Book Purchases: September to October 2006
It's been awhile since I catalogued my latest Civil War book
purchases, so I'll throw this out in several parts. The first is
from September and October of 2006. I've slowed down on the
number of books for several reasons, but I still managed to pick up
sixteen volumes over that two month period.
Louis J. Baltz. The
Battle of Cold Harbor (Virginia Civil War Battles & Leaders).
H.E. Howard (November 1994).
I already have the Cold Harbor campaign studies done by Ernest
Furgurson and Gordon Rhea, so this is a bit of overkill. With
that said, I have become increasingly interested in the campaigns of
1864, not only in the East, but everywhere. To be honest, I
haven't heard anything about Baltz' interpretation of Cold Harbor,
which is by all accounts a controversial battle.
Terry Lowry. The
Battle of Scary Creek: Military Operations in the Kanawha Valley,
April-July 1861. Quarrier Press; 2nd edition (April 1998).
By all accounts Terry Lowry produces solid, sought after battle studies
of some of the obscure battles which occurred in the (future) state of
West Virginia, including titles on Carnifex Ferry and Droop
Mountain. I found this particular volume on eBay, and it struck
me as something I would be very interested in after reading several
overviews
of the early campaigns in the state. The Kanawha Valley was the
southern invasion route into West Virginia from Ohio, and Jacob Cox
wound up facing several former Virginia governors turned general in
Floyd and Wise, though I am not familiar enough with the operations to
know if Wise plays a part or if he only arrived later (after July
1861).
Gary C. Walker. Hunter's
Fiery Raid Through Virginia Valleys. A & W Enterprise;
Revised edition (July 1989).
This was another eBay purchase, and Hunter's Raid is an event occurring
in that endlessly fascinating year of 1864. With the removal of
Breckinridge's Division from the Valley to reinforce Lee and the defeat
of the remaining Confederate forces at the Battle of Piedmont, David
Hunter's forces were free to move down the Shenandoah Valley virtually
unimpeded. They took advantage of this opportunity and started to
burn vital Confederate supplies and buildings. However, many
believed Hunter went too far with his incendiary efforts. Lee
needed to do something about this threat, so he detached most of
Early's veteran Second Corps from the Army of Northern Virginia in
mid-June, and they managed to drive Hunter into the mountains of West
Virginia after the Battle of Lynchburg.
Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi. Plenty
of Blame
to Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg.
Savas Beatie (September 1, 2006).
In the interest of full disclosure I know both of the authors, read
their Civil War blogs, and generally enjoy talking about the Civil War
with them. With that said, this particular book has been given
five stars at Amazon.com by every single reviewer. Amazon does
seem to be known as a company that deletes too many bad reviews (bad
for sales), but that seems to be far from the case with this particular
book. As the title suggests, Eric and J.D. take a look at Jeb
Stuart's third ride around the Army of the Potomac, this time during
the Gettysburg Campaign. The ride is considered controversial in
that Stuart lost contact with Lee during this time frame, essentially
depriving the Army of Northern Virginia of most of its cavalry screen
during the hazardous march north into Maryland and Pennsylvania.
After reading over the dust jacket blurbs and the index as well as
listening to J.D.'s
recent appearance on Civil War Talk Radio, it appears that the
authors give a detailed tactical account of the ride and then dedicate
three chapters at the end of the book to the controversy it generated.
Civil War Society. Civil
War Society's Encyclopedia of the American Civil War. Gramercy
(September 2, 1997).
I have one other Civil War Encyclopedia, but I figured it would be good
to have several of these reference works around as insurance. I
don't plan to read this one straight through, but rather to simply use
as a reference tool from time to time. Let me know if you have a
favorite Encyclopedia of the war, or if one is known to stand out above
all others.
Garland A. Haas. To
the Mountain of Fire & Beyond: The Fifty-Third Indiana Regiment
from Shiloh to Glory (Great Lakes Connections: The Civil War).
Guild Press of Indiana (February 1997).
My current MO is to pick up regimentals on eBay when and where I
can. If a book is going for less than typical value (as
calculated by several used book web sites I use), I'll bid on it every
time. I don't know much about the 53rd Indiana, but obviously I
hope to after reading the book. This regiment served in the West,
so this is not the typical regimentals I buy involving units which
served in the Petersburg Campaign.
Philip Katcher. The
Army of Northern Virginia (Men at Arms Series, 37). Osprey
Publishing (April 30, 1975).
I use the various Osprey books as introductions to various
topics. I have found that the series tends to be less than
detailed in many areas and really shouldn't be viewed as more than a
primer. To do otherwise would be a mistake.
G. Howard Gregory. 53rd
Virginia Infantry and 5th Battalion Virginia Infantry (Virginia Regimental Histories
Series). H.E. Howard; 1st ed edition (1999).
This series of books is growing increasingly rare and expensive, so
when I see one going for less than face value you can be sure I'll be
buying it. A lot of 34 of these books recently went for almost
$700 on eBay. The seller should have sold these individually, as
he/she would have gotten well over $1000 for them. I guess the
extra work wasn't worth it.
J. Britt McCarley. The
Atlanta Campaign: A Civil War Driving Tour of Atlanta-Area Battlefields.
Cherokee Publishing Company (GA); 1st ed edition (April 1989).
I enjoy taking a look at driving tours of Civil War battlefields, and of course
I use them when I visit said places. This one is doubly attractive due
to the dearth of good titles focusing on the Atlanta Campaign. I saw this
one going for cheap and picked it up. I knew of the title before it showed
up on eBay, so this was a no-brainer.
Peter Cozzens. The
Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga. University of
Illinois Press (September 1, 1994).
This was a case of upgrading a paperback book with the hardcover version.
Those of you who have gone through my
Civil War Book Collection online probably know I am a big fan of Cozzens'
work. He has done quite a bit to further the knowledge of some of the
largest battles fought in the West, including Iuka and Corinth, Stones River,
Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. I highly recommend this book and the others
written by this author.
John T. Hubbell (Editor). Battles
Lost and Won: Essays from Civil War History (Contributions in American History).
Greenwood Press (January 20, 1976).
I'm afraid this book was a bit of a shot in the dark on my part. I saw
it going for very little on eBay and took a chance. It is a collection
of essays from various authors on a wide topic of Civil War subjects.
The one person who rated it at Amazon.com seemed to like it. Is anyone
else familiar with this title and its merits (or lack thereof)?.
Allen Salisbury. The
Civil War and the American System: America's Battle With Britain, 1860-1876
(University Editions). New Benjamin Franklin House (June 1978).
This is also a complete shot in the dark, so see above. A common complaint
is that the Civil War is studied by Americans in a largely America-centric manner
at the expense of what was happening in the rest of the world. I was interested
in the subject matter here, and the price was obscenely low, again on eBay (noticing
a pattern here?). If you've read it, let me know what you think.
Jamie Gillum. The Battle of Spring Hill ... Twenty-five Hours to
Tragedy. Self-Published (2004).
I was contacted by Jamie while writing a multi-part blog entry on Eric Jacobson's
book for Cause and for Country. Jamie and Eric had talked quite a bit
about the Battle of Spring Hill. He pointed out to me then that he had
also written a book on the subject. In 286 pages, it covers Spring Hill
and the actions at on the Duck River and at Thompson's Station on November 29,
1864. It appears that the best place to order the book is directly from The
Carter House. The Carter House Museum Shop's phone number is 615-791-1861.
It is not listed on the Museum Shop web page, but the book is available if you
call and inquire. All of the books are signed by Mr. Gillum as well.
I hope to do a blog entry covering it as an addendum to Eric Jacobson's look
at the battle, an incredible lost opportunity for Hood and his Army of Tennessee.
Robert F. Morrow, Jr. 77th
New York Volunteers: "Sojering" in the VI Corps. White Mane Publishing
Company (May 2004).
Here is another in the growing line of Petersburg-related regimentals I've been
accumulating since this summer. The book has the dreaded "White Mane"
reputation of poor fact checking and editing, not to mention stealing of maps
in several cases. Despite this, I'm hoping the book is one of the better
White Mane titles.
Stephen W. Sears. Landscape
Turned Red: The Battle Of Antietam. Ticknor & Fields (1983).
This is another upgrade of a paperback. In this case, that paperback holds
special significance to me. It was the first campaign or battle study
I purchased with my own money. I picked it up some time in the late 80's
or very early 90's. That puts me in 5th or 6th grade. I even remember
that I purchased the book at the Waldenbooks Bookstore in St. Clair Square,
the mall located in Fairview Heights, Illinois. Enough of the reminiscing.
The point is that I finally have a hardback version of the book, and I'm quite
pleased at the price I got it for. As long as you read Sears knowing he
is not fond of McClellan, you can find some good information in here.
Eric J. Wittenberg. Little
Phil: A Reassessment of the Civil War Leadership of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan.
Potomac Books (January 1, 2003).
What can I say? Eric W. writes books on subjects I'm very interested in.
He likes detailed tactical studies. I like detailed tactical studies.
He likes many, many maps. I like many, many maps. He loves
the cavalry, I...okay I won't go that far! I've grown more interested
in cavalry actions as I've gotten more and more into the 1864 campaigns.
Watching Civil War cavalry evolve into what were essentially mounted infantry
by the end of the war is a fascinating thing. As Eric has said on more
than one occasion, this is NOT a biography of Sheridan. Instead, Eric
(a lawyer by profession) chose to treat this subject as if he were arguing a
case. Here is an excerpt from one of Eric's
early blog entries:
There has been one very notable exception to this rule. My book Little Phil makes no attempt at objectivity. From the very beginning of the book, I tell the reader that I am serving as an advocate, that the book has been written as a lawyer’s brief. I lay out my case—as if I was trying it to a jury—with no pretense of objectivity. I’ve been criticized for that, but I think that it was important to be honest and up front about the approach. That approach was admittedly taken from the work of Alan Nolan, and I have always freely acknowledged that his book Lee Considered was very much the model for my Sheridan book. It bears noting, though, that the Sheridan book was probably a once in a lifetime thing—while I try never to say never again for the most part, I can’t envision myself undertaking such a project again. My subsequent work has gone back to an objective telling of the story, punctuated by my take on events, and that’s how I expect to proceed as time passes.I guess you could say that Eric is to Little Phil as Stephen Sears is to Little Mac. ;-)
Comments
Like you, I've heard about Amazon removing negative reviews, but I've never had any of mine removed. It must be a response to pressure from certain publishers who choose to do it. Whatever it is it certainly doesn't make Amazon look good.
Posted by: Drew W. | December 6, 2006 11:50 AM