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Trudeyrose and John,
Thank you both for your kind attention!
I went ahead and ordered, "A Comprehensive History of the United States" from Amazon. It was being sold for half price-Somewhat befitting, don't you think?
Happy we could help
Another good source for new and used books is
Subjects : BetterWorld.com (http://www.betterworld.com/category-C1000.aspx - broken link)
They do not charge for shipping, although their selection is not as large as Amazon.
Yesterday I received my copy of, "A Comprehensive History of the United States". I started reading it last night. Very good book!
Again-Thank you all!
Bill
There seems to be a relationship between how much one is anticipating a new book and the probability of it being disappointing. Such was the case for me with James McPherson's "Tried By War: Abraham Lincoln As Commander in Chief." (Penguin Press 2008, 329 pp.)
The problem is not that it isn't well written and informative, rather it is that everything appears to be recycled. If you have read McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom", you have essentially already read this book as well.
McPherson walks us through the familiar story, how Lincoln began the war as a military novice, through force of will converted himself into a superior strategist, coped with the ineptitude of his early selections for Army of Potomac commanders, perfected the balancing act between political and military needs, and finally got a team of leaders in place who could act upon his strategic vision.
In the entire book, the only thing that I learned that I didn't already know, was that Grant's orginal idea for the war ending campaign was to shift the theater to North Carolina and come up in Lee's rear. It was Lincoln who insisted on the overland campaign which was manifested in the Wilderness through Petersburg battles.
I had been hoping for new insights and instead got a refresher course in that which was already known to me, leaving me with the feeling that this book was written for no purpose other than a payday for McPherson. The book seems particularly rushed towards the end, as though McPherson had a deadline to meet and was forced to compress the last several chapters into one quickie.
I do not begrudge him a living, and I happily acknowlege "Battle Cry of Freedom" as easily the best single volume history of the war ever written. However, I am glad that I got this book from the public library rather than investing the 35 bucks they are asking for a not all that lengthy of a work.
I do not know for whom I would endorse this book. If you are already a well read war buff, there will not be anything new or especially controversial for you. If you are a novice, you'll be a bit lost because McPherson's focus is narrow and assumes a familiarity with people and events.
Great writer, great historian....less than stellar effect on this one.
Did you read "Team of Rivals"? That is the only non-fiction book that actually made me cry.
Also, "Manhunt, The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer" was excellent. It was difficult at times, because I wanted a more in-depth analysis of the people involved. But you have to realize that he is going for the fast pace of a crime thriller. In this regard, I think it certainly delivers.
Did you read "Team of Rivals"? That is the only non-fiction book that actually made me cry.
.
I have. That was an excellent book which really fleshed out the historical cast for me. You got a real feel for the evolution of Seward and Stanton who went from viewing Lincoln in a patronizing manner, to recognition of his greatness. Kearns was quite fair minded and did not take the easy path of demonizing Lincoln's rivals and detractors, thus her Lincoln was the Lincoln of his era, not the Mt. Rushmore figure of history.
The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians
Just finished reading this "The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians" by Peter Heather.
It is ,by far, the best book on the subject I've read. I've always wondered about Spain and the connection between the Celts. Romans, Goths etc. It is covered in depth.. It lays out all the complicated interactions between the "Barbarians" and the Romans and how and when the Empire fell in a way that anyone can understand.. He really brings it alive with his writing style so that it almost reads like a novel. but is based upon researched fact. It has an excellent time line...List of people and also Roman phrases.
Anyone who is interested in this time period should not miss this..
I'm including Amazon's listing as it gives a much better description than I ever could Amazon.com: The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians: Peter Heather: Books
On this subject I am partial to Arther Ferrill's Fall of the Roman Empire, but I have to admit that's partly influenced by him having been my Roman history professor. He argues that it was, in the main, a military collapse. Once a year, Prof. Ferrill would wear his t-shirt of the Julio-Claudian line to class, which was quite amusing in a very dignified and straight-laced academic who really radiated gravitas. I only saw him break that a couple of times. Once when showing us Roman coins and explaining how to spot a silver modern coin, a student checked his change and thought he had a silver quarter. The professor fairly bounded over to see. Right then I knew I was looking at a lifetime coin collector. The other time, he was explaining the effect of decimatio on discipline, and he said: "What this means is that in the Roman Army, you're going to keep an eye on your buddy. If your buddy screws up, you're going to kick his ass."
A quick reference pair that every eager historian should want is the Anchor Atlas of World History, Vol. 1 and 2. Vol. 1 is pretty difficult to find, but people should hunt until they get both. I know of no other reference that packs so much information, so well presented, into the size equivalent of a single modern thick paperback book. Maps, flowcharts, timelines...hell yes.
I need some suggestions for a book(s) dealing with the Merovingians,from their beginnings... And Europe/France for the years 500-1000. "Before France and Germany" by Patrick Geary is suppose to be good...has anyone read it??Thanks
Harry Turtledove, he writes good books about what would have happened if there was a major change in history, such as the south winning the civil war, he wrote a lot of books about how that affected the world.
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Tried By War: Abraham Lincoln As Commanedr in Chief
