Customer Reviews:
THE cohesive book of maps WW1--totally indispensable .......2005-10-21
I'll start by saying these are the best maps covering WW1--and have been the one resource which has really enhanced my understanding of an often confusing, militarily at least (particularly on the Eastern front), conflict. Great maps of the palestine, mesopotamian, and gallipoli campaigns. More maps on the Caucausus, Armenian, and Far East would have been helpful.
The achille's heel of this volume is its title--most of this book has little relevance to contemporary US military activity (1900-1918)--the book covers WW1 exclusively a war the US didn't materially begin fighting until the spring of 1918, that is to say it's last 6 months.
So if you are looking for coverage of the operations against insurgents in the Phillipines, or the punitive raid into Mexico, keep looking. This book should be labeled the West Point Atlas of the Great War, and if that is what you're looking for you need to snatch up a used copy of this otherwise-5-star-book.
If this book was going to cover so many campaigns unrelated to the American military I wish there would have been some maps covering other wars of this period-the Russo-Japanese and the Turkish Balkan wars.
Still an excellent book!
For previous reviews..........2005-02-23
In a response to a previous review, this book is a reprint of the original which contained 1900-1953. That is why people are mentioning WWII. For some reason, the publishers decided only to have WWI in this volume. I own the two original volumes, printed in 1959, which were used by USMA cadets. Personally, I prefer the original books because they create a touch of actual history because of their use. They are amazing books which any military nut can spend hours enjoying. For anyone who thinks these books are boring; maybe you should move to Canada, because the battles in this book won you your freedom! :) ENJOY!
Not For Everyone.......2001-11-16
This book is probably very good for a student studying war, but it's by no means an interesting coffee table type of conversational piece. It's more like a textbook , not not for me, and not for you either, I suspect.
Excellent Book About War.......2001-09-03
If you are looking for a coffee table book about war, stop here. There is no need for you to continue. This one is as good as they come. However, this is not a book on West Point. (for that, I recommend "West Point", by Norman Thomas Remick). The title is somewhat confusing in that respect. But, don't let that stop you from looking at this great job done by the Dept. of Military Art and Engineering.
Confused by Reviews.......2000-05-26
Look I'm not actually reviewing this book - but I do have some comments about the reviews:
If the date is 1900-1918 in the title, how does this cover Bismarck's Germany, which would be before 1900? Similarly how serious is the league of nations coverage (which I would guess would be 1918-1939 approximately)
One of the reviews mentions WWII - but again, how does this fit in the 1900-1918 range?
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.
Average customer rating:
- Wonderful book!
- Beautiful Summary of the Napoleonic Period
- For the novice
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Historical Atlas of the Napoleonic Era
Angus Konstam
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
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Atlas of Ancient Rome (Historical Atlas)
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Historical Atlas of Exploration: 1492-1600
ASIN: 1585748676 |
Book Description
The French Revolution sent shock waves through Europe, as the continent's remaining monarchs tried to stamp out the tide of republicanism. France was surrounded by enemies but fought them off, largely through the achievements of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Republic's youngest general. Within a decade he had become Consul, First Consul, and finally Emperor, creating a new dynasty and a new order in Europe. From 1803 until 1809 he seemed unbeatable, vanquishing his foes one after another. But his invasion of Russia in 1812 proved disastrous, and he soon faced a growing coalition of enemy powers. His defeat at the Battle of Waterloo marked the close of the Napoleonic Era, but not the end of the Napoleonic legend.
This marvelous, full-color book charts Napoleon's rise and fall and analyzes the weaponry and rival armies that were to transform nineteenth-century Europe. It includes over 160 superb illustrations, many of which have never previously been published, and maps that have been specially commissioned for the book.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful book!.......2007-01-16
My son is very interested in the Napoleonic era, so I purchased this book for him. I found myself reading it first. The maps were excellent. The detailed battle sketches enabled me to understand the strategy. The text was simple and engaging. I recommend this for anyone who enjoys history, maps and battle strategy.
Beautiful Summary of the Napoleonic Period.......2005-05-01
This book provides an excellent summary of the Napoleonic period. Although not a true atlas in its own right (as there are not enough maps to justify this), the maps that are provided show the positions and movements of French and opposing forces in some key battles and campaigns. However, the book is more than just an atlas, as it brilliantly summarizes the events (both political and military) and incorporates beautiful artwork from the period. The book covers events from the French Revolution, Napoleons first campaign in Italy, the Egyptian, Austerlitz, Jena-Auerstadt, Wagram, Russian, National Liberation and Waterloo campaigns and exile. Also included is the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States, perhaps suggesting the Napoleonic wars were indeed the real 1st World War.
This is truely a beautiful book and well written, but some people may criticise it for its lack of in-depth detail. However, one feels that the book was never designed to go into minute detail, otherwise the work would be spread over many large volumes. It is a magnificent summary as an atlas, pictorial and narrative of the Napoleonic Era. Recommended reading and visual treat.
For the novice.......2004-08-16
The book is well presented and well done graphically, but suffers by trying to be too much at once. It would have been better had the author settled on one topic. The title may be a little misleading, if its an Atlas you want, then spend another $80.00 and get the Miitary History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars re:published by Stackpole, written by Elting et al at the US Military academy. For a surface glance and for a novice it will suffice.
Average customer rating:
- A history buff
- A good atlas for getting the really big picture.
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Month-By-Month Atlas of World War II
Barrie Pitt , and
Frances Pitt
Manufacturer: Summit Books
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ASIN: 0671688804 |
Customer Reviews:
A history buff.......2006-09-13
This book has been a constant source of reference for me in the many years I've owned it. For a strategic look at WWII you can't do better. With the European and Pacific theatres shown side-by-side it's easy to see how the various campaigns unfolded and often affected one another although half a world away. Great book!
A good atlas for getting the really big picture........1999-01-26
This atlas gives a two-page spread of the world for each month of the war, with text descriptions and small maps detailing the major events that month (e.g., Operation Crusader, Stalingrad). I find the text to be usually quite detailed and succinct for the small space it inhabits. Full-page text blocks detail the big operations, such as D-Day, Barbarossa, the Japanese expansion into the Pacific, etc. This format works very well for seeing the global scale of the conflict, and makes a very good general reference. Worthy of note are the front- and endpapers that show the pre- and postwar situations.
Book Description
The harrowing history of the Nazi attempt to annihilate the Jews of Europe during the Second World War is illustrated in this series of 320 highly detailed maps. This atlas traces each phase of the Holocaust, beginning with the anti-Semitic violence of prewar Germany and leading to the German conquest of countries in which the Jews had lived for centuries. Presented in chronological order, the maps document in compelling detail the story of the Holocaust, from the spread of the early random killings of Jews and their systematic mass expulsion from thousands of towns and villages to the establishment of ghettos and the setting up of the death camps. Also shown on the maps are more than two hundred acts of resistance and revolt, as well as areas of Jewish partisan activity and other avenues of escape and rescue.
Customer Reviews:
Tracing the horros of the Shoah.......2007-07-12
In this volume, Martin Gilbert, who is possibly the most prolific historian on the history of the Holocaust, traces the geographical history of the Holocaust using maps accompanied by detailed commentary to illustrate the scope and horror that took place between 1941 and 1945. Also included in this volume is a detailed account of antisemitic violence that was rife in Europe in the early 20th Century.
Gilbert painstakingly covers each region of Europe and North Africa, where Jews were targeted, interred and murdered. Gilbert gives an account of the systematic attempts to exterminate the Jews: the random killing and anti-Jewish pogroms, the forcing of Jews into ghettos, the deliberate starvation of these Jews, deportations and death camps, slave labor and mass killings.
Gilbert also enumerates the countries where many Jews fled to escape Nazi persecution. Between 1933 and 1938, 500 000 German Jews emigrated or fled abroad, including more than 33 000 to Palestine, where they joined tens of thousands of recent Jewish immigrants from Poland. After the war, 200 000 survivors of the camps immigrated to Palestine, hence, Holocaust survivors and their descendants make up a substantial part of Israel's population today.
Gilbert record the names, ages and places of birth of some specific Holocaust victims whose cases he examines. He also details lesser-known locations of the Nazi persecution such as Morocco, Libya and Tunisia which were under Nazi occupation. Every period is intensely covered, as is every geographic region where Jews suffered and died.
The atlas is supplemented with photographs, some of which are very graphic. Two important maps are placed at the end of the book estimating how many Jews from each country were murdered during the Holocaust, and how many Jews returned to their countries of birth after the war.
Through his use of maps to illustrate the destruction of European Jewry and eyewitness accounts of the Nazi atrocities, Gilbert succeeds as always in combining the recording of the larger events, with a ground eye view.
More knowledge about History's greatest Evil.......2005-05-04
One of the way the human mind learns is through ordering complex realities into diagrams and pictures and illustrations and maps. These somehow give us a sense of really comprehending what we understand only vaguely.
So these maps which tell the story of the Holocaust , from the time of initial German violence against the Jews through the time of the destruction itself, and then for the remainder, the aftermath.
In collecting this material Martin Gilbert one of the great modern historians , and one of the major historians of the Holocaust provides the reader with still more information, more means for knowing about, if not completely understanding, what is arguably the greatest act of collective Evil in human history.
Very thorough facts and figures.......2004-11-26
This detailed account of horrendous facts will bring tears to the eyes of the hardest ones.
Each of the numbers reported concerns human persons with their wives, family, parents, children. Behind each figure there is a drama. It is not a book about the holocaust, it's just figures and maps. There is no human aspect in these inhuman statistics.
Ever since the Greek classic period, the ones reporting a defeat are no longer killed. Martin Gilbert is supplying a very detailed, thorough and actualized report on one of the greatest defeat of humanity. He should be praised for that.
His book doesn't cover the documents which permitted the holocaust or the proofs substantiating what is not to be proven. It simply attempts at tracing each and every deportation by the nazi (no capital N, please, they have lost such a right). This is an essential working tool for historians, if they can avoid loosing the human faces behind the figures.
I still rather work with Raul Hilberg, Richard Breitman, Walter Laqueur, Randolph Braham, Yitshak Arad, Gerald Reitlinger, Lucy Dawidowicz, Saul Friedlander, Yeshuda Bauer, John Mendelsohn, Henry Friedlander & Sybil Milton, and many other with the same approach but Martin Gilbert book is always next to each of them, it maintains a synthetic global view and it is a reference as well.
If you have an interest in the nazi mass murders, you simply cannot afford not to have Gilbert's atlas. By the way why don't we have a similar Atlas on the goulag as yet? This lack shows how Gilbert's book filled a hisorical need.
Don't be satisfied with Martin Gilbert's Atlas, but don't do without it.
People dying in the camps were begging for us to tell: Jewish or not Jewish, let's keep on telling.
Book Description
From the Battle of Flamborough Head during the American Revolution to the naval air wars over Vietnam and Kuwait, this historical atlas charts the course of the U.S. Navy across its entire history. Laid out here are the frigate duels of the War of 1812, the confrontation of ironclads during the Civil War, the World War II carrier battles in the Pacific, and the amphibious landings in Korea. Depicted also are campaigns, operations, and interwar interventions--like the cruise of the Susquehanna, Perry's mission to Japan, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Desert Storm--all helping to make this cartographic portrait of U.S. naval actions understandable at a glance. The maps in this large-format, high quality book are presented in full color and show the deployment of ships, their tracks, and even some shore activity. Each map has facing text that describes the action and its political, economic, and strategic significance. The atlas is organized chronologically into ten eras with each section preceded by a thoughtful essay about that historical period and accompanied by relevant illustrations of ships, battles, and portraits of significant individuals. Winner of the 1996 John Lyman Book Award, this handy and attractive reference will be treasured by everyone who enjoys reading American maritime history. Students, scholars, and old salts alike will appreciate the bird's eye view of how the Navy's fortunes have changed over the years, successfully guarding the nation and securing its interests.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent reference work for the serious or casual reader.......2000-01-02
The "Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy" does for Naval engagements what the "West Point Historical Atlas" series has done for land wars: simplify and illustrate conflicts and put them into their proper historical context. Over 90 maps include all major naval accomplishments, including voyages and battles from the American Revolution to the Civil War to the birth of the nuclear Navy to Desert Storm. This book contains charts and maps of naval battles and voyages accompanied by a narrative text on a facing page that explains clearly what happened and why it was significant. The maps are in color and are easy to read. The text is not overly complicated, but not so simplified that it's useless. The authors strike a good balance here, providing a reference work that will be useful to both military historians or casual readers of military history. Highly recommended.
Book Description
From the Battle of Bunker Hill to the Battle of Midway, from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf, from George Washington to Douglas MacArthur, The Atlas of American Military History covers the full span of America at war, exploring the personalities, methods, strategies and historical contexts of each conflict. Following a loose chronological framework, this book examines every significant military campaign and war in which the United States has been engaged, both domestically and internationally, from the Revolutionary War to the present. Written by trusted military historians, each section combines analysis with a strong narrative account and an assessment of major campaigns and battlestaking up the American viewpoint as well as those of its allies and opponents. Military method, weaponry, and communication technology receive detailed treatment, in the text and in the maps. The center point of the book is its stunning color maps, including historical military cartography, specially commissioned maps, and graphic reconstructions. These maps show troop, ship, and aircraft movements of major campaigns and battles, the theaters of fighting, the balance of forces, and the wider strategic picture. It also features hundreds of illustrations, appendixes, and a glossary and information on military commanders, events, treaties, code names, and civilian personalities. Edited by noted historian James Bradford, The Atlas of American Military History is a beautiful and informative volume for history buff and general reader alike.
Customer Reviews:
Among the Best!.......2006-07-20
In the average book store, one finds literally dozens of historical atlases. Most atlases are arranged with a generally chronological focus, but some have a specialized focus on a particular historical theme. Military history tends to be the most common theme among those atlases with a historical theme. Military history is naturally suited for the purposes of an atlas, because military campaigns and battles simply can not be properly understood without the aid of maps. One of the best of these military history atlases, currently in print, is the Atlas of American Military History. James C. Bradford, the editor of the Atlas of American Military History, is an Associate Professor of History at Texas A&M University and the author or editor of a dozen books, including: Papers of John Paul Jones, 1747-1792 (1986); Command Under Sail: Makers of the American Naval Tradition 1775-1850 (1985); Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Tradition, 1840-1880 (1986); and Admirals of the New Steel Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1880-1930 (1990).
The nineteen chapters of this book are divided logically in a chronological fashion and contain almost 200 excellent color maps. In addition, each chapter contains a brief history of the conflict or period in question. Prominent historians, such as Carol Reardon, Graham Cosmas, Alan Wilt, and Spencer Tucker, contributed the historical text for each of the chapters. This book is quite current and even includes a brief discussion of the American campaign in Afghanistan in 2001. I have nothing but positive things to mention about this book and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
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
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.
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