tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post3730489913829665864..comments2024-03-25T14:51:02.583-07:00Comments on Civil War Books and Authors: Booknotes (July '15)DW@CWBAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00018056113264346047noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-88783018974632416022015-07-14T18:19:43.886-07:002015-07-14T18:19:43.886-07:00If I may, the important questions when writing abo...If I may, the important questions when writing about history are whether the author got the facts right (or uncovered previously unknown information) and if he/she made the correct conclusions when using them. As just one example, almost every historian discussing it has accepted U.S. Grant's claim that he did not receive John Frémont's orders before occupying Paducah, Ky. I have shown Joseph A. Rosehttp://grantunderfire.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-65925550442350977512015-07-08T09:31:43.178-07:002015-07-08T09:31:43.178-07:00When I get to it, I plan on skipping to the Grant ...When I get to it, I plan on skipping to the Grant areas I know best (Belmont, Iuka, Vicksburg) and seeing might be in there of interest. By adopting hostile partisan tones early and often, the authors of books like this one turn off many readers that might have otherwise been quite receptive to the arguments [the Hood book is a good example]. On the other side of the equation, too many readers DW@CWBAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00018056113264346047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-33060558199340704272015-07-08T09:08:59.716-07:002015-07-08T09:08:59.716-07:00I guess we'll see about Grant Under Fire. The ...I guess we'll see about Grant Under Fire. The difficult line to draw for a historian is that between (1) objectively revisiting long-accepted versions of history and evaluations of historical figures, only to conclude that those versions/evaluations need to be refined and (2) becoming an advocate who "revises" everything in an effort to persuade the audience. We see some of this in John Foskettnoreply@blogger.com