Booknotes III (March '14)

New Arrivals:

1. Lincoln's Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln's Image by Joshua Zeitz (Viking, 2014).

From publisher's description: "Drawing on letters, diaries, and memoirs, Lincoln’s Boys is part political drama and part coming-of-age tale—a fascinating story of friendship, politics, war, and the contest over history and remembrance."

2. Twenty-five Hours to Tragedy: The Battle of Spring Hill and Operations on November 29, 1864: Precursor to the Battle of Franklin by Jamie Gillum (Author, 2014).

Just who should shoulder the most blame for the Confederate fiasco at Spring Hill is a continuing debate. Twenty-five Hours to Tragedy is author Jamie Gillum's compilation of participant accounts, interspersed with his own text and source interpretation. As with his other books, this one is also full of photos and detailed, informative maps. Stephen Hood, author of a controversial recent reappraisal of General John Bell Hood's Civil War career, wrote the prologue, but Gillum reminds readers that many of his own views, distilled from 26 years of evidence gathering, differ from Hood's. Whether they are specifically spelled out in the text as such, I don't know yet.