The Bookshelf

The digital home of book reviews and author interviews—and your source of the most up-to-date information on all things Civil War literature

Published 1/18/2023

LOWENSTEIN: Ways and Means (2022)

By: Gordon Berg Category: Book Reviews

Roger Lowenstein's "Ways and Means" flows with a confident grace, guiding readers through myriad financial schemes, government policies, and political intrigue.

Published 1/11/2023

MORGAN III: Six Miles from Charleston, Five Minutes to Hell (2022)

By: A.J. Blaylock Category: Book Reviews

"Six Miles from Charleston, Five Minutes to Hell" argues that Secessionville was a key battle, outweighing in scope what it lacked in scale.

Published 1/4/2023

FULLER & KNIGHT (eds.): Contemners and Serpents (2022)

By: George C. Rable Category: Book Reviews

"Contemners and Serpents" presents the correspondence of a family who ended up in Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina during and after the Civil War.

Published 12/28/2022

MINGUS, SR., & WITTENBERG: “If We are Striking for Pennsylvania” (2022)

By: Codie Eash Category: Book Reviews

Mingus and Wittenberg present a comprehensive retelling of the critical period that preceded the conflict’s bloodiest encounter.

Published 12/21/2022

COBB: C. Vann Woodward (2022)

By: Aaron David Hyams Category: Book Reviews

James C. Cobb's biography "C. Vann Woodward" provides unique insight into the power and production of history.

Published 12/14/2022

REDD: Hidden History of Civil War Florida (2022)

By: Angela Zombek Category: Book Reviews

Robert Redd's "Hidden History of Civil War Florida" highlights the depth fo the state's Civil War history.

Published 12/7/2022

PASLEY & HAMMOND (eds.): A Fire Bell in the Past (2021)

By: Josh Waddell Category: Book Reviews

Jeffrey L. Pasley's "A Fire Bell in the Past" succeeds in presenting a novel look into the Missouri crisis.

Published 11/30/2022

TURLEY: The Gospel of Freedom (2022)

By: Caleb W. Southern Category: Book Reviews

Alicestyne Turley's "The Gospel of Freedom" is a recommended and valuable contribution to our understanding of the Underground Railroad, Black Evangelicalism, and abolition.

Published 11/23/2022

GREEN, JR.: The Nashville and Decatur Railroad in the Civil War (2022)

By: Scott Mingus, Sr. Category: Book Reviews

Walter R. Green Jr.'s "The Nashville and Decatur Railroad in the Civil War" is among the best of recent publications on individual railroads in the conflict.

Published 11/16/2022

BROWNING & SILVER: An Environmental History of the Civil War (2020)

By: Brett Bagur Category: Book Reviews

"An Environmental History of the Civil War" makes an important contribution to Civil War historiography.