (History/Princeton; Ordeal by Fire) cements his reputation as one of the finest Civil War historians. The volume begins with a deft description of the ragged American army trudging into Mexico City in 1847. From there, the narrative speeds through 28 chapters that draw a precise and lively picture of what America and Americans were like in mid-19th century. McPherson delineates the issues that galvanized and divided the American public from the end of the Mexican War in 1848 to the opening of the Civil War in 1861, providing thorough explanations of the pre-war period's gravest crises--the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the prairie guerrilla war it started; the national clamor over the Dred Scott case; anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant violence and the brief life of the nativist Know-Nothing Party; and the panic over John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. And McPherson's coverage of the Civil War is just as strong and clear. The author also addresses arguments about the root origins or that war and pinpoints major causes: hatred of slavery and blind regional prejudice. What distinguishes McPherson's work is his fluid writing style and his able use of anecdote and human interest to flesh out his portrait of the times. Social history and verified gossip abound and are used to good effect: the 1851 racing victory of the US yacht America over 14 British vessels in the Royal Yacht Squadron became the talk of the sporting world and, also, heralded this nation's emergence as an industrial and technological force; talk of U.S. Grant's drinking problem and how he struggled to control it is shown to have shaped the general's personality in many positive ways; etc. McPherson also works in many bits of trivia that, while they may not be of historical import, make his treatment nearly effortless reading. This new volume in the Oxford History of the United States series should become a standard general history of the Civil War period--it's one that will stand up for years to come. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.