Category Archives: American Civil War

Book Review: The Crooked Path To Abolition

Posted on November 15, 2023 by nathanalbright

The Crooked Path To Abolition: Abraham Lincoln And The Antislavery Constitution, by James Oakes Given how many books there have been written about Abraham Lincoln (in the tens of thousands), this book is a worthy winner of the Lincoln Prize, … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, Book Reviews, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Broken Constitution

Posted on November 14, 2023 by nathanalbright

The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery, And The Refounding Of America, by Noah Feldman When I first began reading this book, I was at least mildly sympathetic to the author’s argument that Lincoln sought to transform the meaning of the American … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, Book Reviews, History | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The War Before The War

Posted on November 12, 2023 by nathanalbright

The War Before The War: Fugitive Slaves And The Struggle For America’s Soul From The Revolution To The Civil War, by Andrew Delbanco When I started this book, I was very concerned that the author would follow a common trend … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, Book Reviews, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Lincoln And The Abolitionists

Posted on November 11, 2023 by nathanalbright

Lincoln And The Abolitionists: John Quincy Adams, Slavery, And The Civil War, by Fred Kaplan There is a popular contemporary anachronistic view of history that believes that there is no just or decent people in the time of the 19th … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, Book Reviews, History | Tagged | Leave a comment

Book Review: One More War To Fight

Posted on November 10, 2023 by nathanalbright

One More War To Fight: Union Veterans’ Battle For Equality Through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, And The Lost Cause, by Stephen A. Goldman It seems almost uncharitable to note that the author of this book is not a historian but is … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, Book Reviews, History, Military History | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Review: There Is A North

Posted on November 8, 2023 by nathanalbright

There Is A North: Fugitive Slaves, Political Crisis, And Cultural Transformation In The Coming Of The Civil War, by John L. Brooke Though this is a very complicated book with a difficult language–its discussion of the crisis period before the … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, Book Reviews, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: We Have The War Upon Us

Posted on November 5, 2023 by nathanalbright

We Have The War Upon Us: The Onset Of The Civil War, November 1860-April 1861, by William J. Cooper The beginning of the Civil War is a subject that interests me and enough other people that there have been quite … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, Book Reviews, History | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Slavery And The Civil War

Posted on November 2, 2023 by nathanalbright

Slavery And The Civil War: Rooted In Racism, by Elliott Smith Few books are as ill-equipped to tackle the thorny issue of slavery in the Civil War as this one is. This book is, by far, the least-nuanced and worst … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, Book Reviews, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The False Cause

Posted on October 30, 2023 by nathanalbright

The False Cause: Fraud, Fabrication, And White Supremacy In Confederate Memory, by Adam H. Domby This is the sort of book that does not really move the needle when it comes to debate, not least because the author has such … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, Book Reviews, History | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Battle Of Fort Sumter

Posted on October 28, 2023 by nathanalbright

The Battle Of Fort Sumter: The First Shots Of The American Civil War, by Wesley Moody The author of this book, part of a series on critical moments in American history, takes a familiar subject and puts it in a … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, Book Reviews, History, Military History | Tagged | Leave a comment