Success Is All That Was Expected: The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron During the Civil War
-- by Robert M. Browning (Potomac Books, 2005). A recent purchase. I've been meaning to read this one and its companion volume about the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron for some time.
Derelicts: An account of ships lost at sea in general commerce traffic and a brief history of blockade runners stranded along the North Carolina coast 1861 - 1865 -- by James Sprunt.
Civil War Weather in Virginia -- by Robert K. Krick (University of Alabama Press, 2007). Should be a very valuable reference work.
The Irish General: Thomas Francis Meagher by Paul R. Wylie (University of Oklahoma Press, 2007). I can't say that I've had any compelling interest in Meagher, so this one arrived out of the blue. Looks like some hefty content on his post-war career in the west. He was governor of Montana, and apparently his statue in the capital is not at all a universal source of pride there.
Drew,
ReplyDeleteA lot of the negative reviews on Amazon for Walker's book stem from an ongoing BS political battle in the SCV. Walter Hilderman is the real target, but since he and Walker are friends, Walker gets tainted with some of the invective as well. If you look at reviews from Hilderman's book on conscription in NC you will find much worse. Nonetheless, its typical, stupid, petty stuff from some of the more radical in the heritage crowd.
One of the Amazon reviewers who gave the book good marks is Danny Barbee, a friend and colleague of mine. I tend to trust his opinion, so you may want to go find his review and look it over. I'm sure you will still make your own, independent, and well thought out conclusions in due time.
Thanks for providing some illumination, Andrew. I figured some kind of personal dispute had to be behind it all. I've only glanced through the notes and bibliography, and the vibes I get from them in terms of depth and variety are positive.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting that for many of the "1-star" reviewers it is the **only** book in their "see all my reviews" list, which is a bit suspicious.
ReplyDeleteDrew - here's a head's up on another book that will be out soon: Margaret Humphreys' **Intensely Human: The Health of the Black Soldier in the American Civil War** (Oct 2007). I interviewed Margaret for my CW News medical column earlier this year and she gave a fine preview of the book at this year's Society of CW Surgeons conference.
Best Regards,
Jim Schmidt
Jim Schmidt