Booknotes (August '12)

New Arrivals:

1. A Carnival of Destruction: Sherman's Invasion of South Carolina by Tom Elmore (Joggling Board Press, 2012).

This is a big, thick campaign history that looks nice, except for one big problem ... no maps beyond a single end paper theater map borrowed from the atlas to the O.R.

2. Kirksville: The True Story of Urban Warfare in America's Heartland by D. Craig Asbury (Kirksville Battle Publishing, 2012).

The August 6, 1862 Battle of Kirksville smashed the NE Missouri recruitment campaign of Confederate Col. Joseph Porter. The victor, Union Col. John McNeil, became infamous then, and later at Palmyra, for his prisoner executions. This is the first book length history of the fight, and the engagements at Painter's Creek, Walnut Creek, and Seeford are also covered.  The overall presentation is appealing, with an informative series of battle maps. I've been following the progress of this one a bit from afar, and know that Asbury's done a great deal of research, so I won't give it the blanket death slam for no notes and bibliography (hey, it's the Battle of freaking Kirksville, man, these don't pop up every day).