Books in CIVIL WAR series

The New York Times bestselling prequel to the Pulitzer Prize–winning classic The Killer Angels In this brilliantly written epic novel, Jeff Shaara traces the lives, passions, and careers of the great military leaders from the first gathering clouds of the Civil War. Here is Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, a hopelessly by-the-book military instructor and devout Christian who becomes the greatest commander of the Civil War; Winfield Scott Hancock, a captain of quartermasters who quickly establishes himself as one of the finest leaders of the Union army; Joshua Chamberlain, who gives up his promising academic career and goes on to become one of the most heroic soldiers in American history; and Robert E. Lee, never believing until too late that a civil war would ever truly come to pass. Profound in its insights into the minds and hearts of those who fought in the war, Gods and Generals creates a vivid portrait of the soldiers, the battlefields, and the tumultuous times that forever shaped the nation.

"Army Life in a Black Regiment has some claim to be the best written narrative to come from the Union [side] during the Civil War. Higginson's picture of the battle which was the origin of "praise the Lord and pass the ammunition" and his reading of the Emancipation Proclamation to the black regiment are unsurpassed for eloquence." — historian Henry Steele CommagerOriginally a series of essays, this important volume was written by a Union colonel from New England, in charge of African-American troops training on the Sea Islands off the coast of the Carolinas. A lively and detailed wartime diary, the book offers a refreshing portrait of life in the Union Army from an officer's point of view, recording opinions of other commanders and capturing the raw humor that develops among the men in combat. Higginson's descriptions of the soldiers, routines of camp life, and southern landscapes are unforgettable, as is the account of his near escape from a cannon ball. An unusual historical document intended to introduce new generations of readers to an American past that should not be forgotten, Army Life in a Black Regiment will be invaluable to students of Black History and the American Civil War.

As preserver of the Union and emancipator of the slaves, Lincoln occupies a unique niche in the pantheon of American leaders. People from around the world admire his eloquence as a spokesman for democracy and fighter for the oppressed. In this landmark biography, published fifty years after Lincoln's death, an English author recounted for his countrymen the remarkable story of Lincoln's life. Lord Charnwood's comprehensive biography, among the first major books about the sixteenth president, presents a sensitive and literate portrait, tracing Lincoln's rise from humble origins to the highest office in the land and recapturing the profound humanity of his character. From the grinding poverty of his boyhood in the backwoods of Kentucky and Indiana and his early struggles as a prairie lawyer, the author charts Lincoln's elevation to the Illinois legislature, Congress, and the presidency, culminating in his role as commander in chief during the bloodiest struggles in American history. Beautifully written, this unabridged edition also offers profound historical insights into the factors contributing to the Civil War, including economic and political conditions, territorial expansion, foreign and domestic policies, and slavery. This splendid profile of an epic figure whose relevance endures and grows with the passage of time is essential reading for admirers of Lincoln, students and scholars of American history, and anyone who appreciates a well-written, engrossing biography.

WHAT Was the Civil War All About, Anyway? The first-shots, nation-divided, winners, losers, blood, guts, glory, and not so glorious story of America's only Civil War! This book on basically "What Was the Civil War All About, Anyway?" takes a unique approach of exploring "what" in bite-size, digestible, entertaining pieces. Instead of the rote, pat answers usually given in books for children, this book actually offers a more practical, thorough, intense look at how Americans got into this mess, and lets students-GASP!-draw their own conclusion. The author, Carole Marsh, believes that kids have strong opinions about war, and are entitled to their own Monday morning quarterbacking as to what was good, bad, right, wrong, etc. regarding this war of brother against brother. This book includes a combination of funky, radical, text-based, non-fiction graphic novels awash in drama and commentary with speedy but thorough stories, all in first person, and often the words of an actual participant. This book is FUN TO READ. Civil War, fun-it can be done! Absolutely no "content warning" on these books, except BEWARE: You may not be able to put it down, kid! Click to view four sample pages. Click to view a book review.Lexile Measure: 800On Monday, February 7, 2011, award-winning author and Gallopade CEO Carole Marsh spoke with Public Radio WABE's Steve Goss. They discussed this new 6-book series that is aimed at motivating elementary and middle school students to learn about the Civil War. to listen to the full interview.

From the first fateful firing on Fort Sumter to the final quiet resolution at Appomattox Court House, the American Civil War was one of the bloodiest, most divisive conflicts any nation has ever endured. It decimated the young men of a generation, both North and South, tore families apart, destroyed cities, towns, and farms, and led America to profoundly question its own identity.Now this vast and destructive conflict can be studied and relived from a Northern vantage point through the authentic documents in this moving anthology. Compiled by noted Civil War historian Richard B. Harwell, the volume presents a wealth of materials whose writers were eyewitnesses, and often, participants in the war.Included here are selections from battle orders, soldiers' letters home, prison narratives, regimental histories, and addresses and orders by McClellan, Meade, and other generals; accounts of the activities of black soldiers; songs and humorous sketches; letters of Lincoln on national policy; magazine articles; hospital sketches of Louisa May Alcott, and much more.Together with Mr. Harwell's classic The Confederate Reader, this volume, enhanced with 12 historic illustrations, comprises perhaps the most authentic report on the War Between the States. It belongs in the library of every Civil War buff and student of American history.

Civil War Trivia includes facts, tall tales, fascinating folklore, stories, songs, journals and more! This book provides an accurate, fast-paced, fascinating (even flabbergasting!) look at how facts can tell a story of not just war, but human nature, invention, coincidence, the farfetched, the big, the small, the impossible, the "who'd a thunk it?!" Yet another creative Gallopade way to tell the story that needs to be told, but with a constant flow of clever "hooks" and "gotchas" that keep kids reading and caring. This book will help students gain perspective, appreciation, and the understanding of how wars happen and how they might be avoided. This timely book will help to educate kids about the civil war plus get them excited so that they read them and learn! Perfect for the upcoming 150th Anniversary of the Civil War from 2011 to 2015. Click to view four sample pages. Click to view a book review.Lexile Measure: 1100On Monday, February 7, 2011, award-winning author and Gallopade CEO Carole Marsh spoke with Public Radio WABE's Steve Goss. They discussed this new 6-book series that is aimed at motivating elementary and middle school students to learn about the Civil War. to listen to the full interview.

WHO Were The Key Players In The Civil War? The president, generals, soldiers, spies, mothers, wives, children, doctors, nurses, brothers-facing brothers, and more! This book on "who" were the participants in the Civil War gives students a virtual chronological flood of not only the usual suspects of generals, presidents, and soldiers, but also the children, animals, mothers, spies, nurses, slaves, and others who were caught up in the events leading to war, during the war, and in its aftermath. Using either the actual dramatic words of participants, as well as invented dialogue, this fast-paced, free-flowing non-fiction graphic novel brings the war to vivid life for young readers. This book includes a combination of funky, radical, text-based non-fiction graphic novels awash in drama and commentary with speedy but thorough stories, all in first person, and often the words of an actual participant. This book is FUN TO READ. Civil War, fun-it can be done! Absolutely no "content warning" on these books, except BEWARE: You may not be able to put it down, kid! Click to view four sample pages. Click to view a book review.Lexile Measure: 750On Monday, February 7, 2011, award-winning author and Gallopade CEO Carole Marsh spoke with Public Radio WABE's Steve Goss. They discussed this new 6-book series that is aimed at motivating elementary and middle school students to learn about the Civil War. to listen to the full interview.

As many as 20,000 women worked in Union and Confederate hospitals during America's bloodiest war. Black and white, and from various social classes, these women served as nurses, administrators, matrons, seamstresses, cooks, laundresses, and custodial workers. Jane E. Schultz provides the first full history of these female relief workers, showing how the domestic and military arenas merged in Civil War America, blurring the line between homefront and battlefront.Schultz uses government records, private manuscripts, and published sources by and about women hospital workers, some of whom are familiar--such as Dorothea Dix, Clara Barton, Louisa May Alcott, and Sojourner Truth--but most of whom are not well-known. Examining the lives and legacies of these women, Schultz considers who they were, how they became involved in wartime hospital work, how they adjusted to it, and how they challenged it. She demonstrates that class, race, and gender roles linked female workers with soldiers, both black and white, but became sites of conflict between the women and doctors and even among themselves.Schultz also explores the women's postwar lives--their professional and domestic choices, their pursuit of pensions, and their memorials to the war in published narratives. Surprisingly few parlayed their war experience into postwar medical work, and their extremely varied postwar experiences, Schultz argues, defy any simple narrative of pre-professionalism, triumphalism, or conciliation.