Stephen Berry (1)

An excellent companion to [Giant in the shadows : the life of Robert T. Lincoln]. Emerson alludes to Mary Lincoln's mental difficulties, but I didn't realize the extent of the issues until reading this book. Not only am I more clear on the Todd family illnesses, but I understand the connections with Abraham Lincoln and the position the Todd family put Lincoln in during the Civil War. It could be rightly said that Mary was a product of her family which made Abraham's life so difficult during show more the War. They were from Kentucky, a border state, which meant that like many families half were Confederates and half Yankees. This family is the war writ large. Every possible issue was carried out here. I thought I knew everything there was to know about Lincoln; not until I read this book did I fully understand. Excellent work. show less

I’m ashamed to say it, but even as a U.S. history teacher, I was unaware of how close Abraham Lincoln was to his wife’s relatives; and even more ignorant of the fact that most of her family were staunch Confederates. Lincoln had few close relatives of his own blood, and the Todds seem to have filled a vital niche in his life, according to Mr. Berry. That made it especially difficult when the Civil War broke out, and two of Mary Todd Lincoln’s own brothers were killed fighting for the show more Confederacy. Politically and emotionally, the Todd family played havoc with Lincoln’s life, but he never forsook them, and Berry sees Lincoln’s own divided family as a perfect microcosm of the nation’s internal disunion. A well-written and easy to read book, one that sheds some much needed light on Lincoln the man. show less

Excellent book. I really liked the essentially mini-biographies of Mary Todd Lincolns brothers and sisters, and what all they did during the Civil War, and what kind of an impact they had on Lincoln himself. I had no idea that one of Mary's brothers was a commander of a Confederate prison camp for a short while, and garnered a reputation as one of the most vile prison commanders of them all. Fascinating book made all the better by crisp writing that doesn't rehash much commonly-known Lincoln show more information. While old Abe himself is actually not in the book very much (until towards the end), the book is a must-read for any Lincoln fan. I really felt like I understood his 2nd inaugural speech better because of this book. I'll ding it a half star because there are some passages where the author puts thoughts into Lincoln's head that may or may not have been there. Still, that is a fairly minor quibble. At just under 200 pages of writing, this is a fast and interesting read. show less

Weirding the War is one of eight books in the UnCivil Wars Series, from University of Georgia Press. The series attempts to explain the American Civil War in unconventional ways. That is to say, the series attempts to describe the dynamic experiences of war itself, rather than to stick to the causes and effect narratives that so often dominate conversations about war.
Weirding the War, edited by UGA associate professor Stephen Berry, uses a collection of essays to capture the cultural show more experiences of the civilians whose lives were torn apart by the four-year war. Readers looking to learn about the battles, the leaders, the politics, and the philosophies, this is not your book. However, if you want to learn about the romance between Southern belles and occupying troops, about ambivalence in the Carolinas, about poverty in the South, or about communities of deserters, this is your book.
The book is organized into six sections, each containing three essays. Topics include: death, women, bodies, torture, honor, and recovery. Each essay is written by a different author, so the tone and style do shift. However, the general tone of the book is impartial and entertaining- often humorous in a very dark, snarky (but not condescending) way. This tone carries from essay to essay with the help of interesting titles like "Love is a Battlefield" and "The Loyal Deserters."
The book's credibility is substantiated through lengthy writer biographies and references. show less