The Bookshelf

Tony Silber's "Twelve Days" is a deeply researched, propulsive narrative of Washington, D.C., in April 1861.

In "The Governor's Pawns," Randall Gooden opens a new perspective on the formation and early years of war-torn West Virginia.

Jonathan W. White offers an enthralling and deeply researched account of the astonishing career of Appleton Oaksmith, a Civil War era sea captain, slaver, and politician.

Fitzhugh Brundage's "A New History of the American South" delivers a sweeping synthesis and historiographical review of southern history.

How did a state born of Unionist loyalties come to revere one of Lee's lieutenants?

"July 22" is a carefully crafted battle narrative written by Earl Hess, one of the Civil War's most talented chroniclers.

In "Sand, Science, and the Civil War," Scott Hippensteel addresses the geological factors that shaped virtually every facet of the conflict.

William L. Shea's "Union General" is a sympathetic biography of an important U.S. general whose embrace of emancipation earned him enemies.

Charles Reagan Wilson pours a career's worth of research, observation, and expertise into "The Southern Way of Life."

Fredette's "Heartsick and Astonished" contains important insights into the home lives of ordinary individuals caught up in one of the nation's most extraordinary moments.