Saturday, March 21, 2009

Booknotes II (March '09)

Acquisitions or review copies received this month:

1. The Prairie Was on Fire: Eyewitness Accounts of the Civil War in the Indian Territory by Whit Edwards (Oklahoma Historical Society, 2001). I posted a short review of this work in 2007 (follow above link), but wanted to get my own copy before it went out of print.

2. The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 ed. by Gary W. Gallagher (Univ. of N. Carolina Press, 2009). Softcover reprint of the 2006 hardcover edition.

3. The Southern Strategy: Britain's Conquest of South Carolina and Georgia, 1775-1780 by David K. Wilson (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 2008). I like the look of this book -- extraordinary maps and OBs. I thought it might be interesting to compare the approach the British took during the Revolutionary War when they captured Charleston and the failed U.S. strategies attempted during the Civil War. Of course, given the technological differences between eras, the usefulness of any conclusions is questionable. This new edition, published last year, is a paperback reprint of the 2005 hardcover.

2 comments:

  1. I recently purchased the paperback version of The Shenandoah Valley Campaign 1864 by Gallagher. It really is an enjoyable read. It has some wonderful chapters on the Battles of Fisher's Hill and Tom's Brook and a great chapter on the Fighting Pattons of Virginia by Robert Krick. I think the book makes a great supplement to the more detailed books on the campaign and in softcover is much more affordable than the hardcover was.

    Also looking forward to Scott Patchan's book that will hopefully treat in detail the battles of Third Winchester and Fisher's Hill that should be coming out in the near future. I have always enjoyed studying the 1864 Valley campaign. Guess it was that Time Life book by Thomas Lewis that covered everything from New Market to Cedar Creek plus had some of the wonderful drawings by James E. Taylor.

    Thanks,
    Chris

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  2. It is a good one. I read a few chapters from the library's copy back when the hardcover came out. I was a bit surprised at how big the book was, seemingly twice the length of the typical book from the series.

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