Ordeal By Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction
by James M. McPherson
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Ordeal by Fireblends the most up-to-date scholarship with interpretations based on decades of teaching, research, and writing, to tell an important story--that of the American Civil War and Reconstruction. Written by a leading Civil War historian and Pulitzer Prize winner, this text describes the social, economic, political, and ideological conflicts that led to a unique, tragic, and transitional event in American history. The fourth edition welcomes the addition of coauthor James Hogue of show more University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Hogue brings his Reconstruction expertise to the third section of the book, bringing more up-to-date scholarship and interpretations to the story of repairing a nation. show lessTags
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A very detailed account of the events leading to the Civil War, the War itself and Reconstruction. The author has tried to present an even-handed approach, and has, for the most part succeeded. Still, the story clearly leans toward a bottom line assessment that the South lost the war but won the "peace," at least for 50 years or more. What is shameful is the willingness of both sides to treat the Negro as something less than a white. The more I read about the war itself, the more I'm convinced there were very few really good generals and, certainly not, Lee or Grant. Lee must have known he was beaten after Gettysburg, yet he fought on for nearly two years. Grant's generalship consisted of attacking even after brawls that cost him show more troops. No matter how described, our Civil War is one stupendous undertaking. show less
I had to read this book for my Civil War undergrad class and I actually enjoyed it. It gives tons of information but it wasn't dull, like many textbooks you read nowadays. Surprisingly enough, I liked this one!
5754. Ordeal By Fire The Civil War and Reconstruction Second Edition by James M. McPherson (read 23 Aug 2021) This edition was published in 1992 and is a superlative telling of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Since I feel I know the Civil War well I was more taken up by the account of Reconstruction. There are nine chapters on the coming of the war, sixteen chapters on the war itself, eight chapters on Reconstruction, and an Appendix giving a showing of how the Confederate constitution differed from the U.S. Constitution, the text of Jefferson Davis's and Lincoln's inaugural addresses, the text of the Emancipation Proclamation, and an excellent 52 page bibliography, as well as an index. If you only have one book on these subjects this show more is the book to have. show less
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Ulysses S. Grant & the American Civil War
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James M. McPherson is the author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, which won a Pulitzer Prize in history, and For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War, a Lincoln Prize winner. He is the George Henry Davis Professor of American History at Princeton University in New Jersey, where he also lives. His newest book, entitled show more Abraham Lincoln, celebrates the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth with a short, but detailed look at this president's life. (Bowker Author Biography) James M. McPherson, McPherson was born in 1936 and received a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1963. He began teaching at Princeton University in the mid 1960's and is the author of several articles, reviews and essays on the Civil War, specifically focusing on the role of slaves in their own liberation and the activities of the abolitionists. His earliest work, "The Struggle for Equality," studied the activities of the Abolitionist movement following the Emancipation Proclamation. "Battle Cry of Freedom" won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1989. "Drawn With the Sword" (1996) is a collection of essays, with one entitled "The War that Never Goes Away," that is introduced by a passage from Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address on March 4, 1865 from which its title came: "Fondly do we hope - and fervently do we pray - that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, 'the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.'" "From Limited to Total War: 1861-1865" shows the depth of the political and social transformation brought about during the Civil War. It told how the human cost of the Civil War exceeded that of any country during World War I and explains the background to Lincoln's announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, in 1862. The book also recounts the exploits of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first black regiments organized in the Civil War, and their attack on Fort Wagner in July 1863. It pays tribute to Robert Gould Shaw, the white commanding officer of the regiment, who died in the attack and was buried in a mass grave with many of his men. Professor McPherson's writings are not just about the middle decades of the nineteenth century but are also about the last decades of the twentieth century. The political turmoil prior to the Civil War, the violence of the war, Lincoln's legacy and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson shed some light on contemporary events. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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