Drawn with the Sword: Reflections on the American Civil War | Date: 28 April 2011, 07:02
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Product Description:
James M. McPherson is acclaimed as one of the finest historians writing today and a preeminent commentator on the Civil War. Battle Cry of Freedom, his Pulitzer Prize-winning account of that conflict, was a national bestseller that Hugh Brogan, in The New York Times, called "history writing of the highest order." Now, in Drawn With the Sword, McPherson offers a series of thoughtful and engaging essays on some of the most enduring questions of the Civil War, written in the masterful prose that has become his trademark.
Filled with fresh interpretations, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, Drawn With the Sword explores such questions as why the North won and why the South lost (emphasizing the role of contingency in the Northern victory), whether Southern or Northern aggression began the war, and who really freed the slaves, Abraham Lincoln or the slaves themselves. McPherson offers memorable portraits of the great leaders who people the landscape of the Civil War: Ulysses S. Grant, struggling to write his memoirs with the same courage and determination that marked his successes on the battlefield; Robert E. Lee, a brilliant general and a true gentleman, yet still a product of his time and place; and Abraham Lincoln, the leader and orator whose mythical figure still looms large over our cultural landscape. And McPherson discusses often-ignored issues such as the development of the Civil War into a modern "total war" against both soldiers and civilians, and the international impact of the American Civil War in advancing the cause of republicanism and democracy in countries from Brazil and Cuba to France and England. Of special interest is the final essay, entitled "What's the Matter With History?", a trenchant critique of the field of history today, which McPherson describes here as "more and more about less and less." He writes that professional historians have abandoned narrative history written for the greater audience of educated general readers in favor of impenetrable tomes on minor historical details which serve only to edify other academics, thus leaving the historical education of the general public to films and television programs such as Glory and Ken Burns's PBS documentary The Civil War.
Each essay in Drawn With the Sword reveals McPherson's own profound knowledge of the Civil War and of the controversies among historians, presenting all sides in clear and lucid prose and concluding with his own measured and eloquent opinions. Readers will rejoice that McPherson has once again proven by example that history can be both accurate and interesting, informative and well-written. Mark Twain wrote that the Civil War "wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations." In Drawn With the Sword, McPherson gracefully and brilliantly illuminates this momentous conflict.
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Rating: 1
I saw the picture for the 1997 version (green and black)as I needed it for school, so naturally I ordered it. To my severe dissappointment I received the 1996 version with a burgundy and blue cover. This is frustrating when you think your getting something your not.
Summary: Not another battles of the Civil War book
Rating: 4
More than just a military book about the American Civil War, this book shows how the war impacted the regular population, economy and countryside. McPherson is one of the best ACW authors along with Buell and Foote.
Summary: A Historian's Reflections on the Civil War
Rating: 5
Professor James McPherson's book is a collection of essays exploring the American Civil War. These essays have appeared in print elsewhere, and most of them are reviews of other Civil War -related literature, including recent scholarly studies, the novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and the movie "Glory", which focused upon the attack by Federal African-American troops upon Fort Wagner, South Carolina, in July, 1863. These essays are the product of a masterful historian who has been able to distill a great deal of factual information, reflect upon it, and present his analysis of the significance of the Civil War in an eloquent and persuasive way.
The book consists of fifteen essays arranged in five sections. The first section "Origins of the Civil War" consists of three essays focusing on the pre-Bellum South and on how its culture and commitment to its peculiar institution of slavery brought on the War.
The second section of the book, "The War and American Society" consists of four essays that discuss broadly the significance of the Civil War for future generations of Americans, the transformation of the War from a limited conflict to a "total war" that changed the fabric of American society, and on the effect of the War on the status of African-Americans, including the discussion of the movie "Glory" mentioned earlier.
The third section of the book, "Why the North Won" will be of interest to students of the military aspects of the War. (Professor McPherson does not denigrate this kind of study, as do some academic historians.) There are four essays, the first two analyze why the North won the War and why the South lost. The third essay in this section rehabilitates Robert E. Lee from some recent criticism of his leadership; while the final essay focuses on Ulysses Grant's "Personal Memoirs" written near the end of his life, which is a literary masterpiece as well as a book revealing Grant's character and generalship.
The fourth section of the book "The Enduring Lincoln" consists of three essays reexamining Lincoln's role in setting and persevering in the aims of the War, in freeing the slaves, and in keeping the hopes of a democratic society alive in a world which was hostile to government "by and for the people."
The final section of the book consists of a single essay titled "What's the Matter with History?" This essay discusses the three types of reader interested in reading about the Civil War" the professional historian, the amateur student of battles, sometimes called a Civil War "buff", and the mythical "general reader". McPherson laments the inability of professional historians to write books appealing to an audience of anyone other than their peers. It is a shortcoming that Professor McPherson's own writings manage brilliantly to avoid.
This is not a book of facts and figures, dates and statistics. It is a book of historical reflection that will help the reader think about the meaning and importance of our country's Civil War.
Summary: Interesting Essays about the Civil War from one of the best
Rating: 5
James McPherson is considered by many to be the greatest Civil War historian in the US these days. His one-volume classic about the War, Battle Cry for Freedom, is the one most recommended to those who want the best book about the war. Therefore, it was with great interest that I read Drawn with the Sword.
McPherson does not disappoint with this book which is really a series of essays about various topics from the war. The essays range from Why the South Lost to Who Actually Freed the Slaves. Based mostly on previous articles and lectures, all the essays are excellent, and McPherson pulls no punches during his detailed analysis. For example, McPherson disputes the claim by some recent social historians that argue that the slaves freed themselves, and that Lincoln played a reluctant part in the process. McPherson clearly lays out the argument that Lincoln went to great lengths to ending slavery, and that without him it probably would not have happened.
McPherson also gives his educated opinion about Lee's performance as a general, and whether or not the South actually could have won the war. Two topics which I find fascinating because they are so disputed, even among professional historians. Speaking of historians, I particularly liked McPherson's final essay about
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