Review: The Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor:
A History of Service Above and Beyond

by The Editors of Boston Publishing Company

The Medal of Honor is the United States’ highest military honor.  It is awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the United States Congress to U. S. military personnel for personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty.

Since its creation in 1861 the Medal of Honor has been awarded to nearly 3,500 men and 1 woman, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, from the Civil War to the present. “The Medal of Honor: A History of Service Above and Beyond” from The Editors of Boston Publishing Company and published by Zenith Press is a gorgeous book detailing the history of the medal and the persons to whom it has been bestowed upon.  It is a history told in deeds, of self-sacrifice and acts of valor, for which of the Medal of Honor has been awarded.

The book has been divided into seven chapters; one for each period of active conflict involving the United States Military, beginning with the Civil War and traveling through The Indian Campaigns, the Wars of American Expansion (Korea and China in 1871 & 1900, Latin America 1898-1933 and the Philippines and Samoa 1899-1913, and encapsulating the Spanish-American War), World War I, World War II, and the Cold War (the Wars of Korea and Vietnam).  The final Chapter titled “new Enemies, New Conflicts, covers the Persian Gulf War, The Iraq War and the Afghanistan War.

Each chapter begins with a brief historical overview of its assigned era and sets the stage for the following stories of unreluctant heroism in the face of mortal danger, of men reluctant to call themselves heroes: of such men as Second Lieutenant Edward M. Knox who rushed his cannon ahead of the Union Lines during the 2nd day of fighting during the Battle of Gettysburg; Sergeant Benjamin Crisswell who recovered the body of Lieutenant Hodgson from the banks of The Little Big Horn River; Lieutenant Richmond P. Hobson who guided the USS Merrimac into Santiago Harbor under heavy Spanish fire before He and his crew were captured and held as prisoners of war; Marine Gunnery Sergeant Earnest A. Janson who received two Medals of Honor under two different names; Major John Jerstad who volunteered for the Ploieşti raid even though he had flown enough missions to be eligible to return home; Private First Class Joseph R Ouellette who braved enemy fire to retrieve ammunition; Sergeant Alfredo Gonzalez, Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines who was killed in the fight to retake Hue; Master-at-Arms Michael A. Monsoor and Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis who both jumped on grenades to save the lives of their fellow soldiers; and Lieutenant Michael Murphy who was killed trying to save his fellow SEALs while fighting in Afghanistan.  These are but a few of the deeds of heroism featured in “The Medal of Honor.”

The Medal is often awarded posthumously, and those who have lived to wear it say it is much harder to wear than to earn.

In a final tribute to those who have been awarded the Medal of Honor, “The Medal of Honor: A History of Service Above and Beyond,” concludes with a Register of the Recipients of the Medal of Honor from 1861 to June 2014.

The Editors of Boston Publishing Company and Zenith Press have produced an impressive book. “The Medal of Honor” is contains 70 color and 218 black and white photographs and illustrations.  It is a book that they should be justifiably proud of authoring and publishing.

ISBN 978-0760346242, Zenith Press; New Edition, © 2014, Hardcover, 11.2 x 9.5 x 1 inches, 304 pages, Maps, Photographs & Illustrations, Appendix: Register of Recipients, Bibliography, Photo Credits & Index. $40.00.  To purchase this book click HERE.

Review: Rise to Greatness

Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln

and America's Most Perilous Year

By David Von Drehle

The Time: January 1, 1862 – January 1,1863, America's most perilous year.  The Place: The United States, a country torn in half by a war between its Northern and Southern sections.  Since the surrender of the United States garrison at Fort Sumter on April 14, 1861 and the defeat of the Northern Army at Bull Run on the following July 21st, the Southern forces have managed to keep their Northern counterparts at bay.  As the sunset fell on the final day of 1861, the future looked very bleak for the Union cause.

How Abraham Lincoln, President of all of the United States overcame military, political, social and economic challenges during the first full year of the war and transformed it from merely a war to restore to the Union the eleven seceded states to a revolution against slavery is the topic of David Von Drehle’s book, “Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year.”

Many people justly claim the twin victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg of the Federal Army on July 1-4 is the point at which the war turned in favor of the Union, but Von Drehle challenges that convention with his thesis that it was the slow and steady progress of the Federal Armies, in concert Abraham Lincoln’s issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation is the true turning point of the war.

Beginning on New Year’s Day 1862 Von Drehle’s linear narrative chronicles the military victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, and Shiloh; the lethargic advance of Major-General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac during the Peninsular Campaign; the routing of that same army during the Seven days Battles; and the trouncing of the Union Army of Virginia at Second Bull Run and the tactical draw, but strategic Victory at Antietam, after which Lincoln issued his Preliminary Emancipation.

Lincoln’s evolving views on emancipation are thoroughly covered; from his plan for gradual and compensated emancipation; the colonization of the blacks, and finally to his singing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

Another thread running throughout the book is Lincoln’s often antagonistic relationship with Major-General George B. McClellan.  Lincoln’s constant pushing and prodding for McClellan to advance the Army of the Potomac and fight; Lincoln trying his own hand as commander of the military and failing drastically; the firing, rehiring, and firing again of McClellan amply demonstrate how Lincoln grew into the job of Commander-in-Chief, and the slow and steady rise in his confidence and abilities while guiding the Northern population through their social, political and economic fears of emancipation.

“Rise to Greatness” is thoroughly researched and well written in an easily read, conversational style.  It is a great joy to read and is a book for academics or Civil War novices alike; everyone can learn something from the pages between its covers.

ISBN 978-0805079708, Henry Holt and Co., © 2012, Hardcover, 480 pages, End Notes, Bibliography & Index. $30.00.  To purchase the book, click HERE.

Review: The Fiddler on Pantico Run

The Fiddler on Pantico Run:

An African Warrior, His White Descendants,
A Search for Family

By Joe Mozingo

Joe Mozingo knew himself as a white man with blue eyes.  The family lore was that the Mozingo surname was Italian, Spanish or Basque in its origins.  He had no reason to question it.  In his travels as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times he had a handful of chance encounters with people with the same name, some were black, and said their name was from Africa.  He also met with people from the African continent who told him his name was African.  Joe, a reporter with an eye for a good story, set about on a quest to discover the origins of his name that would take him on a personal journey crisscrossing the United States, and would spawn two trips to Africa.

What started out as a handful of newspaper stories grew into a book, “The Fiddler on Pantico Run: An African Warrior, His White Descendants, a Search for Family.”  His genealogical search led him to Edward Mozingo, the progenitor of the Mozingo name in the United States.  Edward, as it turns out, was black man, a slave brought from Africa to the Jamestown colony in Virginia in 1644, a man whom after serving as a slave for 28 years sued for his freedom and won.  Edward Mozingo married a white woman who was the mother of his children

Through DNA testing, Joe learned that he was not a directly descended in an unbroken line of male Mozingos but was likely the a descendant of one of Edward Mozingo’s granddaughters.  Seeking out Edward Mozingo’s American descendants Joe travels across the United States and interviews a number of people who share his last name.  White and black, some know the secrets of the family’s past while others, notably the family’s white descendants, are either wholly ignorant of the family’s origins, or also share the family tradition that the name was Italian,  Other white family members were blatantly racist and could not come to terms that their ancestor was a black man.

Searching for Edward Mozingo’s African origins lead Joe to research the history and intricacies of the Atlantic Slave Trade.  Two trips to Africa did little to fill in any facts that are actually known about Edward Mozingo himself, but did help Joe place Edward within the context of the time and place from which he likely came.

“The Fiddler on Pantico Run” is an absorbing look not only at Joe Mozingo’s paternal genealogy, but also the evolving definitions of race and racism in the United States.  Mr. Mozingo deftly demonstrates the color of one’s skin, even within the same family, can influence the destinies of people for generations.

ISBN 978-1451627480, Free Press, © 2012, Hardcover, 320 pages & Index. $32.00.  To purchase this book click HERE.

In The Review Queue: Apocalypse and the Millennium in the American Civil War

Apocalypse and the Millennium in the American Civil War

Edited by  Ben Wright &  Zachary W. Dresser

In the Civil War era, Americans nearly unanimously accepted that humans battled in a cosmic contest between good and evil and that God was directing history toward its end. The concept of God's Providence and of millennialism -- Christian anticipations of the end of the world -- dominated religious thought in the nineteenth century. During the tumultuous years immediately prior to, during, and after the war, these ideas took on a greater importance as Americans struggled with the unprecedented destruction and promise of the period.

Scholars of religion, literary critics, and especially historians have acknowledged the presence of apocalyptic thought in the era, but until now, few studies have taken the topic as their central focus or examined it from the antebellum period through Reconstruction. By doing so, the essays in Apocalypse and the Millennium in the American Civil War Era highlight the diverse ways in which beliefs about the end times influenced nineteenth-century American lives, including reform culture, the search for meaning amid the trials of war, and the social transformation wrought by emancipation. Millennial zeal infused the labor of reformers and explained their successes and failures as progress toward an imminent Kingdom of God. Men and women in the North and South looked to Providence to explain the causes and consequences of both victory and defeat, and Americans, black and white, experienced the shock waves of emancipation as either a long-prophesied jubilee or a vengeful punishment. Religion fostered division as well as union, the essays suggest, but while the nation tore itself apart and tentatively stitched itself back together, Americans continued looking to divine intervention to make meaning of the national apocalypse.

Contributors: Edward J. BlumRyan CordellZachary W. DresserJennifer GraberMatthew HarperCharles F. IronsJoseph MooreRobert K. NelsonScott Nesbit Jason PhillipsNina Reid-MaroneyBen Wright

ISBN 978-0807151921, Louisiana State University Press, © 2013, Hardcover, 296 Pages, Chapter End Notes & Index. $42.50.  To Purchase the book click HERE.

In The Review Queue: William Lloyd Garrison and Giuseppe Mazzini, Abolition, Democracy, and Radical Reform

William Lloyd Garrison and Giuseppe Mazzini:

Abolition, Democracy, and Radical Reform

by  Enrico Dal Lago

William Lloyd Garrison and Giuseppe Mazzini, two of the foremost radicals of the nineteenth century, lived during a time of profound economic, social, and political transformation in America and Europe. Both born in 1805, but into dissimilar family backgrounds, the American Garrison and Italian Mazzini led entirely different lives—one as a citizen of a democratic republic, the other as an exile proscribed by most European monarchies. Using a comparative analysis, Enrico Dal Lago suggests that Garrison and Mazzini nonetheless represent a connection between the egalitarian ideologies of American abolitionism and Italian democratic nationalism. 

Focusing on Garrison’s and Mazzini’s activities and transnational links within their own milieus and in the wider international arena, Dal Lago shows why two nineteenth-century progressives and revolutionaries considered liberation from enslavement and liberation from national oppression as two sides of the same coin. At different points in their lives, both Garrison and Mazzini demonstrated this belief by concurrently supporting the abolition of slavery in the United States and the national revolutions in Italy. The two meetings Garrison and Mazzini had, in 1846 and in 1867, served to reinforce their sense that they somehow worked together toward the achievement of liberty not just in the United States and Italy, but also in the Atlantic and Euro-American world as a whole. In the end, the abolition of American slavery led to Garrison’s consecration, while the new Italian kingdom forced Mazzini into exile. Despite these different outcomes, Garrison and Mazzini both attracted legions of devoted followers who believed these men personified the radical causes of the nations to which they belonged.

ISBN 978-0807152065, Louisiana State University Press, © 2013, Hardcover, 269 Pages, End Notes, Bibliography & Index. $42.50.  To Purchase the book click HERE.

Review: All The Great Prizes

All the Great Prizes:

The Life of John Hay, from Lincoln to Roosevelt

By John Taliaferro

If you were anyone in the United States during the last half of the 19th Century, you most likely knew John Hay.  His list of personal friends and acquaintances is a who’s who of America from the Civil War to the Gilded Age.  He was Abraham Lincoln’s personal secretary, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and served as Secretary of State in the McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt administrations.  He was a lawyer, journalist, author and historian.

John Taliaferro has written an extensively researched biography of Hay, “All the Great Prizes: The Life of John Hay, from Lincoln to Roosevelt.”  It is a richly detailed narrative of the life and loves of John Hay, and the times in which he lived.  Hay was both a witness to and the author of much history from the Civil War until his death in 1905.  Unfortunately, unlike his first benefactor, Abraham Lincoln, I found the more I read about Hay, the more I disliked him.  This of course is not the author’s fault, but rather the fault of his subject.

“All the Great Prizes” is a cradle to grave biography, its linear narrative covers the entirety of Hay’s life chronologically. From his early years in Illinois and his schooling, to living in the White House during the Civil War; from London and Paris and back to Washington D. C.  Its author’s meticulous research has culled a treasure trove of Hay related correspondence which illuminates many personal and intimate details of his life that should Hay find himself alive today I am sure he would be mortified to find had become public knowledge.  His marriage to Clara Stone to Taliaferro’s readers takes a back seat to his infatuation with Elizabeth Sherman Cameron, niece of General William T. Sherman, wife of J. Donald Cameron and daughter-in-law of Simon Cameron.  Hay may or may not have been guilty of adultery, but his relationship with “Lizzie” was definitely an affair of the heart, be it an unconsummated one.

Taliaferro makes short work of the Lincoln years, this is well covered ground, volumes have already and will continue to be written about those four tumultuous years of Hay’s life.  The author spends a fair amount of pages on Hay’s literary and journalistic career, as well as his friendships with the literary giants of his age Mark Twain, Horace Greeley, Henry Adams, Henry James to name but just a few.

Politically speaking Hay rubbed elbows with nearly every president, sovereign, power broker, and robber baron of the Gilded Age.  And through these connections Hay’s political career soared.  Taliaferro aptly and adroitly shows many of Hay’s fingerprints on much of the United States’ foreign policy during the late 19th Century most notably the Open Door with China, the Boxer Rebellion, and the building of the Panama Canal.

John Hay was a deeply flawed man, but John Taliaferro’s “All the Great Prizes” is a tour de force biography which brings the full breadth and depth of the life of John Hay from out of the shadows of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt of and into the light of history.

ISBN 978-1416597308, Simon & Schuster, © 2013, Hardcover, 688 pages, Photographs, Illustrations, End Notes, Bibliography & Index. $35.00.  To purchase this book click HERE.

Review: Wisdom from the Oval Office

Wisdom from the Oval Office:

Words from George Washington to the Present

By Pierce Word

A few weeks ago my cousin, who is an elementary school teacher shared a few pictures of her classroom after she had prepared it for her new class.  On the wall, above the whiteboard was the following quote from Theodore Roosevelt: “Believe you can & you are halfway there.”  Being the investigative type that I am, I wanted to track back the source of the quote, and its original context.  I did countless internet searches, and all agreed that Theodore Roosevelt said it, but nowhere could I find a speech or letter which contained to quote.  In a final act of desperation I turned to Pierce Word’s “Wisdom from the Oval Office: Words for George Washington to the Present.”

Within the pages of Mr. Word’s book, touted on the cover as being “The Ultimate Presidential Quote Book,” is collected quotations from each of the forty-two men to have been fortunate enough to hold the office of President of the United States.  The author has grouped the quotes into forty categories: America, Belief, Business, Change, Constitution, Country, Democracy, Economy, Education, Error, Freedom, Friendship, God, Government, Happiness, History, Honor, Hope, Law, Leadership, Liberty, Life, Love, Mind, Money, Office, Peace, Politics, Power, Presidency, Religion, Rights, Success, Time, Trust, Truth, War, Wisdom, Wish, and World.  Within each category the quotations are arranged chronologically by President.  Below each quote Mr. Word has noted its source, and each categorical chapter concludes with its own end notes.

Flipping through its pages, I hunt for the Theodore Roosevelt quote that started my quest.  Closing in on my prey I flip to the section on “Belief.”  There on page 20 I spied “Believe you can & you are halfway there,” and below it was the object of my desire, a source citation: “U. S. Congress, Congressional Record, October 9, 2007⁴.”  What?!  2007???  How can that be, Theodore Roosevelt died in 1919!  I then flip to the chapter’s end notes, where Mr. Word included the following note: “4 Vol. 153, pt. 19, U. S. Congress, Congressional Record, October 9, 2007.”

I’ve come too far now to give up.  A search of the Congressional Record, for October 9, 2007 brings me to the speech of Congressman Harold Rogers of Kentucky, “Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Pride – Personal Responsibility in a Desirable Environment,” in which he states “Theodore Roosevelt understood the need to protect our natural resources and a short sentence he once said sums up so well the spirit of PRIDE today: ‘Believe you can and you're halfway there.’”  So I’m back to where I started.  Everyone agrees that Theodore Roosevelt said it, but even Mr. Word could not track down the origins of the quote.

Every other quote in “Wisdom from the Oval Office” that I have checked tracks back to its original source material, I just happened to pick the one that didn’t, and I suspect with this particular quote Mr. Word was as frustrated as I.

Nevertheless, “Wisdom from the Oval Office” is a fantastic resource for Presidential quotations.  Whether or not it is the “Ultimate Presidential Quote Book” I will leave for you to decide.

ISBN 978-1933909493, History Pub Co LLC, © 2013, Paperback, 323 Pages, Chapter Notes, & Index. $18.95.  To Purchase the book click HERE.

Review: Civil War Battlegrounds

Civil War Battlegrounds: The Illustrated History

of the War's Pivotal Battles and Campaigns

By Richard Sauers

There is no better way to learn about the Civil War than by visiting the numerous battlefields throughout the south and east on which it was fought.  However, in these tough economic times travel can be expensive, and sometimes prohibitively so.  Thankfully over the years several battlefield guidebooks have been published.  Some are better than others, but all of them offer a low cost way to explore America’s Civil War battlefields; and the only travel needed to do so is a trip to your local bookstore or library.

Richard Sauers’ “Civil War Battlegrounds: The Illustrated History of the War's Pivotal Battles and Campaigns” is a recent addition to the battlefield guidebook genre.  From the war’s beginning at Fort Sumter to its conclusion at Appomattox, Sauers visits a total of eighteen of the war’s most significant battlefields.  Each battlefield sketch is accompanied by useful information for tourists: phone numbers, websites, hours of operation, admission fees, parking details and available tours and programs.  Many sidebars appear throughout the book cover a variety of topics and trivia about the battles and their participants.

To call Sauers’ book a guidebook is a bit of an overstatement.  The heavy use of modern and historic photographs, illustrations and works of art overpowers his sparse text, and the maps which are often too small to be accurately read only give the reader an impression of the action at large.  To subtitle the book as “The Illustrated History of the War's Pivotal Battles and Campaigns” is also an overextension.  A thumbnail sketch of each battle (in a relatively large font) gives a general overview of the action, but it is hardly would I would call a history of each battle.

 “Civil War Battlegrounds” is not a book for serious students of the American Civil War, but it is a good tool to use when planning a battlefield visit.  However, if a visit to a Civil War battlefield isn’t in your budget this year, it is a perfect book for those who are just beginning to explore this turbulent period in American History.  And with its heavy use of photographs and illustrations it would also appeal to younger readers interested in history as well.

ISBN 978-0760344538, Zenith Press, © 2013, Paperback, 9.5 x 10 x 0.6 inches, 160 pages, Maps, Photographs and Illustrations & Index. $26.99.  To purchase this book click HERE.

Review: Giant In The Shadows

Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln

By Jason Emerson

He is known to history as Robert Todd Lincoln, the oldest of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln’s four sons, and the only one to survive to adulthood.  Never preferring to use his full name during his lifetime he was known as Robert T. Lincoln.  To those who knew and loved him, he was simply Bob.

From his birth to his death, and since, Robert T. Lincoln has remained hidden in the shadows of his martyred father and controversial mother.  With  “Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln,” journalist and an independent historian, Jason Emerson has delivered Robert T. Lincoln from the shadows of his famous parents and given him his own well deserved place in history.

Comprehensive in its scope, “Giant In the Shadows,” details the life of Robert T. Lincoln from his birth on August 1st, 1843 in a rented from of Springfield, Illinois’ Globe Tavern to his death on July 28, 1926 at Hildene, his private estate in Manchester, Vermont.  During his nearly 83 year lifespan, Robert would be present at Robert E. Lee’s surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House; he would be the only person in American History to be closely associated with three presidential assassinations (those of his father, James Garfield and William McKinley); he would become the 35th Secretary of War, serving under Presidents James Garfield and Chester Arthur; United States Minister to the United Kingdom during the administration of President Benjamin Harrison; President of the Pullman Palace Car Company; but most notably Robert was the keeper of the historical legacy of Abraham Lincoln.

Much of “Giant in the Shadows” explores the dynamics of the Lincoln family and their personal relationships with one another.  Mr. Emerson demonstrates that Abraham Lincoln’s relationship with his son, Bob, was a warm and intimate one, rather than cold and distant as it has often been portrayed.  Robert’s often tumultuous relationship with his mother, Mary Todd Lincoln is thoroughly examined.  During his childhood Robert shared a close relationship with his mother, but the cumulative effect of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in combination with the deaths of three of her four children took its psychological on Mary Lincoln.  As his mother’s mental health deteriorated Robert and Mary Todd Lincoln’s roles were reversed; the son became his mother’s protector.  With few options and a fear for his mother’s safety, Robert had his Mother declared insane and placed her in an institution, causing a deep family rift that never fully healed.

Biographers often fall in love with their subjects, and Mr. Emerson is not immune.  In the book’s only major shortcoming Robert Lincoln’s role in the Pullman strike of 1894 is not fully examined and murky at best.

With all of the tragedy in his life, it is easy to feel sympathetic toward Robert T. Lincoln, and that is completely understandable.  Emerson demonstrates time and again, that Robert Lincoln is not a man to be pitied.  It is true, his name opened many doors for him, but time and again Robert shut those doors, opened other doors of opportunity of his own choosing, and never once used his father’s memory and legacy to his own advantage while rising to his own prominence.  Much like his father Robert T. Lincoln was in many ways a self made man.

ISBN 978-0809330553, Southern Illinois University Press, © 2012, Hardcover, 640 pages, Photographs & Illustrations, End Notes, Bibliography & Index. $39.95.  To purchase click HERE.

Review: Gettysburg, Turning Point Of The Civil War

Gettysburg: The Turning Point of the War

150th Anniversary Tribute

Edited by Kelly Knauer

In his introduction “Why Gettysburg Matters,” James M. McPherson explains Robert E. Lee and the leaders of the Confederacy believed a Confederate victory on Northern soil would force Ulysses S. Grant to loosen his strangle-hold on Vicksburg, Mississippi, the tide of Northern sentiment would turn against the war, and Abraham Lincoln would be forced to sue for peace or be defeated in the following year’s election.  If the Republican Party was defeated in large numbers in the 1864 elections, Lee believed the newly installed President of the United States would have no other option than to capitulate and give the Confederacy her freedom.  In short, Lee’s second invasion of the North was a vital component of the Southern campaign to win the war.

Having established the importance of the July 1863 battle, the book’s creators take a step back in time and to look at the bigger picture.  In the chapter, “The Road to Gettysburg,” the divisive issue of slavery is cited as the primary cause of the regional divisions in the United States.  After decades of debates and compromises, John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, was the match that lit the fuse, and the election of Abraham Lincoln was the explosive detonation that caused the Union to fracture as one Southern state seceded after another.

Moving forward in time to the summer of 1863 the next chapter, “Lee Invades the North” follows what is now known as the Gettysburg Campaign: the Army of Virginia’s northward movement through Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and into Pennsylvania with the Army of the Potomac at it heels.

The battle took place over three days, July 1-3, 1863, and each day of the battle is covered in one chapter of the book.  Each of these chapters includes a “Battlefield Guide,” giving its readers a reference point for information which follows in the chapter’s successive pages, namely a glossary of military terms and a timeline of day’s events; annotations about time, and the organization of infantry and artillery units are also included.  On the opposing page is a map detailing the day’s action.

Interspersed throughout the book are articles covering Abraham Lincoln’s search for a general able to defeat Confederate General Robert E. Lee, Civil War Medicine, the Gettysburg Cyclorama, Death and the Civil War, and Lee’s escape south after the battle.

The final chapter “Gettysburg in Memory,” brings us from the immediate aftermath of the battle to the conclusion of the war up to the present day.  It delves into the realm of recent of study, the Civil War in Memory; with articles covering Civil War photographers and photography, Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address, and the Civil War in movies.

Many of the officers who lead troops on both sides of the conflict have become historical icons.  “Gettysburg, The turning Pont of the War” features lengthy biographical sketches of some of the battle’s notable participants: Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, George G. Meade, Joshua L. Chamberlain and James Longstreet.  Also included are shorter biographical sketches of those commanding of the opposing armies: for the Confederacy A. P. Hill, Jubal Early, Henry Heth, Richard S. Ewell, John Bell Hood, Richard H. Anderson, Edward “Allegheny” Johnson, William Barksdale, George E. Pickett, Lewis A. Armistead, Isaac H. Trimble and J. Johnston Pettigrew; and their Federal counterparts Francis C. Barlow, Solomon Meredith, Winfield Scott Hancock, John C. Caldwell, William J. Colville, Alfred Pleasonton, Henry Hunt, John Buford and John F. Reynolds

First person accounts of the battle are also included in the book from civilians Elizabeth Masser Thorn and Tillie Pierce; Confederates Colonel William C. Oates of the 15th Alabama Infantry, Sergeant Valerius C. Giles of the 4th Texas Infantry and Captain Henry T. Owen, of the 18th Virginia Infantry; and Federal troops, Lieutenant Charles A. Fuller of the 61st New York Infantry, Captain Edward R. Bowen of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry and Lieutenant George G. Benedict of the 12th Vermont Infantry

Using its linear narrative of each day’s action in combination with first person accounts and a liberal use of photographs, artworks and maps, “Gettysburg, The Turning Point of the War” gives its readers a panoramic view of the largest battle ever to take place in the Western Hemisphere, sets it into its proper historical context, and explores how we choose to remember the battle and the Civil War.

ISBN 978-1618930538, Time, © 2013, Hardcover, Dimensions 10.5 x 1 x 11.5 inches, 192 pages, Maps, Photographs, Illustrations, Picture Credits & Index. $29.95.  To Purchase the book click HERE.

Review: Here Is Where

Here Is Where:

Discovering America's Great Forgotten History

By Andrew Carroll

Part history book, part travel log, Andrew Carroll’s “Here is Where: Discovering America’s Great Forgotten History” crisscrosses the country from Florida to Alaska, from Maine to Hawaii, and spans four centuries of American history.  All but forgotten the incidents and places featured in Mr. Carroll’s delightful tome are little known and all are unmarked.

For instance, SS Sultana could legally carry 376 passengers and crew.  When it left Vicksburg Mississippi it carried an estimated 2,400 passengers, a large number of which had recently been released from the Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia.  When it exploded and sank near Mound City, Arkansas on April 27, 1865 the official death toll was 1,547, and it is still the greatest maritime disaster in American history, surpassing even the sinking of RMS Titanic, which had 33 fewer deaths.  Overshadowed by the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth, it remains today largely forgotten.  Though there are monuments dedicated to the victims and survivors of the Sultana, no monument or plaque marks the spot where remains of the ship were found in 1982.

Would you be surprised to learn Al Capone had a brother that changed his name to Richard James Hart who lived in the tiny town of Homer, Nebraska and became a Federal Prohibition Agent?

Or how about this?  Madison Grant, one of a trio of what we could call today, conservationists, responsible for founding the “Save the Redwoods League” would also write a book on eugenics that Adolph Hitler praised as his new “bible.”

Or that a fourteen year old Philo T. Farnsworth had brainstorm while plowing a field on his father’s Idaho farm that would eventually lead him to develop the first fully functional television system.

These are but a few of the stories found in Andrew Carroll’s book.  Though I would love to see a breakdown of his itinerary and budget for his cross-country journey into forgotten history, Mr. Carroll did not organize his book in the chronological sequence of his travels, but rather he has divided his book into themes:

• Where To Begin: Starting Points
• The World Before Us: Coming to, Exploring and Conserving America
• This Land Is My Land: The Dark Side of Expansion and Growth
• Landmark Cases: Crimes and Lawsuits that Changed the Nation
• Sparks: Invention and Technological Advancements
• Bitter Pills And Miracle Cures: Medical Pioneers and Discoveries
• Burial Plots: Forgotten Graves, Cemeteries and Stories about the Dead
• All Is Not Lost: Finding and Preserving History

Each of Mr. Carroll’s themed chapters are subsequently divided into their individual stories, many of which interconnect in some way, shape or form.  Histories coincidences never cease to amaze.

“Here Is Where” is well written, in a conversational style, that is at once educational, entertaining and amusing to read.  It is easily one of the most enjoyable books I have read in quite some time, and would make a great addition to anyone’s home library whether they are a self-proclaimed “history nut” or not.

ISBN 978-0307463975, Crown Archetype, © 2013, Hardcover, 512 pages, “Acknowledgements and Sources,” $25.00.  To purchase this book click HERE.

Review: United States Army, The Definitive Illustrated History

United States Army: The Definitive Illustrated History

By D. M. Giangreco

It’s nearly an impossible task to cover the entire history of the United States Army from its humble beginnings in 1607 to the present (2011) and call it a definitive history, but somehow D. M. Giangreco has managed to do it.  Of course it took a massive book of 11.4 x 9.8 x 1.4 inches and 528 pages do it in, and it’s fully illustrated too!

Each chapter of Mr. Giangreco’s “The Definitive Illustrated History” covers specific a period of the Army’s History:

• Creating a Continental Army, 1607-1782
• The Army and the Young Republic, 1794-1848
• Regulars, Volunteers and Civil War, 1861-1865
• War on the Plains and Domestic Strife, 1865-1878
• Beyond the Borders, The Far East, Caribbean and Mexico, 1877-1917
• Over There, 1917-1921
• Between Two Wars, 1919-1941
• Victory in the Pacific, 1941-1945
• Defeating Nazi Germany, 1942-1945
• The Cold War Turns Hot, 1945-1953
• Preparing for the “Next War” and Vietnam, 1953-1973
• The Volunteer Army, Panama, and the Persian Gulf, 1972-1991
• A “New” Enemy, 1991-2011

Of course even for a book of its size it would be impossible for it to be an in depth study spanning every phase of the United States Army’s four hundred year history.  That would take multiple volumes and span several feet of valuable shelf space.  Mr. Giangreco takes a “skirt-length” approach to each of his chapters: short enough to keep it interesting, but long enough to adequately cover the subject.

Also included are four Appendices:

• Appendix A: Medals and Decorations; Ribbon-Only Awards; Unit Commendations and Foreign Citations.
• Appendix B: Campaign Streamers; Chiefs of Staff of the U. S. Army
• Appendix C: Branches of the U. S. Army; Distinctive Unite Insignia (DUI) Pins
• Appendix D: Rank and Structure of the U. S. Army

Highlighting Mr. Giangreco’s 180,000+ word text are hundreds of photographs and illustrations; from the uniforms the soldiers carry and the weapons they used, to the mundane equipment they used daily; from generals to privates; from maps and historical paintings to battlefield photographs.  Taken as a whole they thoroughly illustrate and cover each of America’s conflicts from the French and Indian War to the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and everything in between.

Mr. Giangreco’s “United States Army: The Definitive Illustrated History” is a beautifully produced book, thoroughly researched, well written and easily read.  Coming in at a hefty weight of 5.8 pounds it is not a book to be taken lightly, nor would a recommend reading it in a chair for long periods of time without wrist braces.  To call Mr. Giangreco’s book a “coffee table book” would do a great injustice to it, but I would recommend reading it while seated at a table.

ISBN 1402791046, Sterling, © 2011, Paperback, 11.4 x 9.8 x 1.4 inches, 528 pages, 5.8 pounds, Maps, Photographs, Illustrations, Appendices, Photo Credits & Index. $24.95.  To purchase this book click HERE.

Review: The Civil War, The Second Year Told By Those Who Lived It

The Civil War:

The Second Year Told By Those Who Lived It

Edited by Stephen Sears

“The Civil War: The Second Year Told By Thos Who Lived It,” is the second volume in The Library of America’s four volume series of first person accounts from America’s bloodiest war.  Covering the second year of the war, this volume spans from January 1862 to January 1863, and much like its preceding first volume it covers the war from nearly every conceivable vantage: Union and Confederate; North and South; the Eastern and the Western Theaters; men and women; civilians, soldiers and politicians; slaves, free blacks, abolitionists and slaveholders.

Culled from thousands of newspaper articles, diaries and journals, letters, memoirs and official documents, editor Stephen Sears, has collected the richest historical documents and presented them chronologically.  Separately, each document is a historical artifact; together they are a sometimes poignant, often dramatic, portrait of the war’s second year.

Nearly panoramic in its scope, “The Civil War: The Second Year Told By Thos Who Lived It,” covers such notable events as the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson, the Battle of Pea Ridge, the battle of Hampton Roads (USS Monitor vs. CSS Virginia), The Battle of Shiloh, the fall of New Orleans, the Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days Battles, the Battle of Antietam, and the battles of Iuka, Corinth, Perryville, Chickasaw Bayou, and Stones River.

Abraham Lincoln’s evolving views on the subject are clearly shown through these original documents:  from Lincoln’s March 6th, 1862 Message to Congress about compensated emancipation to his Message to Congress on April 16th on the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia; from Lincoln’s revoking of General David Hunter’s emancipation order on May 19th to his appeal to the border state representatives on July 12th for compensated emancipation of the slaves; from the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation on July 22, to his August 14th address on colonization; from his reply to Horace Greeley’s “The Prayer of Twenty Millions” on August 22nd to the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd; and finally his signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863.  The fact that this second volume of the series begins with Frederick Douglass’s essay “What Shall Be Done with the Slaves if Emancipated?” and ends with the Emancipation Proclamation is a theme that should not be missed.

Among other notable inclusions is Robert E. Lee’s “Special Orders No. 191,” the “lost order” of the Maryland Campaign.  Though, one curious omission is the Horace Greeley’s open letter to Abraham Lincoln, “The Prayer of Twenty Millions.”

Among those whose documents are included in this volume are of course Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, United States Generals George B. McClellan, Lew Wallace, Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, David Hunter, John Pope, Henry W. Halleck, Alpheus S. Williams, George G. Meade, and Ambrose Burnside; Confederate Generals Braxton Bragg, Richard Taylor, Robert E. Lee and Edward Porter Alexander; Diarists John B. Jones, Kate Stone, Charles B. Hayden, Judith W. McGuire, George Templeton Strong, James Richmond Boulware, Charles B. Labruzan, Orville H. Browning and Cyrus F. Boyd; political figures Gideon Welles, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, John Hay, Charles Sumner, Charles Francis Adams and Francis Preston Blair; literary figures Julia Ward Howe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Emily Dickinson , Herman Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman and Louisa May Alcott; Frederick Douglass, Clara Barton and Sam Watkins, author of “Co. Aytch”

Mr. Sears has included a brief introductory paragraph, placing the document that follows in its proper historical context, and giving additional information wherever warranted.  The documents themselves are a view into the historical past, given to us by those who witnessed the events they themselves wrote about.  Most often only briefly referenced in history books, the ability to read the whole document gives its reader a sense of immediacy that cannot be gotten any other way.

ISBN 978-1598531442, Library of America, © 2012, Hardcover, 936 pages, Maps, Chronology, Biographical Notes, Note on the Texts, Notes & Index. $40.00.  To purchase this book click HERE.

Review: The American President, A Complete History

The American President: A Complete History

By Kathryn Moore

Since 1789 forty-three men have held the office of President of the United States.  Their personalities, backgrounds, and biographies vary widely between them.  Each defined the role of President for himself.  Some were successful while others were not.  A few have ascended to greatness while others are largely forgotten by the modern American public.  Four have been assassinated and four died while in office.  Some have ridden through the calm waters of peace while others have steered through the turbulent seas of war.  All have in some way shaped and influenced the destiny of The United States.  Their stories are American stories.  Their biographies are American history.  To get a firm grasp on American history it is essential that you have an understanding of the lives of the men who became President.

Kathryn Moore’s “The American President: A Complete History” is nothing less than the ultimate guide to the Presidents.  Her 688 page tome contains complete biographies of the 43 men who have held the office of President of the United States.

Presented in chronological order from George Washington to Barack Obama; each biography is accompanied by a full page portrait on the left, while its opposing page lists the biographical facts of each President: birth and death dates and places, religion, higher education, profession, military service, family (mother, father, wife and children), political life (all political offices held), and presidency (number of terms, party, reason for leaving office & Vice President).  On the following pages is a narrative biography of each President.  In the margins of each president’s biographical sketch are: a list of his cabinet members, presidential trivia, Supreme Court Appointments, State of the Union (population, national debt, states admitted to the Union, number of states in the Union).  Colored boxes appear frequently throughout the book highlighting significant laws which were passed and events that happened during each presidency.  At the bottom of each page runs a time line of American and world events which place each presidency within the context of its time.  End notes are located at the end of each biographical sketch.

“The American President: A Complete History” is exhaustively researched, well written and easily read.  By itself, Ms. Moore’s book is a treasury of presidential information and is a must have for scholars of American history.  It is a perfect companion book to the History Channel documentaries, “The Presidents,” and “Ultimate Guide to the Presidents.” 

ISBN 978-1435146020, Fall River, Revised and Updated Edition, © 2013, Paperback, 688 pages, 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.7 inches, Photographs, Illustrations, End Notes & Index. $19.95.  To purchase this book click HERE.