Booknotes II (August '09)

Acquisitions or review copies received:

1. Camp Nelson, Kentucky: A Civil War History by Richard D. Sears (Univ. Press of Kentucky, 2002).
This book is a compilation of primary source documents tracing Camp Nelson's evolution from military base to refugee camp.

2. Pillars of Power: Steps Toward Secession by Jim Lair (Tate Publishing, 2009).
Covering the events of 1861, this is the first of a four volume series tracing the history of the Civil War in Arkansas from a "Confederate point of view". The first 100 pages is a fairly horrific slog through competing viewpoints on the legality and prudence of secession on a national scale. It improves somewhat when it finally gets to discussing the perspectives of Arkansas's unionists and secessionists.

3. The Boys of Adams' Battery G: The Civil War Through the Eyes of a Union Light Artillery Unit by Robert Grandchamp (McFarland, 2009).
At least in terms of the primary source-heavy research effort, my first impression of Grandchamp's history of Company G 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery is a positive one.