Book Description
Here is the definitive reference to the battles of the Civil War, written by America's leading military historians and edited by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War expert James M. McPherson. This authoritative volume includes gripping eyewitness accounts plus 200 specially commissioned, full-color maps that detail all of the major campaigns and many of the smaller skirmishes of the war between the states. Maps provide a superb visual reference to troop movement, battlefield terrain, and communication lines. Dynamic reconstructions depict battles fought on land, river, and ocean, and time-line descriptions provide play-by-play commentary of the action. With more than 200 photographs and many personal accounts that vividly recount the experiences of soldiers in the fields, this book brings to life the human drama that pitted the north against the south.
Customer Reviews:
Badly done.......2007-02-06
This atlas is just awful. Previous reviews have inidacted how badly the maps are displayed and how they are frequently placed across the binding-- obscuring the center within the fold of the spine. Additionally the maps frequently drop comments in the middle of sentences and fail to display items for which labels are present. (Examples include the maps of Gettysburg. Here "Emmitsburg Road" -the label, floats south of the Peach Orchard, while the road itself apparently ends in front of the intersection of Taneytown Road. Another map of Gettysburg is captioned to read "18 7pm Hancock leaves for Taneytown to summon " (sic) To summon Meade to be sure, but his name is carelessly omitted.
Worst of all the commentary on Steele's campaign in spring of 1864 includes "Due to intense racial animosity, the Confederates killed a large number of African American soldiers as they attempted to surrender." An unknowing reader might think that this comment referenced white v black hatred, yet Foote tells us in the Civil War vol. 3 that these soldiers of 1st Kansas (Colored) Inf were murdered by a Choctaw regiment in service to the Confederates possibly in retaliation for atrocities by Kansas troops (white and black) against the Choctaw settlements in the west where this regiment was raised. Given the low quality of the work itself this is probably a careless error by editors rather than a political ploy. Scant mention is made of Native Americans' service to the Confederate states or to the Union states throughout the book.
Buyer review.......2005-08-15
Great book and a good companion to the " Battle Cry of Freedom " by James McPherson to give a better understanding of this time period and the events that took place and why.
provides good general access - maps have horrible layout.......1999-03-28
I found the layout of a lot of the maps quite annoying because they are placed across the spine of the book, making them hard, if not impossible, to read. Reconstructing the various situations and commanders' decisions described in the text is often impossible because all the information is crammed into a single map. It is a pity the maps are not as accessible as they are colorful because otherwise the combination of easy-to-read texts, tons of pictures and colorful maps make the atlas a good addition to any civil war literature.
This is a very detailed explicit atlas........1999-01-11
With this book you will be able to find information and a very colorful map of almost anyy battle in the Civil War. This is must for teenagers doing a term paper on a specific battle, since I am one myself.
it rates a 10 on appearance but a 7 for accuracy.......1998-12-06
I bought this book as a companion to reading several of Bruce Catton's histories of the war. Since Catton doesnt go through the war sequentially, and since the atlas doesnt entirely, either, it was tough initially but was helpful once i got the hang of it. But then i realized the material was not entirely accurate, more a result of poor editing than bad information. Several inset maps are shown with incorrect north arrows that lead to disorientation. At other places there are parenthetical references to an inset being "below left" when it is actually "above right." These types of errors undermine the usefulness of a reference book significantly. I considered a large number of atlases -- some specific to the war as well as others -- and this seemed to be the best. perhaps there is a potential market for a civil war era regular atlas so someone reading a history book can follow things better, without the step by step military strategy this atlas has.
Book Description
Offering the clearest and most comprehensive examination of the conflict that transformed the United States, the Atlas of the Civil War reveals the full dimensions of this historic confrontation. Surpassing the scope of any previously published single-volume work, this atlas pairs expert scholarship with bold mapping to vividly depict the ebb and flow of destruction and reconstruction. Divided chronologically into five sections, the Atlas of the Civil War illustrates every significant battle and military campaign while simultaneously considering the important social themes that shaped the country during the same time period. All theaters of war in which armies fought and maneuvered will be covered in detail and, marking a major departure from other atlases, this volume will devote substantial attention to the nonmilitary elements of the struggle between North and South. Maps of population, economic development, elections, transportation networks and patterns of enlistment illuminate the intersections between the home front and the battlefield, demonstrating with specially commissioned cartography that no war is fought in isolation from the rest of society. Approximately forty three-dimensional maps of terrain and troop movements add yet another unique element to this ambitious reference. Written by two esteemed Civil War historians, Kenneth Winkle and Steven Woodworth, the pithy text is accented with black and white photography and illustrations that bring key characters and settings to life. Pulitzer-prize winning author James McPherson, guides the project, setting the tone of the atlas with a foreword and five shorter essays the open each of the sections.
Customer Reviews:
Useful resource.......2007-05-27
As other reviewers have noted, there are some annoying errors in the text. However, it provides an accessible introduction to Civil War battles and maneuvers, and--as such--has some value. That said, the maps and text do not always elucidate matters so well.
For instance, the battle of Logan's Crossroads (or Mill Springs). This was nasty early battle, in which Confederate generalship was inept and Union General George Thomas began to separate himself from Union mediocrities among general officers. The map on page 98 details the larger theater, but is not illuminating, given the lack of text. The map of the battle of Logan's Crossroads itself is useful, because the text accompanying it provides enough detail to make sense of things.
On occasion, some errors creep in. The discussion of Chancellorsville speaks of Howard's 6th Corps being outflanked and "rolled up." It was, of course, the 11th Corps that was so roughly handled, with Sedgwick's 6th Corps still at Fredericksburg.
At the same time, the volume does provide context. The first section focuses on "The Coming of War," and provides intelligible background, from issues of slavery to economics to demographics. All these trends began to create tensions between north and south. Graphics helpfully portray some of these sectional differences. On pages 56-57, we see how manufacturing differed dramatically by region (in terms of number of employees in manufacturing concerns) over decades.
Each section thereafter looks at a particular year during the conflict, exploring the combat, the campaigning, the state of each government and its people, economic productivity, and so on.
The volume concludes with the aftereffects of war, including presidential elections, Reconstruction, and so on.
The book is pretty well written. Steven Woodworth is a well known and reputable Civil War historian. Kenneth Winkle, the co-author, is also a well known historian. The format is such that only a handful of pages are devoted to a particular campaign or battle, and that means that detailed treatments of major engagements does not occur. Still, as a wide-ranging, graphically rich publication, this has a useful place in the library for those who want to get a broad introduction to the Civil War.
Disappointing.......2005-12-10
At first I was impressed by the maps and graphics in this book. As I began to study the battles I am particularly interested in I was suprised to find several gross errors. For example,the section on General Steele's Camden Expedition, has the map showing Thayer's Frontier Division meeting up with Steele at Elkin's Ferry via Murfreesboro, AR. The Map did not get even close to the correct route. Thayer came down via Hot Springs and Rockport and then followed Steele's army south until he caught up with Steele near Elkins Ferry. But I am amazed that the the map shows the Battle of Poison Springs on April 18, 1864 at Princeton which is 30+ miles northeast of Camden. Poison Springs is about 10+ miles West of Camden. I have to wonder who the heck researched this information and how could they be so far off????!!! It brings the creditability of this book into serious question!!!
Digging in Depth.......2005-08-09
This book is super in so many ways - but the best is its use of
maps and other statistical displays of wealth, development, strengths and capabilities. Had this information been available to Jeff Davis and Bobby Lee - both may have deferred the southern break-away.
A slipshod production.......2005-08-09
Yes, this book contains the good things mentioned in the editorial and other reviews: broader coverage than just the campaigns, excellent introductions by James MacPherson, and many maps. However, in just a few hours perusing the book, I have found a multitude of errors and anomalies which suggest to me a lack of care in putting the book together, something I would not expect from a book bearing the Oxford imprint. Some of these are:
--on p94 the battle of Antietam is said to have occurred in 1863. Sure, misprints happens, but shouldn't one of this import be caught?
--similarly, the first sentence on p182 refers to July 1, in a context that appears to indicate that this date refers to the upcoming action, which happens to be the second day of Gettysburg, July 2!
--on p206, the article correctly speaks of an action between the ships Alabama and Kearsarge off Cherbourg, France, whereas the accompanying map shows Atlanta and Kearsarge at that location.
--In a worse example of map error, the overview map of the Vicksburg campaign on p165 shows the Yazoo and the Big Black as essentially the same river: rather than separately flowing into the Mississippi north of Vicksburg, the Yazoo is shown joining up with the Big Black and flowing with it into the Mississippi well south of Vicksburg.
--near the bottom of p302, in an example of poor editing, the phrase "sometimes wading for hours at a time" occurs redundently in two close together sentences.
--in a worse example of poor editing, Grant's actions at the end of 1862 (1st Vicksburg) are placed out of chronological order prior to his actions at the beginning of 1862 (Fort Donelson and Shiloh), so that the 1862 campaign in the west is hard to follow.
--near the bottom of p286, the text refers (in words) to "eighteen thousand percent" Confederate inflation, whereas the figure shown at the bottom of p202 says "1800 percent". I certainly hope that the writers of this book don't think these two numbers are the same.
--in what may just be a Britishism, the glossary states that soldiers found it difficult "bighting" into hardtack.
Some of these errors I noticed by merely glancing at a page; others I discovered with a closer reading. However, given that I have at most perused a few dozen pages of the book, this seems to me to be an inordinate mumber of errors, indicative of sloppy editing and perhaps a rush job to meet a deadline. You may not mind these errors, but I do, and I give you fair warning.
A fine work!.......2005-04-21
This is a very good Civil War reference Book for those wishing an acquaintenance with the broad scope of the war. James McPherson's deft style and teaching skills prepares the reader for a wonderful educational experience.
And that's what The Atlas of the Civil War is: a wonderful educational experience packaged in a large 12 x 15 inch binding. It is an educational work designed for easy reading and comprehension that can be enjoyed by the casual reader.Laying the groundwork for the coming of the war, the Atlas compartmentalizes, in two page segments , the reasons for the war going back to territorial expansion and up through the Compromise of 1850 and the spread of slavery.
Its focus on the war compartmentalizes the major campaigns as well, some occupying more than the aforementioned two pages. Various facets of the opposing forces such as organization and recruiting are examined as well and the book is generously illustrated with maps, sketches and wartime photographs.
The Atlas of the Civil War is an excellent book for one wishing an overall familiarity with the war.
Book Description
From Fort Sumter to Appomattox, this military history explains the principal campaigns of the Civil War and all the major battles in lively text. A clear, concise and authoritative volume ideal for battlefield tours or classroom studies.
Customer Reviews:
review.......2007-05-07
Great book for a thumbnail look at the war. There is a counterpart for the Revolutionary War as well. Everyone should have these two volumes on their shelves. Many references are made to more detailed sources.. I think I've bought three or four of each. I give them away to friends. WBB
An informative text enhanced 24 three-color maps and 30 black/white historical photographs.......2006-08-09
The collaborative work of author, educator, and Civil War authority Craig Symonds and expert cartographer William Clipson, this seventh printing of Gettysburg: A Battlefield Atlas features an informative text enhanced 24 three-color maps and 30 black/white historical photographs. Compact, comprehensive, "user friendly", and providing a narrative history along with a complete cartographic display of the famed American Civil War battle of Gettysburg, this 103-pages (plus an additional page offering author biographical synopses) battlefield atlas is a superb supplement for students of the battle rendering the events of the engagement both vividly depicted and comprehensibly understandable. Another very high recommended atlas for personal, academic, and community library American Civil War History reference collections from the team of Symonds and Clipson is A Battlefield Atlas Of The Civil War, Third Edition, (1877853259, $26.95, 128 pages, 51 two-color maps, 32 photos).
A companion for other Civil War books.......2005-09-17
I am the type of person who needs to see a battle laid out in a map. This is the book to get to help follow Civil War battles. Covers the major battles, most battles get two pages of coverage, the left page has the map, the right page has the narrative. (I say most battles, some battles, for example, Gettysburg get six pages, two per day of the battle). Nothing fancy with the maps but clearly laid out, the narrative uses numbers to reference the map.
Excellent.......2003-06-13
I love this book. It is great to have beside you whenever you are reading any other book about Civil War battles. Although some other map books have more elaborate maps, this small volume is so handy to use that I find that it is the one I always consult first.
A Simple, Straightforward Guide.......2003-02-11
If you want to know the basics of the Civil War and its battles, this is the book for you. Symonds has distilled the information that is elaborated in larger tomes down to an easy to read and reference guide of every major land battle of the war.
There is a two-page fold for each battle (with some exceptions that have more, like Gettysburg). On one page is a simple but informative map of the battle, while the opposite is an instructive narrative about the battle's events. The battles are also broken up into three sections that introduce the major campaigns and the important actors (politicians, Generals) that are vital to understanding the events of the war.
If you like the Civil War as a hobby, buy this book. If you are reading about the war in another book or novel and want an atlas of the battles mentioned, buy this book. If you are taking a Civil War course... including Symond's own at the Naval Academy... buy this book. It is an invaluable resource.
Book Description
THE ATLAS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY AND POLITICS consists of more than 150 originally produced maps which trace the African experience throughout the world and in America. The volume traces the complete history of African-Americans and their lives, employing artfully-conceived maps, and enhanced by sharply-written historic narratives, graphically reinforcing the facts. This work is appropriate for courses in African American history and American history where instructors would like to integrate African American history into their curricula.
Customer Reviews:
Great Too.......2007-03-14
The delivery came even before the due date and I think that was super-excellent. Keep it up.
Great Reference Guide.......2001-02-01
Excellent, informative reference guide. Clear and concise information. A must for your library!
At Last, a True African-American Atlas.......2001-01-27
This is the type of African-American history book I have been searching for! The Atlas of African-American History and Politics offers not only a detailed chronilogical narrative of the African-American's history from slavery to today, but also clean-crisp visuals to clarify. You will learn and see the actual routes that were taken during slave trades. Not only is this book great for African-American study courses, but every household in America should have a copy of this easy read, yet informative atlas.
At Last, a True African-American Atlas.......2001-01-27
This is the type of African-American history book I have been searching for! The Atlas of African-American History and Politics offers not only a detailed chronilogical narrative of the African-American's history from slavery to today, but also clean-crisp visuals to clarify. You will learn and see the actual routes that were taken during slave trades. Not only is this book great for African-American study courses, but every household in America should have a copy of this easy read, yet informative atlas.
Book Description
What routes did slaves have to choose from when they wanted to escape in search of freedom-or flee after an ill-fated rebellion against white plantation-owners? Where are the historical centers of Southern Judaism? How did the New Deal rebuild the modern south? The engrossing text and vivid maps in this new historical atlas provide a unique geographical perspective on the history of the South. Coverage includes: the first European settlers and resultant Native American migrations, the Civil War, Reconstruction, bus boycotts, the contemporary fight against poverty and crime, and much, much more. Also inlcludes 50 color maps.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful book.......2000-09-14
I loved the book! In a concise and engaging format, the author has shown how geography and history have shaped the South. The illustrations and maps are beautiful and it is gracefully written. A must for any American history or Civil War buff.
Very interesting, catchy to look at.......2000-07-26
Uses maps and illustrations to show how the South developed into its own, distinctive cultural region. Contains plenty of interesting anecdotes and historical tales -- and it is great to look at....
Product Description
3-Volume set includes Arm And Equipment Of The Union; Arms And Equipment Of The Confederacy; and Illustrated Atlas Of The Civil War.
Book Description
This is the first Civil War atlas to depict multiple aspects of the war's action, month by month, from April 1861 through May 1865. Fifty full-color maps--one for each month of the war--convey as never before a sense of the war's progression on all fronts--battles, sieges, infantry campaigns, naval operations, cavalry raids, and even shifts of national frontiers. One set of additional maps provides background into the political state of the nation as it headed into the war; another set covers the war as it was fought in the western reaches of the country. The text on facing pages supports each map with extra facts and figures, while the atlas's big 14 x 10 format allows for exceptional line clarity, color, and detail.
* Fifty maps show the events, including relatively small engagements, that took place in the successive months of the war.
* Thirteen additional maps focus on the Far West theater.
* Six maps, beginning with November 1860, detail the political situation in the months leading up to the war's outbreak. They show such information as free and slave states; secessionist sentiment; and the results of the 1860 census and the presidential election of the same year.
* Events of each month, including such details as dates, place-names, commanders, and statistics on troop strength and casualties, are summarized in the text facing each map.
* Confederate and Union positions, as well as towns that were occupied, raided, or burned, are clearly marked.
Customer Reviews:
Specialist Atlas.......2007-01-24
The University of Georgia Press Atlas of the Civil War, Month by Month, written by Mark Swanson is a fine book. It is quite unlike the other Civil War atlases out there, which it does not replace, in that it has no battle maps of Gettysburg, etc. with many units or hills marked on them. So if you want to see how the Second Battle of Bull Run or the clash at Mortons Ford unfolded this is not the atlas for you.
What it does do well, which the other atlases never try, is to give you the broad picture of how the entire war was being simultaneously played out across the southeastern third of the country in any given month from 1861 to 1865. Basically the same map of the Confederacy and the border regions appears on the right side with the relevant locations identified. A text on the left side describes the various actions and developments marked on the map on a state-by-state basis.
The text is relatively concise but clear and helpful. The author did not attempt to uncover new ground, but he followed the established line of major historians. For example, in his introduction describing the origins of the Civil War Swanson deftly summarizes the standard interpretation of all contemporary leading historians that slavery was the principal issue. This is not an all-purpose atlas but an atlas for the serious student of the Civil War. It deserves to be rated as five stars.
Civil War Maps You Can Really Use.......2006-09-05
Mark Swanson has given us a very useful overview of the Civil War, emphasis on useful. This book is brief, giving maps of each month of the war with descriptive text on the facing page. Thus teachers, professors, travelers, and anyone seeking quick information will profit. Even veteran Civil War buffs will find information they did not know about. As anyone familiar with the war knows, there are many huge volumes covering virtually every aspect of the war, so this book is welcome since there is nothing else like it. Certainly more detail could have been given such as on the causes of the war. Yet Swanson is right in discussing slavery as the major cause, leaving other issues to other books. I would note that without slavery there would have been no war; states do not secede and people do not go to war over things like tariffs. Thus, this is not the volume to look to for lengthy discussion. Its purpose is to help one get an informative overview of the war as it unfolded, and to help one do so quickly. It succeeds admirably.
Needs More Research.......2005-01-28
Although the maps and troops movements are adequate, unfortunately the author falls into the trap of putting out a sanitized (and grossly inaccurate) account of the War Between the States. His "Origins of the War" dealt more with propaganda than with any factual information. The book would have been far more interesting had he actually researched the events taking place prior to the war (ie: the tariff battles and sectional conflicts relating to how the federal budget money was being spent disproportionately), this book would have been a much better work. As it stands, he should have either not delved into the causes (and got it wrong, as he did), or he should have done more research in that area prior to actually writing the book. Disappointing.
No REAL history here.......2005-01-27
Mark Swanson states that he is a historian, which is an insult to all the individuals that actually delve into history in its entirety without slanting facts to their prejudices. Swanson's "Introduction - Origins of the Civil War" is an account of slavery in the United States and not one iota more! An uninformed person would believe that slavery was the only cause of the WBTS. Save your money and buy one of the many other books that will provide this information without a Marxist point of view.
Good maps, bad research.......2005-01-25
This book has a good collection of maps and does a fair job of tracking troop movements but has a definite biased slant and innaccurately stresses slavery as the major cause of the war, even though this didn't become a real issue until 1862, when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation (which is a masterpiece of doublespeak that actually freed NO ONE AT ALL, since Lincoln had no authority over the Confederacy, and specifically excluded northern states). There is an emphasis on negative Southern acts, such as Longstreet's foraging mission in North Carolina, while northern atrocities are glossed over. An impressive piece of historical bias and revisionist history, and only the maps are of interest. Most of those are available for free from the National Archives, just to name one source, or other better-written works, so don't waste your money.
Book Description
This compact, yet comprehensive volume provides both narrative history and a cartographic display of the Battle of Gettysburg that makes the enets of the engagement both vivd and easy to understand.
Customer Reviews:
Use while reading The Killer Angels.......2003-12-16
The American Civil War has a very steep learning curve. There are so many names and so many details. When I read the Killer Angels, I found I had a little bit of trouble following who was who. Afterwards, when I visited the battlefield I realized I had imagined the battlefield a bit incorrectly.
That was a little more than ten years ago. Now I read about the Civil War like some follow soap operas. I'm no longer overwhelmed with detail and I enjoy rereading familiar events from slightly different points of view. The Killer Angels had helped me along quite a bit. After all, half the war was before Gettysburg and half was afterwards, giving me a nice way to organize.
But this book was also very helpful. While the National Park Service map provides an excellent tour, so does this book. It also breaks down the action into appropriate time intervals.
I particularly recommend this book to those who've read Killer Angels and want to read it again or read more on Gettysburg. Lots of details will fit into place.
Excellent source for the interested visitor.......1999-08-21
The copy outlines the significant areas of the battle very well. Regardless of your level of expertise, it is easy to follow the progress of the battle. Although the maps are clear and show topographical features, they do not include the roads added since the battle. However, there is a segment on the Battlefield Today that brings the past and present into focus. Overall, this is an excellent source. Buy it if you can find it.
Book Description
This electronic book on CD-ROM presents hundreds of spectacular, fully detailed color maps of important military campaigns from ancient times to the present. Wars and conflicts included in this comprehensive collection of historic maps include:
Art of Ancient Warfare (Classical Greece, Persian Empire, Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Art of War, Challenges of the Roman Republic, the Evolution of the Legion; Caesar and the Roman Empire, Barbarian Invasion Routes)
Dawn of Modern Warfare (Swiss Confederation, France during the Hundred Years War, Early Developments in Naval Warfare, Adolphus and the Swedish Rennaissance in Warfare, the Wars of Louis XIV, Frederick the Great)
Colonial Wars * The American Revolution * Napleonic Wars * War of 1812 * Mexican War * American Civil War * Spanish-American War * Chinese Civil War * World War One * World War Two - Europe and Asia
Korean War * Arab-Israeli Wars * Vietnam War
Wars and Conflicts since 1958: Beirut 1958, Dominican Republic 1965, Falklands 1982, Grenada 1983, Panama 1990, Iran-Iraq War 1980-88, Gulf War 1990-91, and Somalia 1992-93.
The maps are reproduced using Adobe Acrobat PDF software - allowing direct viewing on Windows and Apple Macintosh systems. Reader software is included on the CD. In addition, each map is also available on the disc as a computer graphics file in JPG format for use in your own software.
This book-on-a-disc makes a superb reference work for anyone interested in military history and warfare! It is designed to provide a convenient user-friendly general reference work, utilizing the benefits of the Adobe Acrobat format to uniformly present thousands of pages that can be rapidly reviewed or printed without untold hours of tedious searching and downloading. Vast archives of important public domain government information that might otherwise remain inaccessible are available for instant review no matter where you are.
Customer Reviews:
What a ..........2003-04-15
These are certainly excellent and useful maps, but this CD is [not worth the $$$] This is a CDR, not a commercial-type CD ROM. It looks like someone recorded it at home. Further, all of these maps are public domain and available for no charge at the US Military Academy's website...Don't make the mistake of paying [$$$] like I did.
Books:
- The Blue Edge of Midnight
- The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare (Cambridge Illustrated Histories)
- The Civil War Reminiscences of Major Silas T. Grisamore, C.S.A.
- The Company They Keep: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as Writers in Community
- The Complete Visual Dictionary of Star Wars: The Ultimate Guide to Characters and Creatures from the Entire Star Wars Saga
- The Cousins' Wars: Religion, Politics, and the Triumph of Anglo-America
- The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme
- The Killer Angels
- The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
- The Limits of Expertise: Rethinking Pilot Error and the Causes of Airline Accidents
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Landslides in Practice: Investigation, Analysis, and Remedial/Preventative Options in Soils
- Brink's Modern Internal Auditing
- Shaping Structures: Statics
- The Mammal in the Mirror: Understanding Our Place in the Animal World
- Vertebrate Life
- C.A.R.E. Packages for the Workplace: Dozens of Little Things You Can Do To Regenerate Spirit At Work
- A Slow Walk to Hell
- The Architecture of Delano & Aldrich
- The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community, and the American Dream
- Everyone's guide to trees of South Africa