Tag Archives: American Civil War

Copperhead

Posted on January 21, 2013 by smellincoffee

Copperhead: Ball’s Bluff, 1862© 1993 Bernard Cornwell417 pages Nathaniel Starbuck is a man with a mighty grumpy enemy.  Wealthy Virginian planter Washington Falcouner rescued Starbuck from a mob, asking him for his service in arms alongside his son, Adam, in … Continue reading →

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The Great Railroad Revolution

Posted on December 31, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Great Railroad Revolution: A History of Trains in America© 2012 Christian Wolmar448 pages The United States’ history is one written with novelty: born in the dawn of the industrial age,  America was a blank slate for technologies with the … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (30 November)

Posted on November 30, 2012 by smellincoffee

This past week I read A South Divided, by David Downing, which covers  the same ground  in part as David Williams’ Bitterly Divided, in that it examines the importance of southerners who worked against the confederacy. But whereas Williams argued … Continue reading →

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Bitterly Divided

Posted on October 26, 2012 by smellincoffee

Bitterly Divided: the South’s Inner Civil War© 2008 David Williams310 pages Why did the South lose the Civil War? Was it the strengths of the Union — a better rail network, a superior manufacturing base, more soldiers? David Williams doesn’t … Continue reading →

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The Most Glorious Fourth

Posted on September 4, 2012 by smellincoffee

The Most Glorious Fourth: Vicksburg and Gettysburg, July 4th, 1863© 2002 Duane Schultz447 pages When the American Civil War began in 1861, no one imagined that it would devastate the countryside for four long years. All the attempts to bring … Continue reading →

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A People’s History of the Civil War

Posted on July 23, 2012 by smellincoffee

A People’s History of the Civil War: Struggles for the Meaning of Freedom594 pages© 2005 David Williams No war has left such an impression on the American character as its civil war. That conflict (1861-1865) claimed more American lives than … Continue reading →

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Rebel

Posted on June 12, 2012 by smellincoffee

Rebel© 1993 Bernard Cornwell402 pages Nathaniel Starbuck shouldn’t be in South, but this son of a preacher man is positively hopeless when it comes to the ladies. Love tore him from the seminary, and it led him into Virginia just … Continue reading →

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A Blaze of Glory

Posted on June 7, 2012 by smellincoffee

A Blaze of Glory© 2012 Jeff Shaara464 pages Come all you gallant soldiers, a story I will tell About the bloody battle on top of Shiloh’s hill It was an awful struggle; it’ll cause your heart to chill All from … Continue reading →

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