Adam Goodheart

Recommendation: If you have already read Bruce Catton, Shelby Foote or any of the other major chroniclers of the Civil War and are looking for a different perspective this is the book for you. If you are just starting out it will have less resonance, read Catton first and come back to this later to get the most out of it.

Quick Take: Really solid in-depth exposure the causes and perspectives of the American Civil War. Presents some interesting perspectives for anyone interested in the show more emotional aspects of why Northerners ardently accepted war against their own fellow citizens.

I was really not that interested in this book to begin with as I had just finished the Bruce Catton trilogy and a book on reconstruction. Also having already read a multitude of books on the Civil War over the years - including the Shelby Foote trilogy, Shaara's "The Killer Angels", several Catton volumes and biographies on each of the major participants, I really didn't want another rehash of the causes of the war and especially not another rehash of why Lincoln was unsure or how Buchanan's cabinet was corrupt.

I need not have worried. Goodheart's excellently researched book asks interesting questions, adds a great deal of nuance and even manages to shed some light on things that Catton and others have passed over. The exposure of all this is done by asking relatively simple questions. "How does a nation of real people go from a relatively peaceful state to a willingness to engage in bloody civil war in just a short matter of time? What changed within the minds of individuals, never mind the political and military figures, that allowed for this to happen?"

In answering his questions the author exposes in greater detail than I have seen elsewhere the responses, motivations and actions of several lesser known characters in the drama that unfolded. His delineations of the character and outlook of Elmer Ellsworth, Benjamin Butler and Major Robert Anderson are insightful and well researched. They add the color that turns the historical work into something with the feel of a novel. While not a page turner the revelations make for interesting reading and the work moves along at a brisk pace. His somewhat sympathetic portrayal of Butler is particularly interesting, a controversial character that played a much larger role (both good and bad) in how the war played out.

Another aspect that is well dealt with is the overall impact and role of emancipation, while not an original argument the author does accept that slavery was the major motivation for the war and that despite both sides denials in the end it explains a good portion of why the war had to happen. Overall an excellent overview of the opening of the Civil War, albeit primarily from a Northern perspective and yes despite my misgivings he does explain that Buchanan's Cabinet was corrupt. This, in the end, is particularly relevant since there currently seems to be a push to re-invent Buchanan as a less inept figure in the contemporary perspective. Also recommended for anyone who is interested in this pivotal time in American History that wants to understand some of the sideshow aspects of the war's opening. I doubt there is anyone who can read the Elmer Ellsworth story and not shake their head in wonder at how it all played out. show less

Last month I started reading "Storm Over the Land," by Carl Sandburg, and realized I didn't remember enough about the actual events of the Civil War -- not the general gist but the specific timeline -- to enjoy Sandburg's lyrical, poetic account, billed as "a profile of the Civil War." It glances at many events, or makes quick references to people, and I knew I was missing out because I didn't really know what those events and people were, aside from generally knowing they were Civil War-y. show more (It's like reading Thomas Carlisle on the French Revolution, which he wrote while events were still so fresh in everyone's minds that he could namedrop.)

So I took some advice from Lisa Bu's TED Talk, and found a second book to pair with it.

And so far, "1861" is everything I wanted. It contains lots of facts, a good plain explanation of events, but it's also beautifully written and surprising on every page.

What I can't get enough of, what just continually blows my mind, is how desperate the South was (and some of the North) to keep slavery alive. In the book, I'm just to the point of the Crittenden Compromise and the proposed Corwin amendment to the constitution. It's astonishing to think as a country how close we were to not only preserving but encouraging human slavery, and what "1861" does well is help you see how truly not-that-long-ago that happened, and how very like us the people were who almost pulled it off. It's amazing to think we have photographs, not woodcuts or paintings but photos, of people who advocated for human slavery on the floor of the US Congress. show less

Adam Goodheart's series of vignettes covering various stories of mostly "supporting" actors in the drama of 1861 from the aftermath of Lincoln's election up to the Battle of Bull Run is well executed and was a pleasure to read. Each chapter could stand on its own but covers every section of the country, blacks as well as whites, women as well men, and of course Northerners of various political opinions and Southerners including some notorious fire-eaters. Without going into detail about each show more chapter I will only call out the fact that the first people who were "woke" in our history were apparently the self-described "Wide Awakes", a collection of white males who originated in Hartford, CT and spread throughout the North to advocate for resistance to the "slave power". When you read this book and you should read it, don't skip the PostScript. show less

So many books about the American Civil War focus on the war itself, and while they usually give some information about events leading up to hostilities, this background generally in not in great depth. And that's where this book fills some of the gaps. It focuses on the myriad factors at play which led to a split in the country. I consider it a "must read" for anyone with any interest in the Civil War, or even for anyone remotely interested in the United States in the mid-19th century.