The American Civil War

Reviews / Votes

"There was no dominant voice of the Civil War epoch. As The American Civil War: A Literary and Historical Anthology reveals, Northerners and Southerners of all social classes and racial backgrounds refused to be silent about their experiences. Each group wrote about the trauma and triumphs of organized killing with great imagination, showing that there was no one "real war," but many "real wars." And undoubtedly Walt Whitman would be pleased to see all of these perspective collected in a single book, skillfully edited by Ian Frederick Finseth, whose cast of Civil War writers puts to rest the myth that war is incommunicable." - Peter S. Carmichael, Fluhrer Professor of History, Gettysburg College

"In this second edition, Ian Finseth builds on the strengths of his remarkable volume: the selections reflect the richly complex field of Civil War scholarship, while remaining highly accessible to new students, and offering an important pedagogical tool for instructors. The volume captures a diversity of perspectives on the Civil War, and impresses on us the important role literature, across genres, played during the conflict. We not only understand the literature of the Civil War in reading the anthology; we come to realize that we cannot fully grasp the lived experience of the Civil War unless we study its literature. Well-organized and thoughtfully annotated, Finseth's volume reflects careful scholarship and pedagogical engagement at their best." - Colleen G. Boggs, Associate Professor of English, Dartmouth College

"Expertly compiled and deftly edited... A welcome and highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Civil War Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists." - The Midwest Book Review, June 2013

"This book does a superb job as a literary anthology about the American Civil War." - The Lone Star Book Review