![]() On numerous occasions I committed myself to reading it only to be distracted by another book or even a shorter McPherson essay that summarized aspects of the larger study. ![]() ![]() I don’t mind admitting that I never really got around to reading it in its entirety until I took a graduate school class in historiography in 2004. At the time I was just beginning to explore the period and everyone recommended that I start with McPherson. At just under 900 pages it is quite demanding. While it is likely the single most popular Civil War book published in the past two decades I sometimes wonder how many people, who own it or who throw out the name in polite conversation, have actually read it in its entirety. As we all know it was a bestseller when it was first published in 1988 and remains the go to book for those looking for a reliable survey of the Civil War Era. ![]() This past week The Daily Beast did an interview with James McPherson to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |