Civil wars Books

Book SynopsisSwashbuckling stories of the Union naval blockade of the Southern states and the blockade runners who smuggled goods to the Confederacy have long been a part of the romanticized image of the Civil War. Throughout the war, Lincoln’s blockade and attempts to breach it touched nearly every aspect of the war effort. The Union prevented crucial material from reaching Confederate forces, while blockade runners smuggled hundreds of thousands of guns to rebel armies. No other military campaign lasted as long or had as many long-term consequences on the outcome of the Civil War.Covering more than three thousand miles of Southern coastline and employing the services of 100,000 sailors, the blockade was a massive undertaking largely dictated by two Atlantic powers: Great Britain and the United States. Michael Bonner and Peter McCord build on the extensive scholarship of the blockade and incorporate previously unexamined British primary sources to deliver a fresh analysis of the Union blockade, blockade-running, and a reassessment of the blockade’s effectiveness. Their multifaceted study reassesses several key aspects of a “critical component of Union strategy,” including diplomatic and legal issues and the significance of the Confederacy’s reliance on European supplies to sustain the war effort.The authors present statistics showing that the blockade was not nearly as effective as is commonly believed; moreover, its successes against steam-powered blockade runners actually decreased as the war went on. The diversity and comprehensiveness of coverage makes The Union Blockade in the American Civil War an essential work for Civil War historians and students.

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Book SynopsisCivil War historians have long noted that support for the Confederacy in the antebellum South tended to align with geography: those who lived in towns, along railroads, and on land suited for large-scale farming tended to side with the Confederacy, while those who lived a more isolated existence and made their livings by subsistence farming and bartering usually remained Unionist. Bartow County in northwest Georgia, with its distinctive terrain of valley, piedmont, and Appalachian hill country, is an ideal microcosm to examine these issues. Keith S. Hebert examines the rise and precipitous fall of Confederate nationalism in Bartow County, a shared experience among many counties in the upland South. Hebert's story tells us much about the war's origins, Confederate defeat, and the enduring legacy of white supremacy in these rural areas. Although no major battles were fought in Bartow County, Sherman's Atlanta Campaign saw Federal troops occupying the area, testing the loyalties of Bartow County soldiers serving in the Army of Tennessee and elsewhere. As the home front collapsed, they had to decide if they should remain in the army and fight or return home to protect their families and property. Locals hardly knew whom to trust as Unionists and Confederates-from both home and afar-engaged in guerilla warfare, stole resources from citizens, and made the war a confusing trap rather than a struggle for an emergent nation. Drawing on the primary source record of newspapers, letters, diaries, and official documents from the county, Hebert compellingly works personalized vignettes into a scholarly study of developments from the advent of war through Reconstruction and the decades following. The Long Civil War in the North Georgia Mountains solidifies recent scholarship about the war in southern Appalachia and opens a window into a community deeply divided by civil war.Trade ReviewKeith Hebert has thoroughly mined the primary source record in one Georgia county to uncover a complex story of divided community identities, shifting economic tides, wartime destruction, and deep social change. Even more, Hebert has helped clarify the differences between the Appalachian and Southern Civil War experiences.""--Aaron Astor, author of Rebels on the Border: Civil War, Emancipation, and the Reconstruction of Kentucky and Missouri""Carved from land taken during the Cherokee Removal, Cass (later Bartow) County is located in the Appalachian highlands of Northwest Georgia. Its early white settlers quickly integrated the frontier region into the larger Southern economy prior to the coming of the Civil War; its location placed it in the path of invading Union forces on the road to Atlanta; and its postbellum experience has demonstrated the struggle of the white population to preserve the old order. Keith Hebert's The Long Civil War in the North Georgia Mountains is a well-researched work that covers these topics in an engaging style, making it an important contribution to the history of the Civil War, the South, and Georgia."" --John D. Fowler, author of Mountaineers in Gray: The Nineteenth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry

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Book SynopsisThe Battle of Franklin pitted beleaguered Confederate general John Bell Hood against Union general John Schofield and his Army of the Ohio. The Army of Tennessee had nearly twenty thousand men when it began assaulting the Union’s fortified positions around Franklin. While Hood forced the Army of Ohio to retreat to Nashville, his losses were considerable, and he would face a fortified Army of the Ohio yet again. Hood’s defeat in the subsequent battle of Nashville shrunk the Army of Tennessee to fewer than ten thousand men and effectively neutralized the army for the remainder of the Civil War.Decisions at Franklin explores the critical decisions made by Confederate and Union commanders during the battle and how these decisions shaped its outcome. Rather than offering a history of the battle, Andrew Bledsoe hones in on a sequence of critical decisions made by commanders on both sides of the contest to provide a blueprint of the Battle of Franklin at its tactical core. Identifying and exploring the critical decisions in this way allows students of the battle to progress from a knowledge of what happened to a deep understanding of why events happened. Complete with maps and a driving tour, Decisions at Franklin is an indispensable primer, and readers looking for a concise introduction to the battle can tour this sacred ground—or read about it at their leisure—with key insights into the campaign and a greater understanding of the Civil War itself.Decisions at Franklin is the sixteenth in a series of books that will explore the critical decisions of major campaigns and battles of the Civil War.

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Book SynopsisOn the morning of August 21, 1861, John T. Wilder, a brash young colonel of a Union mounted infantry unit nicknamed the “Lightning Brigade” ordered his men to open fire on the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, damaging buildings, sinking steamboats along the riverfront, and injuring men, women, and children. In the midst of Reconstruction and an emerging new South a mere eight years later, Wilder was elected mayor of Chattanooga. While Wilder is most closely associated with the Lightning Brigade, which helped to pioneer the use of both mounted infantry and repeating firearms during the American Civil War, his military accomplishments occupied only five years of his eighty-seven year life. His immense postwar success, however, left a permanent mark on the industrial development of the war-torn South in the second half of the nineteenth century. It is the comprehensive picture of Wilder’s nearly nine decades that Maury Nicely seeks to capture in Forging a New South: The Life of General John T. Wilder. “For many war heroes, there was not much beyond the war worth telling,” Nicely writes. “Such was not the case with Wilder.” A successful entrepreneur and industrialist, after the war Wilder relocated to East Tennessee, where he created dozens of businesses, factories, mines, hotels, and towns; was elected mayor of the city he had shelled during the war; and cultivated close personal and business relationships with Federal and Confederate veterans alike, helping to create a new South in the wake of a devastating conflict. Presented in two parts and accompanied by more than sixty detailed photographs and maps, Nicely’s balanced study fills a significant void—the first complete biography of General John T. Wilder.

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Book SynopsisOf the more than seventy sites associated with the Civil War era that the National Park Service manages, none hold more national appeal and recognition than Gettysburg National Military Park. Welcoming more than one million visitors annually from across the nation and around the world, the National Park Service at Gettysburg holds the enormous responsibility of preserving the war’s “hallowed ground” and educating the public, not only on the battle, but also about the Civil War as the nation’s defining moment. Although historians and enthusiasts continually add to the shelves of Gettysburg scholarship, they have paid only minimal attention to the battlefield itself and the process of preserving, interpreting, and remembering the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. In On a Great Battlefield, Jennifer M. Murray provides a critical perspective to Gettysburg historiography by offering an in-depth exploration of the national military park and how the Gettysburg battlefield has evolved since the National Park Service acquired the site in August 1933. As Murray reveals, the history of the Gettysburg battlefield underscores the complexity of preserving and interpreting a historic landscape. After a short overview of early efforts to preserve the battlefield by the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association (1864–1895) and the United States War Department (1895–1933), Murray chronicles the administration of the National Park Service and the multitude of external factors—including the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II, the Civil War Centennial, and recent sesquicentennial celebrations—that influenced operations and molded Americans’ understanding of the battle and its history. Haphazard landscape practices, promotion of tourism, encouragement of recreational pursuits, ill-defined policies of preserving cultural resources, and the inevitable turnover of administrators guided by very different preservation values regularly influenced the direction of the park and the presentation of the Civil War’s popular memory. By highlighting the complicated nexus between preservation, tourism, popular culture, interpretation, and memory, On a Great Battlefield provides a unique perspective on the Mecca of Civil War landscapes. Jennifer M. Murray, assistant professor of history at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, is the author of The Civil War Begins. Her articles have appeared in Civil War History, Civil War Times, and Civil War Times Illustrated.Trade Review“Murray excels at getting the reader to the ground level of the preservation and interpretive battles at Gettysburg without losing the broader political and social context in which these debates occurred.” ­—Peter S. Carmichael, Civil War History

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Book SynopsisThe Mississippi Secession Convention is the first full treatment of any secession convention to date. Studying the Mississippi convention of 1861 offers insight into how and why southern states seceded and the effects of such a breech. Based largely on primary sources, this book provides a unique insight into the broader secession movement.There was more to the secession convention than the mere act of leaving the Union, which was done only three days into the deliberations. The rest of the three-week January 1861 meeting as well as an additional week in March saw the delegates debate and pass a number of important ordinances that for a time governed the state. As seen through the eyes of the delegates themselves, with rich research into each member, this book provides a compelling overview of the entire proceeding.The effects of the convention gain the most analysis in this study, including the political processes that, after the momentous vote, morphed into unlikely alliances. Those on opposite ends of the secession question quickly formed new political allegiances in a predominantly Confederate-minded convention. These new political factions formed largely over the issues of central versus local authority, which quickly played into Confederate versus state issues during the Civil War. In addition, author Timothy B. Smith considers the lasting consequences of defeat, looking into the effect secession and war had on the delegates themselves and, by extension, their state, Mississippi.

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Book SynopsisA Union Army at war against the ConfederacyThe Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal armies of the Union Army. It was first commanded by Rosecrans who commanded it through its first significant engagement at Stones River and then subsequently during the Tullahoma campaign and at Chickamauga where it received a savaging which was instrumental in causing it to become besieged in Chattanooga. Grant, uncertain of its morale, gave the Cumberland, now under Thomas, a minor role at Missionary Ridge but his concerns were unfounded because, after achieving its primary objective, four divisions stormed the main enemy positions helping to complete the victory. Thomas commanded to the end of the war, but not before the Army of the Cumberland fought in the Atlanta Campaign, at Peachtree Creek, Franklin and finally at the decisive Battle of Nashville where with it crushed Confederate forces under Hood. This is a well rounded unit history. Essential reading for every student of the period. Available in soft cover and cloth bound hard back with dust jacket, head and tail bands and gold foil lettering to the spine.

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Book SynopsisPerhaps more than any other war in the twentieth century, the Spanish Civil War was seen as a 'writers' war' - names such as Hemingway and Orwell spring to mind. But the women who went to Spain and wrote about it have often been forgotten. This anthology is part of efforts to redress the balance. It includes writing by women from Britain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand - and from unsung nurses and relief workers as well as internationally celebrated writers. Bringing together extracts from memoirs, letters, diaries and poems, this collection provides a moving overview of the Spanish Civil War from the perspective of women participants. Contributors include Emma Goldman, Lillian Hellman, Jessica Mitford and Sylvia Townsend Warner.Trade Review'the power of human reciprocity and a profound spiritual rejection of fascism shine through'Sheila Rowbotham'I was absorbed by the book A... its publication is a tribute to the noble role of many women in the Spanish war' Jack Jones

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Book SynopsisThe second century BCE was a time of prolonged debate at Rome about the changing nature of warfare. From the outbreak of the Second Punic War in 218 to Rome’s first civil war in 88 BCE, warfare shifted from the struggle against a great external enemy to a conflict against internal parties. This book argues that Rome’s Italian subjects were central to this development: having rebelled and defected to Hannibal at the end of the third century, the allies again rebelled in 91 BCE, with significant consequences for Roman thought about warfare as such. These "rebellions" constituted an Italian renewal of the war against their old conqueror, Rome, and an internal war within the polity. Accordingly, we need to add 'internal war' to the already well-established dichotomy of foreign and civil war. This fresh analysis of the second century demonstrates that the Roman experience of internal war during this period provided the natural stepping-stone in the invention of civil war as such. It conceives of the period from the Second Punic War onward as an 'antebellum' period to the later civil war(s) of the Late Republic, during which contemporary observers looked back at the last 'great war' against Hannibal in preparation for the next conflict.

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Book SynopsisThe story of the Stuart dynasty is a breathless soap opera played out in just a hundred years in an array of buildings that span Europe from Scotland, via Denmark, Holland and Spain to England.Life in the court of the House of Stuart has been shrouded in mystery: the first half of the century overshadowed by the fall and execution of Charles I, the second half in the complete collapse of the House itself. Lost to time is the extraordinary contribution the Stuarts made to the fabric of sovereignty.Every palace they built, painting they commissioned, or artwork they acquired was a direct reflection of the lives that they led and the way that they thought. Palaces of Revolution explores this rich history in graphic detail, giving a unique insight into the lives of this famous dynasty. It takes us from Royston and Newmarket, where James I appropriated most of the town centre as a sort of rough-and-ready royal housing estate, to the steamy Turkish baths at Whitehall where Charles II seducedTrade Review‘Simon Thurley may be congratulated on a splendid achievement, which serves several different branches of history at once, as well as those who appreciate a clear and lively literary style … An important addition to knowledge’ Ronald Hutton, Times Literary Supplement ‘A hugely impressive, readable book that covers its broad canvas with assurance … Thoughtfully illustrated and furnished with plans of the buildings, itself a huge accomplishment.’ John Goodall, Country Life ‘In his admirably readable new book, Simon Thurley, who probably knows more about the palaces of the 16th and 17th centuries than anyone alive, has written a chronological survey of the royal residences of the Stuarts, a period of just over 100 years. You almost can read it as an alternative history of the dynasty … Lively and authoritative’ Andrew Taylor, The Times ‘Palaces of Revolution is far more than just a history book … The author’s knowledge … is unprecedented, elevating the historical survey into an alternative reading of the Stuart Dynasty … one only has to read this book to hear the walls talking. From secret seductions to fierce fighting, Thurley writes with great detail, invigorating the historical narratives we know and presenting new stories’ The Scottish Field ‘There can be few as well-placed to write about the buildings associated with the Stuart monarchy as Simon Thurley … This book – engagingly written and beautifully illustrated – is a comprehensive account of those achievements, and of the role that buildings played in the political life of early modern Britain.’ Historic House magazine ‘The culmination of nearly 30 years of research, [Palaces of Revolution] takes us back in time to bring these “hollow citadels of ceremony” and those who occupied them to life once again.’ Apollo

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Book SynopsisTheir long rivalry climaxed with the spilled blood of an American president. Mathew Brady, nearly blind and hoping to rekindle his artistic photographic magic, competed against his former understudy, Alexander Gardner, to record the epic moments of President Abraham Lincoln''s death; the hunt for his murderer, John Wilkes Booth; and the execution of the men and women who conspired with Booth to cripple the United States government. The two photographers rushed to the theater where Lincoln was slain, to the gallows where the conspirators were hanged, and to the autopsy table where Booth was identified, hoping to capture the iconic images of their times . . . and to emerge as the nation''s unrivaled master of the new media.Shooting Lincoln tells the heart-pounding story of their race for lasting camera-lens glory-and shows how, at the end of the Civil War, photography had become the photojournalism that would our change culture forever. Brady and Gardner took some of th

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Book SynopsisBefore the Civil War, America had undergone a technological revolution that made large-scale industry possible, yet, except for the expanding reach of railroads and telegraph lines, the country remained largely rural, with only pockets of small manufacturing. Then the war came and woke the sleeping giant. The Civil War created a wave of unprecedented industrial growth and development, producing a revolution in new structures, ideas, and inventions that sustained the struggle and reshaped America.Energized by the country''s dormant potential and wealth of natural resources, individuals of vision, organizational talent, and capital took advantage of the opportunity war provided. Their innovations sustained Union troops, affected military strategy and tactics, and made the killing fields even deadlier. Individually, these men came to dominate industry and amass great wealth and power; collectively, they helped save the Union and refashion the economic fabric of a nation.

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Book SynopsisA Pulitzer Prize?winning journalist reveals the little-known story of the Union soldiers from Alabama who played a decisive role in the Civil War, and how they were scrubbed from the history books.?It is my sincere hope that this compelling and submerged history is integrated into our understanding of our nation, and allows us to embrace new heroes of the past.??Imani Perry, professor, Harvard University, and National Book Award?winning author of South to AmericaWe all know how the Civil War was won: Courageous Yankees triumphed over the South. But is there more to the story?As Pulitzer Prize?winning journalist Howell Raines shows, it was not only soldiers from northern states who helped General William Tecumseh Sherman burn Atlanta to the ground but also an unsung regiment of 2,066 Alabamian yeoman farmers?including at least one member of Raines?s own family.Called the First Alabama Cavalry, U.S.A., this regiment of mountain Unionists, which included sixteen formerly enslaved Black men, was the point of the spear that Sherman drove through the heart of the Confederacy. The famed general hailed their skills and courage. So why don?t we know anything about them?Silent Cavalry is part epic American history, part family saga, and part scholarly detective story. Drawing on the lore of his native Alabama and investigative skills honed by six decades in journalism, Raines brings to light a conspiracy that sought to undermine the accomplishments of these renegade southerners?a key component of the Lost Cause effort to restore glory to white southerners after the war, even at the cost of the truth.In this important new contribution to our understanding of the Civil War and its legacy, Raines tells the thrilling tale of the formation of the First Alabama while exposing the tangled web of how its wartime accomplishments were silenced, implicating everyone from a former Confederate general to a gaggle of Lost Cause historians in the Ivy League and a sanctimonious former keeper of the Alabama state archives. By reversing the erasure of the First Alabama, Silent Cavalry is a testament to the immense power of historians to destroy as well as to redeem.

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Book SynopsisThe Civil War is an event of great cultural significance, impacting upon American literature, film, music, electronic media, the marketplace and public performance. This book takes an innovative approach to this great event in American history, exploring its cultural origins and enduring cultural legacy. It focuses upon the place of the Civil War across the broad sweep of American cultural forms and practices and reveals important links between historical events and contemporary culture.The first chapter introduces a discussion of ante-bellum culture and the part cultural forces played in the sectional crisis that exploded into full-blown war in 1861. Subsequent chapters focus on particular themes, appropriations, interpretations and manifestations of the War as they have appeared in American culture.Trade ReviewKaufman moves elegantly and expertly from the actual events of the Civil War to its representation in all kinds of modern popular culture, from the labels of whisky bottles (one of which adorns his cover) to southern rock music, from bikinis to Playmobil figures... this is an exciting, wide-ranging and instructive book. -- Marion Gibson, University of Exeter European Journal of American Culture Will Kaufman's lively introduction to the Civil War's continuing culture wars is therefore a timely publication for those wondering why the Civil War still resonates in american culture... a vibrant and engaging study that conveys an enthusiasm for the subject that students, one hopes, will find infectious. -- Susan-Mary Grant, Newcastle University Journal of American Studies Some of the more hidden gems of Civil War culture, and thus keep the reader enthralled as to what new curiosities he will uncover next... an entertaining and revealing perspective on the ethos of the American Civil War. -- Tracy Rex, University of Wales American Studies Today An interesting, well-nuanced study of the imprints that the Civil war has made and continues to make on US culture. -- T. Marwell-Long, University of California State Journal of American Studies Required reading for anyone interested in topic of race and/or culture in the U.S. -- Gerri Gribi, Curator Journal of American Studies An excellent overview for scholars and advanced students alike ... an excellent reference guide. -- H-CivWar - Jim Flook, University of Florida H-Net Kaufman moves elegantly and expertly from the actual events of the Civil War to its representation in all kinds of modern popular culture, from the labels of whisky bottles (one of which adorns his cover) to southern rock music, from bikinis to Playmobil figures... this is an exciting, wide-ranging and instructive book. Will Kaufman's lively introduction to the Civil War's continuing culture wars is therefore a timely publication for those wondering why the Civil War still resonates in american culture... a vibrant and engaging study that conveys an enthusiasm for the subject that students, one hopes, will find infectious. Some of the more hidden gems of Civil War culture, and thus keep the reader enthralled as to what new curiosities he will uncover next... an entertaining and revealing perspective on the ethos of the American Civil War. An interesting, well-nuanced study of the imprints that the Civil war has made and continues to make on US culture. Required reading for anyone interested in topic of race and/or culture in the U.S. An excellent overview for scholars and advanced students alike ... an excellent reference guide.Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Antebellum Groundwork; 2. Reunion and Resistance; 3. Martyrdom and Memory; 4. Abe Lincoln's Mixed Reviews; 5. Rebels, Inc.; 6. The Regendered Civil War; 7. The Virtual Civil War; 8. The Transnational Civil War; Conclusion: 'History is My Starting Point'; Sources and Further Reading.

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Book SynopsisThe most extensive and detailed analysis of the reporting of the Spanish Civil War ever undertaken.Trade ReviewBRITISH NEWS MEDIA AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR: TOMORROW MAY BE TOO LATE David Deacon, 2008 Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press Viii 196 pp., ISBN 978-0-7486-2748-6 (hbk GBP60.00) The public representation of the Spanish Civil War has, unsurprisingly, received considerable attention from scholars in recent years. The conflict attracted, after all, an impressive array of talented writers, journalists and photographers, from Ernest Hemmingway and George Orwell to Martha Gellhorn and Robert Capa; it prompted numerous artistic responses, including Picasso's masterpiece Guernica. It seemed, both at the time and in retrospect, a struggle with huge significance not just for the future of Spain, but for the future of the world: a battle of rival ideologies which could destabilize the balance of power in Europe and pave the way for a global war. Despite this ongoing interest, there has not been a comprehensive survey of the British media's coverage of the events in Spain. David Deacon's new volume fills this gap with great authority. It focuses not just on the content of the journalism but the conditions under which it was produced and the editorial pressures that shaped its presentation. It demonstrates that the British press was more uncertain and confused in its response to the civil war than has often been assumed; several newspapers shifted their positions significantly, and, in particular, reservations about Franco grew over time. Deacon suggests that, on balance, the Republican government won the media war, but ultimately 'the scale of its victory was insufficient' (171): it was not able to stir British opinion into demanding firmer action in its support, and hobbled by the Non-Intervention pact, it eventually succumbed to military defeat. The book's structure enables the reader to follow the complex journey that the 'news from Spain' took on its way to breakfast tables around Britain. The first substantive chapter compares the initially 'rigid and aggressive news management' of the Nationalists with the more 'permissive' approach of the Republicans (40); the greater freedom allowed to journalists, coupled with a more advanced communications infrastructure, encouraged more detailed and often more sympathetic coverage of Republican activities. If killings in Republican zones in the early months of the war were over-reported, the relative mobility of journalists enabled The Times' George Steer, among others, to be in place to witness the devastation at Guernica and to identify the perpetrators coverage which did incalculable damage to the Nationalists' reputation. Two further chapters on the experiences of journalists on the front lines reinforce the point that the views of the Anglo-American press contingent were noticeably inclined towards the Republican cause although if there was a widespread desire to support the defence of democracy, the vast majority of correspondents were deeply suspicious of the more revolutionary groupings working alongside the moderate government forces. Deacon also shows how female reporters, lacking the status of their male counterparts, were generally left to cover the impact of the warfare on ordinary citizens; he notes that their accounts were often given 'considerable prominence' in British newspapers (69), but he does not provide sufficient evidence to Media History, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2010 ISSN 1368-8804 print/1469-9729 online/10/020253 13 DOI: 10.1080/13688801003656355 Downloaded By: [Loughborough University] At: 13:50 8 April 2010 sustain his argument that this eyewitness testimony of civilian resolution in the facing of bombardment served to weaken the 'air fear' gripping Europe in the 1930s. But if journalists in Spain tended to favour the Republican position, there were significant countervailing pressures in Britain. In a chapter which draws extensively on the National Archives and the editorial archives of The Times, the Manchester Guardian and the BBC, Deacon demonstrates the ways in which the government largely through the News Department of the Foreign Office sought to mould media debate and maintain support for the policy of Non-Intervention. The British National Government, the author shows, had a 'barely concealed political and ideological antipathy to the Republic' (110), and consistently sought to avoid antagonizing the Fascist regimes in Germany and Italy. An interesting case study of Frederick Voight, the Diplomatic Correspondent of the Manchester Guardian, indicates the effectiveness of the Foreign Office's 'management' of the press. Voight's analysis of the civil war he spent relatively little time in Spain itself was uncomfortably similar to that of the British government's, even though he worked for a paper overtly backing the Republicans. Deacon builds a persuasive case that Voight's divergence from his paper's line was due to his integration into the Foreign Office's diplomatic lobby system. The BBC was placed under even more pressure: as early as March 1937, John Reith, the Director-General, recorded that the Foreign Office 'would be glad' if the BBC became 'sufficiently obviously pro-Insurgent to convince Franco' that it, and by extension the government, were 'not Anti-Franco' (96). Reith had few qualms about adopting this line. Deacon also suggests that commercial interests may have encouraged some proprietors to be receptive to the government's desire to 'cool and constrain' media debate about the international situation (110), although decisive evidence for this is, as ever, hard to find. It is not easy to disentangle genuinely held political views from commercial motives: what is clear, however, is the difficulty, in this climate of opinion, of sustaining the case for decisive British intervention on the side of the Republicans. The most impressive and longest chapter is devoted to the actual content of the press coverage of the civil war. Based on a survey of over 10,000 news and commentary items taken from three sample months, this analysis is a model of precision. Graphs, tables and maps are provided to summarize changing levels of coverage, the location of journalists, the sources used in reporting, the labels employed to describe the two sides, and, most importantly of all, the interpretive categories and editorial policies of each paper. Deacon provides a wealth of valuable information that will be useful to anyone interested in foreign affairs journalism: it is difficult to imagine being provided with a fuller or more nuanced picture of the British press's response to the conflict. Amidst this complexity, some clear patterns can be identified, most notably that over time 'Nationalist sins gained prominence over Republican failings and, by the end, even those inclined to oppose the Republic ... demonstrated some compassion for Republican suffering and admiration for their resistance' (146). By the end of the war, there were few voices praising Franco with any enthusiasm. After this analytical tour de force, the final substantive chapter on 'other avenues of Spanish news' namely, newsreels, photography and the weekly press feels rather lightweight, based as it is on secondary literature, but it does at least ensure a rounded coverage which incorporates all of the main media forms of the 1930s. 254 BOOK REVIEWS Downloaded By: [Loughborough University] At: 13:50 8 April 2010 Inevitably, there are some minor quibbles. The author waits until the brief concluding chapter to introduce a model of a 'propaganda state' to describe the activities of the British government: 'The Propaganda State of the 1930s,' he writes, 'recognised the need to legitimise its policies but felt little need to legitimise itself' (178). This is a suggestive avenue to explore, but it would have been more helpful to signpost it earlier to allow the reader the opportunity to assess its worth. Despite the flurry of tables and statistics summarizing the press coverage, moreover, the reader does not get much of a flavour of the actual language and tone of the news reporting and commentary beyond the headlines. Overall, though, this is a very significant addition to the literature on interwar journalism, and it stands as a shining example of methodological rigour in the field of media history. Adrian Bingham, University of Sheffield # 2010, Adrian Bingham -- Adrian Bingham Media History 'This book is a deeply researched media history shaped by the eye of a media sociologist. In a lucid and thoughtful account, David Deacon has explored the continuities between past and present. The media coverage of the Spanish civil war still holds lessons for analysing communications in our own war-torn times.' -- Professor Philip Schlesinger, University of Glasgow 'David Deacon is to be congratulated for this splendid study of British news media reporting of the Spanish Civil War, which combines the historian's concern with detailed analysis of primary and archival sources with the broader sweep of journalism theory, to create a fascinating, scholarly but controversial mix. British News Media and the Spanish Civil War is destined to become a Classic within the literature of journalism studies. It establishes a demanding new benchmark of excellence for the flurry of recent studies of war reporting in Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflict regions. Deacon's eloquent but forensic discussion of the attitudes and experiences of foreign correspondents, the contribution of women correspondents and photojournalists, the propaganda activities of the Republican and nationalist protagonists, as well as the news management activities of the British Government, explains and unravels the various factors which shaped the essentially complex and partisan character of British press coverage of the Spanish Civil War. Deacon's suggestion that journalism may assist historical understanding but that its key concern is 'to influence social and political events', along with his challenge to contemporary ideas concerning the 'mediatization' of politics and conflict, makes this is a highly controversial as well as deeply scholarly book.' -- Bob Franklin, Cardiff University This book provides an extensive and detailed analysis of the reporting of the conflict, examining the personalities, routines, pressures and structures that shaped news coverage of the war in Britain as it unfolded. The book combines a comprehensive overview of the existing literature on the role of the news media in the conflict, with a vast amount of new evidence, gleaned from the author's detailed investigations in a range of official and media archives. Viewfinder In this brilliant, concise and original study of British and American news media's reporting of the Spanish civil war, David Deacon reveals the extraordinarily rich tapestry of journalistic endeavour which Orwell's quip obscures. Deacon explores the subject thematically and with wonderful imaginative flair. -- Richard Lance Keeble, University of Lincoln European Journal of Communication David Deaon has written a book that is well-researched, clear, provocative and stimulating... a valuable contribution to the burgeoning historiogrpahy of Britain and the Spanish Civil War as well as an insightful media history that throws light on both the contemporary state of British media and its modern development. -- Lewis H. Mates Contemporary British History ...This is a very significant addition to the literature on interwar journalism, and it stands as a shining example of methodological rigour in the field of media history. -- Adrian Bingham Media History As well as presenting detailed analysis of British newspapers, Deacon's work samples the full spectrum of British media, effectively blending hard-edged media analysis with detailed cultural history! Deacon's book convincingly presents the 1930s as central to the formation of distinctly modern political practices and sensibilities. -- Ben Harker, University of Salford Socialist History BRITISH NEWS MEDIA AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR: TOMORROW MAY BE TOO LATE David Deacon, 2008 Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press Viii 196 pp., ISBN 978-0-7486-2748-6 (hbk GBP60.00) The public representation of the Spanish Civil War has, unsurprisingly, received considerable attention from scholars in recent years. The conflict attracted, after all, an impressive array of talented writers, journalists and photographers, from Ernest Hemmingway and George Orwell to Martha Gellhorn and Robert Capa; it prompted numerous artistic responses, including Picasso's masterpiece Guernica. It seemed, both at the time and in retrospect, a struggle with huge significance not just for the future of Spain, but for the future of the world: a battle of rival ideologies which could destabilize the balance of power in Europe and pave the way for a global war. Despite this ongoing interest, there has not been a comprehensive survey of the British media's coverage of the events in Spain. David Deacon's new volume fills this gap with great authority. It focuses not just on the content of the journalism but the conditions under which it was produced and the editorial pressures that shaped its presentation. It demonstrates that the British press was more uncertain and confused in its response to the civil war than has often been assumed; several newspapers shifted their positions significantly, and, in particular, reservations about Franco grew over time. Deacon suggests that, on balance, the Republican government won the media war, but ultimately 'the scale of its victory was insufficient' (171): it was not able to stir British opinion into demanding firmer action in its support, and hobbled by the Non-Intervention pact, it eventually succumbed to military defeat. The book's structure enables the reader to follow the complex journey that the 'news from Spain' took on its way to breakfast tables around Britain. The first substantive chapter compares the initially 'rigid and aggressive news management' of the Nationalists with the more 'permissive' approach of the Republicans (40); the greater freedom allowed to journalists, coupled with a more advanced communications infrastructure, encouraged more detailed and often more sympathetic coverage of Republican activities. If killings in Republican zones in the early months of the war were over-reported, the relative mobility of journalists enabled The Times' George Steer, among others, to be in place to witness the devastation at Guernica and to identify the perpetrators coverage which did incalculable damage to the Nationalists' reputation. Two further chapters on the experiences of journalists on the front lines reinforce the point that the views of the Anglo-American press contingent were noticeably inclined towards the Republican cause although if there was a widespread desire to support the defence of democracy, the vast majority of correspondents were deeply suspicious of the more revolutionary groupings working alongside the moderate government forces. Deacon also shows how female reporters, lacking the status of their male counterparts, were generally left to cover the impact of the warfare on ordinary citizens; he notes that their accounts were often given 'considerable prominence' in British newspapers (69), but he does not provide sufficient evidence to Media History, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2010 ISSN 1368-8804 print/1469-9729 online/10/020253 13 DOI: 10.1080/13688801003656355 Downloaded By: [Loughborough University] At: 13:50 8 April 2010 sustain his argument that this eyewitness testimony of civilian resolution in the facing of bombardment served to weaken the 'air fear' gripping Europe in the 1930s. But if journalists in Spain tended to favour the Republican position, there were significant countervailing pressures in Britain. In a chapter which draws extensively on the National Archives and the editorial archives of The Times, the Manchester Guardian and the BBC, Deacon demonstrates the ways in which the government largely through the News Department of the Foreign Office sought to mould media debate and maintain support for the policy of Non-Intervention. The British National Government, the author shows, had a 'barely concealed political and ideological antipathy to the Republic' (110), and consistently sought to avoid antagonizing the Fascist regimes in Germany and Italy. An interesting case study of Frederick Voight, the Diplomatic Correspondent of the Manchester Guardian, indicates the effectiveness of the Foreign Office's 'management' of the press. Voight's analysis of the civil war he spent relatively little time in Spain itself was uncomfortably similar to that of the British government's, even though he worked for a paper overtly backing the Republicans. Deacon builds a persuasive case that Voight's divergence from his paper's line was due to his integration into the Foreign Office's diplomatic lobby system. The BBC was placed under even more pressure: as early as March 1937, John Reith, the Director-General, recorded that the Foreign Office 'would be glad' if the BBC became 'sufficiently obviously pro-Insurgent to convince Franco' that it, and by extension the government, were 'not Anti-Franco' (96). Reith had few qualms about adopting this line. Deacon also suggests that commercial interests may have encouraged some proprietors to be receptive to the government's desire to 'cool and constrain' media debate about the international situation (110), although decisive evidence for this is, as ever, hard to find. It is not easy to disentangle genuinely held political views from commercial motives: what is clear, however, is the difficulty, in this climate of opinion, of sustaining the case for decisive British intervention on the side of the Republicans. The most impressive and longest chapter is devoted to the actual content of the press coverage of the civil war. Based on a survey of over 10,000 news and commentary items taken from three sample months, this analysis is a model of precision. Graphs, tables and maps are provided to summarize changing levels of coverage, the location of journalists, the sources used in reporting, the labels employed to describe the two sides, and, most importantly of all, the interpretive categories and editorial policies of each paper. Deacon provides a wealth of valuable information that will be useful to anyone interested in foreign affairs journalism: it is difficult to imagine being provided with a fuller or more nuanced picture of the British press's response to the conflict. Amidst this complexity, some clear patterns can be identified, most notably that over time 'Nationalist sins gained prominence over Republican failings and, by the end, even those inclined to oppose the Republic ... demonstrated some compassion for Republican suffering and admiration for their resistance' (146). By the end of the war, there were few voices praising Franco with any enthusiasm. After this analytical tour de force, the final substantive chapter on 'other avenues of Spanish news' namely, newsreels, photography and the weekly press feels rather lightweight, based as it is on secondary literature, but it does at least ensure a rounded coverage which incorporates all of the main media forms of the 1930s. 254 BOOK REVIEWS Downloaded By: [Loughborough University] At: 13:50 8 April 2010 Inevitably, there are some minor quibbles. The author waits until the brief concluding chapter to introduce a model of a 'propaganda state' to describe the activities of the British government: 'The Propaganda State of the 1930s,' he writes, 'recognised the need to legitimise its policies but felt little need to legitimise itself' (178). This is a suggestive avenue to explore, but it would have been more helpful to signpost it earlier to allow the reader the opportunity to assess its worth. Despite the flurry of tables and statistics summarizing the press coverage, moreover, the reader does not get much of a flavour of the actual language and tone of the news reporting and commentary beyond the headlines. Overall, though, this is a very significant addition to the literature on interwar journalism, and it stands as a shining example of methodological rigour in the field of media history. Adrian Bingham, University of Sheffield # 2010, Adrian Bingham 'This book is a deeply researched media history shaped by the eye of a media sociologist. In a lucid and thoughtful account, David Deacon has explored the continuities between past and present. The media coverage of the Spanish civil war still holds lessons for analysing communications in our own war-torn times.' 'David Deacon is to be congratulated for this splendid study of British news media reporting of the Spanish Civil War, which combines the historian's concern with detailed analysis of primary and archival sources with the broader sweep of journalism theory, to create a fascinating, scholarly but controversial mix. British News Media and the Spanish Civil War is destined to become a Classic within the literature of journalism studies. It establishes a demanding new benchmark of excellence for the flurry of recent studies of war reporting in Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflict regions. Deacon's eloquent but forensic discussion of the attitudes and experiences of foreign correspondents, the contribution of women correspondents and photojournalists, the propaganda activities of the Republican and nationalist protagonists, as well as the news management activities of the British Government, explains and unravels the various factors which shaped the essentially complex and partisan character of British press coverage of the Spanish Civil War. Deacon's suggestion that journalism may assist historical understanding but that its key concern is 'to influence social and political events', along with his challenge to contemporary ideas concerning the 'mediatization' of politics and conflict, makes this is a highly controversial as well as deeply scholarly book.' This book provides an extensive and detailed analysis of the reporting of the conflict, examining the personalities, routines, pressures and structures that shaped news coverage of the war in Britain as it unfolded. The book combines a comprehensive overview of the existing literature on the role of the news media in the conflict, with a vast amount of new evidence, gleaned from the author's detailed investigations in a range of official and media archives. In this brilliant, concise and original study of British and American news media's reporting of the Spanish civil war, David Deacon reveals the extraordinarily rich tapestry of journalistic endeavour which Orwell's quip obscures. Deacon explores the subject thematically and with wonderful imaginative flair. David Deaon has written a book that is well-researched, clear, provocative and stimulating... a valuable contribution to the burgeoning historiogrpahy of Britain and the Spanish Civil War as well as an insightful media history that throws light on both the contemporary state of British media and its modern development. ...This is a very significant addition to the literature on interwar journalism, and it stands as a shining example of methodological rigour in the field of media history. As well as presenting detailed analysis of British newspapers, Deacon's work samples the full spectrum of British media, effectively blending hard-edged media analysis with detailed cultural history! Deacon's book convincingly presents the 1930s as central to the formation of distinctly modern political practices and sensibilities.Table of Contents1. An emblematic editorial; 2. The Ground Rules: Republican and Nationalist International News Management; 3. Eye-Witnesses and 'I' witnesses: Journalists in Spain; 4. 'The Aliveness of Speaking Faces': Women Correspondents in the Spanish Civil War; 5. Rear-guard Reactions: Governmental and Commercial influence on Spanish Civil War Reporting in Britain; 6. Ominous and Indifferent? British Press Coverage of the Spanish Civil War; 7. Other Avenues of Spanish News; 8. Journalists, Spain and the Propaganda State.

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