Booknotes: Midnight in America

New Arrival:
• Midnight in America: Darkness, Sleep, and Dreams during the Civil War
by Jonathan W. White (UNC Press, 2017).

The high caliber of Jonathan White's early body of work places him among the rising stars of Civil War historians. Another appealing quality is the range and unpredictable nature of his chosen topics. Among other publications, White has authored books on Civil War civil liberties and treason, the 1864 soldier vote, Lincoln's law practice, a soon to be released Monitor study, and now the dreams of Civil War Americans.

"In this innovative new study, Jonathan W. White explores what dreams meant to Civil War–era Americans and what their dreams reveal about their experiences during the war. He shows how Americans grappled with their fears, desires, and struggles while they slept, and how their dreams helped them make sense of the confusion, despair, and loneliness that engulfed them."

More from the description: "White takes readers into the deepest, darkest, and most intimate places of the Civil War, connecting the emotional experiences of soldiers and civilians to the broader history of the conflict, confirming what poets have known for centuries: that there are some truths that are only revealed in the world of darkness."