It is the sixth volume of the oxford history of the united states series. He has published numerous volumes on the civil war, including the pulitzer prizewinning battle cry of freedom, crossroads of freedom which was a new york times bestseller, abraham lincoln and the second american revolution, and for cause and comrades. His captors asked why he, a nonslaveholder, was fighting to uphold slavery. His work suffers from his underlying intent, based upon his political perspective, to repaint historical events that were. Mcpherson, the author of battle cry of freedom, has a different explanation of the outcome of the civil war. The civil war era moved beyond the pillars of academia and into the public realm. Ordeal by fire cements his reputation as one of the finest civil war historians. He received the 1989 pulitzer prize for battle cry of freedom, his most famous book. Mcpherson was the president of the american historical association in 2003, and is a member of the editorial board of encyclopedia britannica. Much of the prose is directly plagerized and i make no claim to the contary. The following are notes that are intended to be readable but not necessarily good writing. Mcpherson this mighty scourge, perspectives on the civil war, part 1 duration. Rereading it again now has not led me to alter my opinion. Although historians had been mcpherson at gettysburg writing about the civil war for decades, mcpherson s book broke ground in combining the complexities of the war while maintaining the narrative that made it appealing to.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Writing for the the new york times, historian hugh brogan described it as. In this impressive book, famed civil war historian mcpherson revises his pulitzer prizewinning battle cry of freedom, reducing the text by onefifth in order to add a stunning array of over 700 illustrations from the civil war eraphotographs, cartoons, lithographs, etchings, woodcuts, and paintingsthat give new life to an already vivid. Mcpherson battle cry of freedom in the introduction to this volume the series editor feels obliged to justify the length of the work itself. The civil war era is a pulitzer prizewinning history of the american civil war published in 1988 by james m. Battle cry of freedom by james mcpherson in fits and starts over the past several months, i have slogged my way through james mcpherson s tome battle cry of freedom, a singlevolume history of the civil war. Battle cry of freedom is a history book by james m. It also reminded many of ralph waldo emersons prophecy that. His books include the struggle for equality, marching toward freedom. A patriotic song advocating the causes of unionism and abolitionism, it became so popular that composer h. The population quadrupled and there was a push westward and southward as the country gained more land. This summary of battle cry of freedom includes a complete plot overview spoilers included. Mcpherson has taught at princeton since 1962 and written numerous books on the american civil war, including battle cry of freedom, which won the pulitzer prize in history.
The volume begins with a deft description of the ragged american army trudging into mexico city in 1847. Massachusetts school of law at andover 9,771 views 1. Massachusetts school of law at andover 34,578 views 59. Mcpherson is the george henry davis 86 professor of history emeritus at princeton university. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. When i first read it twenty years ago i came to that same conclusion. Filled with fresh interpretations and information, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, battle cry of freedom will unquestionably become the standard onevolume history of the civil war. The civil war era oxford history of the united states mcpherson, james m. The illustrated battle cry of freedom ebook by james m. The civil war era oxford history of the united states book 6 kindle edition by mcpherson, james m download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The norths victory, he said, is often attributed to its superior resources. James mcpherson s fastpaced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in mexico to the ending of another at.
Mcpherson the great historian james mcpherson presents his account of antietam, the savage civil war battle that made the freeing of the slaves. James mcpherson s fastpaced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in mexico to the endi. The civil war era penguin history new ed by mcpherson, james m. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the illustrated battle cry of freedom.
James mcpherson s fastpaced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of. Mcpherson, is a historical nonfiction book about the civil war. James mcpherson national endowment for the humanities neh. He points out that almost every other treatment of the american civil war requires multiple volumes. Mcpherson is edwards professor of american history at princeton university. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Mcpherson begins with several chapters of background context before launching into the meat of the military conflict.
The listed critical essays and books will be invaluable for writing essays and papers on the civil war 18501865 the unvanquished suggestions for further reading a suggested list of literary criticism on william faulkners the unvanquished. But the greatest population doesnt always win after all, vietnam won. A suggested list of literary criticism on history sparknotes s the civil war 18501865. Mcpherson the great historian james mcpherson presents his account of antietam, the savage civil war battle that made the. The united states at midcentury growth occurred in population, territory, and economy in the 1800s. These notes are intended not as an original history of the time but simply as notes from a book by another author. An abridged, illustrated version of the book was published in 2003. The author is a historian who was once the head of the american historical association. James mcpherson exhibits that he is an exceptionally skilled writer, and an accomplished storyteller of historical events. Mcpherson american history education materials historical books common history. The listed critical essays and books will be invaluable for writing essays and papers on the civil war 18501865. Why men fought in the civil war is a 1997 nonfiction book by james m.
James mcpherson was born on october 11th 1936, he is an american civil war historian. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of battle cry of freedom by james m. Mcpherson this mighty scourge, perspectives on the civil war, part 2 duration. The civil war era by james mcpherson is widely considered to be the best one volume history of the american civil war era ever published. Mexico will poison us the mexican war signaled the end of the quest for manifest destiny. The civil war era is a pulitzer prizewinning work on the american civil war, published in 1988, by james m. Although this was considered to be progress, the growth led to negative consequences. Mcphersons pulitzer prizewinning history of the civil war, may be the finest onevolume history of any american war ever written, let alone the civil war. The civil war era oxford history of the united states book 6. From there, the narrative speeds through 28 chapters that draw a precise and lively picture of what america and americans were like in mid19th century.
639 1038 80 450 1471 1343 1572 775 491 400 1063 1294 184 1284 295 1497 1234 1025 321 1650 1412 1606 579 561 94 389 1450 1207 1188 325