Thursday, October 14, 2010

Booknotes (October '10)

New Arrivals:


1. War No More: The Antiwar Impulse in American Literature, 1861-1914 by Cynthia Wachtell (LSU Pr, 2010).

It will be interesting to read about the great writers of the period who supported the Union cause yet struggled morally with some aspects of the aims and conduct of the war.

2. The Civil War Art of Keith Rocco, text by Robert I. Girardi (Crimson Books, 2010).

I've always liked Rocco's art, with its apparent Wyeth and Homer influences. This book only takes a selection from Rocco's large body of Civil War work, but these twenty four paintings are a fine representative mix of camp, battlefield, and picket line scenes. Individual portraits are also included, with wonderful attention to detail in terms of uniforms and equipment. When opening the book, the painting reproductions are found on the right, with Girardi's full page descriptive and contextual narrative opposite.  On heavy high gloss paper stock, the image color and clarity are high. This is definitely worth a purchase for Rocco fans.

1 comment:

  1. One of my professors is a self-described peace historian who has written quite a bit on the subject. She says the peace movement as we know it began during or immediately after the Civil War.
    Will

    ReplyDelete

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