Booknotes (Feb '15)

New Arrivals:

Wow, a record low of only two 2015 titles arrived during the entire month of January. February looks no better. This winter is shaping up to be more barren than last summer.

1. Jefferson Davis's Flight from Richmond: The Calm Morning, Lee's Telegrams, the Evacuation, the Train, the Passengers, the Trip, the Arrival in Danville and the Historians' Frauds by John Stewart (McFarland, 2015).

According to the book description: "A great deal of what has been presented over the years by historians has been plagiarized, invented or misconstrued, and nearly all we have learned of Jefferson Davis's flight from Richmond to Danville is wrong. This book closely examines all relevant source material--much of it newly discovered by the author--as well as the writers, diarists and eyewitnesses themselves, and constructs a minutely detailed new account..." That last part of the subtitle makes me cringe. You usually find phrases like that in questionable polemic works and I would avoid that kind of connection (accurate or not) when trying to appeal to readers. On the other hand, the bibliography looks fairly extensive and the format is an interesting hybrid between regular style and essay.

2. Strategy & Tactics Issue #291 - Game Edition (S&T Press, 2015).

The magazine issue itself contains the overview article "Warpath: Indian Territory in the American Civil War" plus the rule set, counters, and foldout map for the game. The map covers Indian Territory and active slivers of Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas while the game is a point-to-point design (not hex based) with multiple axes of movement. From the description: Victory is determined by control of the "capital cities" of the Five Civilized Tribes, but the game can end in sudden death if either player loses one of his primary bases. Each player is forced to balance active operations with force-building, concentration for offensives with dispersion to guard his territory, and careful planning with quick reaction to events."