Book Reviews
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: 4/2/25
New York City in the Civil War (2025)
"New York City in the Civil War" covers a wide range of topics in a short space.
Published: 3/26/25
The Atlanta Campaign, 1864 (2024)
"The Atlanta Campaign, 1864" should entice readers to turn to author David A. Powell's ever-growing list of venerated masterworks.
Published: 3/18/25
A Grand Opening Squandered (2025)
"A Grand Opening Squandered" succeeds in explaining why the battles of June 15-18, 1864 deserve to be remembered.
Published: 3/12/25
Hundreds of Little Wars (2025)
"Hundreds of Little Wars" is a fitting tribute to the splendid career of historian Daniel E. Sutherland
Published: 3/5/25
Somewhere Toward Freedom (2025)
Bennett Parten finds new significance in one of the U.S. Civil War’s most storied episodes.
Published: 2/26/25
Authoritarianism in the American South (2024)
Dipboye's "Authoritarianism in the American South" is a freshly unique meditation on why the Civil War was fought.
Published: 2/19/25
William “Baldy” Smith (2022)
Union general William Smith's worst enemy was not the Confederates. It was himself.
Published: 2/12/25
Sons of East Tennessee (2022)
Jack Brubaker’s "Sons of East Tennessee" contributes to the growing literature on veterans and the problem of Civil War memory.
Published: 2/5/25
A Great and Good Man (2024)
"A Great and Good Man" is a valuable new addition to the growing scholarship on Abraham Lincoln.
Published: 1/29/25
The Beechers (2024)
Anyone interested in religion, politics, culture, and society in the nineteenth century U.S. should read "The Beechers."
Published: 1/22/25
Nat Turner, Black Prophet (2024)
"Nat Turner, Black Prophet" is only the latest in a line of recent and excellent scholarship on the Southampton revolt.
Published: 1/15/25
The Mexican-American War Experiences of Twelve Civil War Generals (2024)
Readers of Timothy Johnson's volume will appreciate the chance to learn more about the early lives and careers of a dozen Civil War generals.
Published: 1/8/25
Holding the Political Center in Illinois (2024)
"Holding the Political Center in Illinois" is fascinating account of Prairie State politics in the 1850s.
Published: 1/1/25
American Civil Wars (2024)
Alan Taylor's "American Civil Wars" offers a lucid, engaging, and spritely account of the period.
Published: 12/25/24
Freedom Was in Sight! (2024)
"Freedom Was in Sight!" represents a synthesis of popular art and solid historical scholarship.
Published: 12/18/24
The Carceral City (2024)
John Bardes' "The Carceral City" is an important and careful history of slavery, freedom, and incarceration in the United States.
Published: 12/11/24
Between Extremes (2024)
Jack Furniss's welcome book shows how loyal state governments defined the purposes of the Civil War when calling upon their citizens to sacrifice for the Union cause.
Published: 12/4/24
Reckoning with the Devil (2024)
"Reckoning with the Devil" distinguishes itself as the most informative and comprehensive account of Nathan Bedford Forrest’s life and legacy to date.