Counter-Thrust: From the Peninsula to the Antietam (University of Nebraska Press, January 2008)I've been wondering if Benjamin F. Cooling had any major book projects in the works. Looks like this is what he's been up to lately. Sounds interesting. It will be part of Nebraska's "Great Campaigns of the Civil War" series. I wonder if Counter-Thrust will be more of a contextualized synthesis of the scholarship to date (like the previous series entries) or a broad attempt at a new interpretation that is perhaps contrary to those made by recent historians of this period of the eastern theater (e.g., Harsh). Or maybe elements of both.
Hello Drew
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of this series. I don't have any. They always looked to me that they were more of an overview of the campaign as compared to a detailed study. I believe most of them were written by established authors?
Don
Hi Don,
ReplyDeleteMy impressions are the same, and, yes, they are written by prominent historians. I've read Hess's entry and skimmed Engle. With Grimsley's Overland Campaign book, I believe Cooling's will be the fourth in the series. They are short but very broad, inclusive campaign overviews. They are not among my favorites by any means, but that's just my personal taste. I would imagine they would be very nice overviews for those readers not interested in delving into the various specialized works.