Freshly Printed - allow 7 days lead
Couldn't load pickup availability
America's Civil War
Brooks D. Simpson (Author)
9780882959290, Wiley
Paperback / softback, published 8 January 2013
239 pages
20.1 x 13.7 x 1 cm, 0.272 kg
"Sensible, well-written, and thoroughly grounded in the most recent scholarship, America's Civil War is the best short synthesis of the subject available." —Mark Grimsley, Ohio State University "This book is a fine achievement, and it will be invaluable not only to students but to many other readers—and even Civil War specialists will benefit from its fresh insights." —Peter J. Parish "Simpson has written a lively and interpretive history of the US Civil War. Based on a mastery of the secondary literature, Simpson's narrative weaves the political, military, and social history of this significant period." (CHOICE, September 1996) "This work finally condenses the story of the War to a manageable size for the beginner and student alike. ...Written in a clear, concise manner, this book belongs on the book shelves of any collector of writings on the Civil War." (The Cincinnati Civil War Round Table, November 1996) "Students looking for a condensed, clear, and evenhanded summary of a particular campaign would do well to consult this volume. ...America's Civil War will be a useful supplemental reading in survey courses and a solid short text for courses on the war itself. Occupying an important niche between the single-chapter accounts of the American history textbooks and much longer single-volume treatments...Simpson's book admirably fulfills the goals of the American History Series." (Civil War History, June 1997)
Such is the continuing volume of work on the Civil War that we are regularly in need of an authoritative and accessible brief synthesis to keep us up to date with this endlessly fascinating subject. Brooks Simpson meets that need for the 1990s in America's Civil War, a wonderful feat of compression in which he addresses all the great issues of the war in 200 pages of clear and readable prose. Rightly, he puts the military history of the conflict at the center of the picture, but he excels in relating the drama of the war itself to the politics of both Union and Confederacy, to the stresses and strains-and opportunities-of the home front, and to the great issues of emancipation and reconstruction. This book is a fine achievement, and it will be invaluable not only to students but to many other readers-and even Civil War specialists will benefit from its fresh insights.–Peter J. Parish, Cambridge University
Foreword VII Preface and Acknowledgments XII Introduction: On Understanding the Civil War 1 Chapter One: Secession and the First Shot 7 Secession 9 The First Shot 21 Chapter Two: War Begins 24 Mobilizing For Conflict 25 War Aims 31 The First Battles 37 The European Response 45 Chapter Three: The Limited War 49 Forts Henry and Donelson 50 Shiloh 53 Rebels Resurgents in Virginia 57 Confederate Escalation 66 Chapter Four: War Becomes Revolution 70 Toward Emancipation 71 Confederate Counteroffensives: Lee Moves North 80 Confederate Counteroffensives: Perryville, Iuka, and Corinth 87 Emancipation and Elections 89 Union Battlefield Standoffs and Rebuffs 94 Chapter Five: Gambles Won and Lost 100 Chancellorsville 101 Vicksburg and Gettysburg 105 Chickamauga and Chattanooga 114 The Impact of Emancipation 120 Chapter Six: The Home Front 130 The Folks Back Home 131 The Northern Economy and War Effort 137 The Southern Economy and War Effort 141 Politics and Society: The North 145 Politics and Society: The South 152 Wartime Reconstruction: Early Steps 157 Chapter Seven: The Campaigns of 1864 162 Grant’s Grand Design 163 The Wilderness Campaigns 166 The Atlanta Campaign 175 Lincoln’s Bid for Reelection 177 Victory on the Battlefield and at the Ballot Box 183 Chapter Eight: Victory and Defeat 188 Sherman’s March to the Sea 189 Fort Fisher and the March through the Carolinas 194 Emancipation, Reconstruction, and Peace Proposals 197 From Richmond to Appomattox 201 Foundations for Peace 206 Conclusion: Why the Union Won 213 Bibliographical Essay 221 Index 233 Maps: Major Campaigns of the Civil War 35 Campaigns in the West, February to April 1862 52 The Peninsula Campaign 1862 64 Campaigns in Virginia and Maryland, August to December 1862 82 War in the East, 1863 103 The Vicksburg Campaign, April to July 1863 108 Grant vs. Lee 168 Campaigns in the West, 1864-65 190
Subject Areas: History [HB]
