Specific wars and military campaigns Books

Book SynopsisThe correspondence between the old Congress and the American agents, commissioners, and ministers in foreign countries was secret and confidential throughout the Revolution. The letters, as they arrived, were read in Congress and referred to the standing Committee of Foreign Affairs, accompanied with requisite instructions, when necessary, as to the nature and substance of the replies. The papers embracing this correspondence, which swelled to a considerable mass before the end of the Revolution, were removed to the Department of State after the formation of the new government. These papers are now presented to you in this twelve-volume set.

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Book SynopsisThe correspondence between the old Congress and the American agents, commissioners, and ministers in foreign countries was secret and confidential throughout the Revolution. The letters, as they arrived, were read in Congress and referred to the standing Committee of Foreign Affairs, accompanied with requisite instructions, when necessary, as to the nature and substance of the replies. The papers embracing this correspondence, which swelled to a considerable mass before the end of the Revolution, were removed to the Department of State after the formation of the new government. These papers are now presented to you in this twelve-volume set.

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Book SynopsisThe correspondence between the old Congress and the American agents, commissioners, and ministers in foreign countries was secret and confidential throughout the Revolution. The letters, as they arrived, were read in Congress and referred to the standing Committee of Foreign Affairs, accompanied with requisite instructions, when necessary, as to the nature and substance of the replies. The papers embracing this correspondence, which swelled to a considerable mass before the end of the Revolution, were removed to the Department of State after the formation of the new government. These papers are now presented to you in this twelve-volume set.

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Book SynopsisThe correspondence between the old Congress and the American agents, commissioners, and ministers in foreign countries was secret and confidential throughout the Revolution. The letters, as they arrived, were read in Congress and referred to the standing Committee of Foreign Affairs, accompanied with requisite instructions, when necessary, as to the nature and substance of the replies. The papers embracing this correspondence, which swelled to a considerable mass before the end of the Revolution, were removed to the Department of State after the formation of the new government. These papers are now presented to you in this twelve-volume set.

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Book SynopsisWilliam Grattan was a young Irish Lieutenant who served in the famous Connaught Rangers [the 88th regiment] in some of the hottest engagements of the Peninsular War. Adventures with the Connaught Rangers 18091814 is a memoir of his service with the 1st Battalion of the 88th regiment. Vividly written and accompanied by maps, this is one of the most famous fighting memoirs of the Peninsula War.

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Book SynopsisThe object of this volume is to present in as consecutive and comprehensive form as possible the history of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the late Civil War. Many books have been written on the work of other women in this war, but, aside from fugitive newspaper paragraphs, nothing has ever been published concerning the self-sacrificing labors of these Sisterhoods. Whatever may have been the cause of this neglect or indifference, it is evident that the time has arrived to fill this important gap in the literature of the war.

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Book SynopsisThe Peninsular War (1807-1814) was a military conflict for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic War, where the French were opposed by British, Spanish, and Portuguese forces. The war began when the French and Spanish armies invaded and occupied Portugal in 1807 and lasted until the Napoleon's defeat in 1814.Table of ContentsPrefaceSiege of ZaragozaInsurrection in PortugalFirst Campaign of the British Army in Portugal. Convention of CintraEstablishment of the Central Junta. Operations in Catalonia. Embarrassments and Movements of the Spanish Armies. Escape of the Spanish Troops From DenmarkProceedings of the French Government. Conference At Erfurth. Proposal for Peace. Buonaparte Enters SpainBuonaparte Enters Spain. Defeat of the Spanish Armies. Surrender of Madrid. The Spaniards Endeavour to Rally at Cuenca, and on the TagusCampaign of the British Army Under Sir John MooreIndex.

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Book SynopsisThe Peninsular War (1807-1814) was a military conflict for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic War, where the French were opposed by British, Spanish, and Portuguese forces. The war began when the French and Spanish armies invaded and occupied Portugal in 1807 and lasted until the Napoleon's defeat in 1814.Table of ContentsPrefaceTreaty Between Great Britain and Spain. Surrender of Coruna and Ferrol. Situation of Romanas Army. Buonaparte Returns to France. Proceedings At Madrid. Operations in CataloniaMovements of the Central Army Under the Duke Del Infantado. Battle of Ucles. Retreat from Cuenca. Cartaojal Appointed to the Command. Progress of the French. Sir Robert Wilson Enters Ciudad Rodrigo. Negotiation Concerning the Admission of British Troops Into CadizSecond Siege of ZaragozaInvasion of Portugal By Marshal SoultOperations in La Mancha and Extremadura. Battles of Ciudad Real and MedellinProceedings in Parliament Relating to the WarSir Arthur Wellesleys Second Campaign in Portugal. Passage of the Douro, and Expulsion of the French. Deliverance of GaliciaCatalonia. Battle of Valls. Death of Reding. Blake Appointed to the Command. Battle of Alcaniz. Flight of the Spaniards At Belchite. Commencement of the GuerillasIndex.

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Book SynopsisThis book contains rare reproductions of photographs taken during the American Civil War. It is believed to be the first time that the camera was used so extensively on the battle-field. It is the first known collection of its size on the Western Continent and it is the only witness of the scenes enacted during the greatest crisis in the annals of the American nation. It records a tragedy that neither the imagination of the painter nor the skill of the historian can so dramatically relate.Table of ContentsPreface; Original Photographs Taken on the Battlefields; Index.

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Book SynopsisWhen Common Sense was published in January 1776, it sold, by some estimates, a stunning 150,000 copies in the colonies. What exactly made this pamphlet so appealing? This is a question not only about the state of mind of Paine’s audience, but also about the role of public opinion and debate, the function of the press, and the shape of political culture in the colonies.This Broadview edition of Paine’s famous pamphlet attempts to reconstruct the context in which it appeared and to recapture the energy and passion of the dispute over the political future of the British colonies in North America. Included along with the text of Common Sense are some of the contemporary arguments for and against the Revolution by John Dickinson, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson; materials from the debate that followed the pamphlet’s publication showing the difficulty of the choices facing the colonists; the Declaration of Independence; and the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776. Trade Review“Edward Larkin’s new edition of Common Sense will be welcomed by readers. With a lively and detailed introduction, thorough scholarly notes, and a representative selection of the contemporaneous responses it provoked, this should become the definitive new edition of Paine’s classic tract.” — Richard Boyd, University of Wisconsin-Madison“The big problem with Paine is that current readers have trouble seeing why his ideas did not seem so common-sensical to eighteenth-century people. Larkin addresses this problem with supplementary texts that focus on the debate over independence in America; along with his interesting and approachable introduction, the combination makes for the best edition of Paine’s Common Sense available.” — Daniel Vickers, University of California, San Diego“There are many fine editions of this indispensable American text. But this one is richer and more rewarding than the others. It invites readers to encounter Common Sense in the fullness of its historical setting. And as it does, it makes plain how utterly Tom Paine towered above all other Revolutionary writers.” — Michael W. Zuckerman, University of Pennsylvania“Edward Larkin’s new edition of Tom Paine’s Common Sense will be a boon to teachers and students. It thoughtfully contextualizes Paine’s pamphlet while highlighting the singularity of his voice. Most importantly, it will aid students in placing Common Sense in that absolutely central eighteenth-century culture war: the beginning of the unfinished argument over modern democracy.” — Michael Meranze, University of California, San DiegoTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionWorks CitedThomas Paine: A Brief ChronologyA Note on the TextsCommon SenseAppendix A: Antecedents to Common Sense [John Adams], “A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law,” Boston Gazette (1765) [John Dickinson], Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania (1767) Thomas Jefferson, A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774) Appendix B: Responses to Common Sense [Charles Inglis], The True Interest of America Impartially Stated (1776) Candidus [James Chalmers], Plain Truth (1776) Selections from “Cato’s Letters” [William Smith] and “The Forester” [Thomas Paine], Pennsylvania Gazette(1776) [John Adams], Thoughts on Government (1776) Appendix C: Political Documents The Declaration of Independence (1776) The Constitution of Pennsylvania (1776) Appendix D: Paine’s American Crisis (1776)Suggestions for Further Reading

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Book SynopsisSet both in England and in America, Emma Corbett is the moving story of a family torn apart by the American revolutionary war. Edward Corbett and Henry Hammond are brought up together and go on to marry each other’s sisters, but fight on opposite sides in the war. Emma Corbett, Edward’s sister, follows Henry to Pennsylvania. Disguised as a man, she fights for the British before finding Henry and saving his life, but the war and its aftermath have tragic consequences for all four young people. This powerful epistolary novel was a transatlantic best-seller, in part because both sides of the conflict are fully represented—as are the miseries and terrible costs of war.Appendices include contemporary reviews as well as contemporary writings on heroism, sensibility, and women and war. A series of personal letters between Pratt (writing as Courtney Melmoth) and Benjamin Franklin, for whom he worked in France, are also included.Trade Review“Emma Corbett is essential reading for anyone interested in the impact of the American revolutionary war on both sides of the Atlantic, and in the development of the novel as major vehicle for the cultural negotiation of pressing global political and social issues. Professor Bannet offers entirely new scholarly insight into the genesis and cultural context of this, the most popular and influential fictional attempt to come to terms with the War. Republication of Pratt’s pioneering novel is long overdue, and this excellent edition makes it once again fresh, intelligible, and impossible to ignore.” — Karen O’Brien, University of Birmingham“Emma Corbett is one of what Eve Tavor Bannet terms ‘transatlantic stories,’ written in 1780 by Samuel Jackson Pratt, an English curate turned actor and poet. Bannet’s supplementary material, especially the letters between Pratt and Benjamin Franklin, provides clues as to why he developed the themes he did in the book.” — Carole Shammas, University of Southern CaliforniaTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionSamuel Jackson Pratt: A Brief ChronologyA Note on the TextEmma Corbett, or the Miseries of Civil WarAppendix A: Contemporary Reviews Title Page for the First Bath Edition of Emma Corbett (1780) From The London Magazine, or Gentleman’s Monthly Intelligencer (May 1780) From The London Review of English and Foreign Literature (April 1780) From The Monthly Review (October 1780) From Rivington’s Royal Gazette (12 September 1781) From The Lady’s Monthly Museum (June 1808) “Sonnet to Mr. Pratt on a Mental Review of His Various Works,” Monthly Magazine, or British Register (November 1802) Appendix B: Changes and Additions in Robert Bell’s American Edition (1782) Title Page for Bell’s American Edition of Emma Corbett (1782) From Bell’s Advertisement, Pennsylvania Evening Post and Public Advertiser (25 November 1782) Bell’s Additions to Emma Corbett, Vol. II (1782) Bell’s Additions to Emma Corbett, Vol. III (1782) Appendix C: Some Letters between “Courtney Melmoth” and Benjamin Franklin Franklin to Melmoth ([on or after 28 January] 1778) Melmoth to Franklin, Paris (29 January 1778) Melmoth to Franklin, Paris (4 [February] 1778) Melmoth to Franklin, Hotel d’Orleans (27 [February] 1778) Melmoth to Franklin, Hotel d’Orleans (19 March [1778]) Franklin to Melmoth (on or after 12 May 1778) Appendix D: The American Revolutionary War From John Dickinson, Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania (1767) From An Address to the People on the Subject of the Contest between Great Britain and America (1776) From A Letter from Edmund Burke Esq., one of the Representatives in Parliament for the City of Bristol … to … Sheriffs of that City, on the Affairs of America (1777) From Philip Freneau, “American Independence. A Poem” (1778) Appendix E: Heroism and Sensibility From Hugh Henry Brackenridge, The Battle of Bunkers Hill (1776) From Francis Dobbs, The Irish Chief or Patriot King. A New Tragedy (1774) From Anna Seward, Monody on Major André (1781) From Samuel Jackson Pratt, “Sensibility” (1781) From Nathaniel Ball, “The Evil Effects of War and the Blessings of Peace” (1749) From John Conybeare, “True Patriotism: A Sermon Preach’d before the House of Commons” (25 April 1749) Appendix F: Women and War From [Anon], The Female Soldier (1750) From [Anon], The History of Constantius and Pulchera. An American Novel (1796) From Sarah Wentworth Morton, The Virtues of Society. A Tale Founded on Fact (1799) From Charles Brockden Brown, Ormond (1799) Appendix G: Contemporary Paintings Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe (1770) Emmanuel Leutze, Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth (1853-54) Engraving Depicting Second Street North from Market Street with the Christ Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1799) Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis memoir of the Vietnam War is structured as a series of short stories that convey the emotional and physical landscape of the Vietnam War. It is a window into the war from the perspective of the author, who served in a rapid response assault force, as 'the Marine'.The reader shares the Marine's experience through a year of combat that tested his character and shaped his destiny. Small joined the Marine Corps in 1969 at 19 years old, coming from a small Vermont farming community. After boot camp and speciality training he landed in Da Nang as a private first class. With three battlefield promotions in 8 months, he soon became a platoon sergeant.Small did not talk of his experiences in Vietnam over the next forty years, but has now written this book, for veterans' families, including his own, to understand what their loved ones experienced. It is a unique and powerful text that is that it is written in such a way it brings you inside the marine; you see what he sees, feel what he feels. You know him; his back story; what he is thinking; why he made the decisions he needed to make. No names are mentioned throughout the book.Memories Unleashed is an assemblage of memories, consisting of stories that stand alone to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. It addresses the warrior, the lives of innocent people caught up in the war, and the American and Vietnamese families impacted by those who fought.Trade ReviewA great read, one I’m sure I will read again. 5 stars all day long. * Army Rumour Service 28/05/2019 *A fascinating read and I think it is worth saying thank you to author Carl Small for finally feeling able to write down his experiences and share them with the rest of us at last. * Military Model Scene 07/05/2019 *

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Book SynopsisJohn Brown is a common name, but the John Brown who masterminded the failed raid at Harpers Ferry was anything but common. His failed efforts have left an imprint upon our history, and his story still swirls in controversy. Was he a madman who felt his violent solution to slavery was ordained by Providence or a heroic freedom fighter who tried to liberate the downtrodden slave? These bipolar characterizations of the violent abolitionist have captivated Americans. The view that prevailed from the time of the raid to well into the twentieth century - that his actions were the product of an unbalanced mind - has since shifted to the idea that he committed courageous acts to undo a terrible injustice.The debate still rages, but not as much about his ultimate goal as the method he used in attempting to right what he considered an intolerable wrong. Are citizens justified in bypassing the normal legal or governmental processes in a violent way when they fail, in the eyes of the dissenter, to correct a wrong that touched so many? Brown’s use of violence was to strike terror in the heart of slave owners, terror that Brown hoped would intimidate them to free their slaves to ensure their families’ safety.Despite the differences between modern terrorist acts and Brown’s own violent acts, when Brown’s characteristics are compared to the definition of terrorism as set forth by scholars of terrorism, he fits the profile. Nevertheless, today Brown is a martyred hero who gave his life attempting to terminate the evil institution of human bondage. Brown’s violent method of using terrorism to accomplish this is downplayed or ignored, despite labeled by historians as America’s first terrorist. The modern view of Brown has unintentionally made him a "good terrorist," despite the repugnance of terrorism that makes the thought of a benevolent or good terrorist an oxymoron.This new biography covers Brown's background and the context to his decision to carry out the raid, a detailed narrative of the raid and its consequences for both those involved and America; and an exploration of the changing characterisation of Brown since his death.Trade ReviewThis is an interesting and thought provoking read, which is accordingly recommended. It would make an interesting, but uncomfortable, wargame. * Miniature Wargames - John Drewienkiewicz *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1: The Making of a Terrorist 2: Launching the War of Liberation 3: Igniting the Fuse: The Attack on Harpers Ferry 4: Anguish and Travail 5: An Agitated Nation 6: The Rush to Judgment 7: Hemp Justice 8: Rehearsal for War Notes Bibliographical Comment Index

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Book Synopsis"Readers of this book who thought they knew a lot about the U.S. Civil War will discover that much of what they 'knew' is wrong. For readers whose previous knowledge is sketchy but whose desire to learn is strong, the separation of myth from reality is an important step toward mastering the subject. The essays will generate lively discussion and new insights." —James M. McPherson, Professor Emeritus, Princeton UniversityTrade Review"I never imagined that my Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, first published in 2003, would prove to be so enduring a format for helping students of all kinds to rethink key moments in human history. It is therefore a great honor to see that the book has now inspired Hackett Publishing Company's "Myths of History" series, expertly and effectively edited by Alfred J. Andrea and Andrew Holt.” —Matthew Restall, Pennsylvania State University"Wesley Moody's clear, engaging book tackles enduring Civil War myths with grace, candor, and persuasive evidence. By exploring a wide range of subjects including the war's causes, soldiers, leaders, prisons, and battlefields, this volume's group of talented historians accomplishes more than myth busting. Each scholar reveals deeper, more satisfying stories hidden beneath Civil War fallacies and falsehoods. As a result, Civil War students and enthusiasts will find more than facts in this compelling book; they’ll encounter the complexities of real war, the long shadows of memory, and the hard work that historians conduct to illuminate the past." —Jason Phillips, Eberly Professor of Civil War History, West Virginia University"Seven Myths of the Civil War is well-written, engaging, accessible, and of very sound scholarship. In this volume some of the premier scholars in the field of Civil War history weigh in and root out the causes, courses, and continuing consequences of these persistent mythologies in ways that are at once both easily accessible and necessarily nuanced. I plan to use this collection of essays as a centerpiece of my next Civil War-themed course. I’ll use it to introduce the prevailing myths regarding the Civil War Era, then point up the ways in which the historical record can be seen to utterly debunk those myths." —James Hill Welborn III, Georgia College & State University"Moody and his team of scholars have accomplished their goal of identifying and dispelling key myths of the American Civil War, or at least of spurring students of the Civil War to not take past interpretations for granted. All seven essays in Seven Myths of the Civil War are valuable examinations of the myths they set out to correct. The book is recommended reading to anyone who wants to learn more about these topics, whether they think they will agree or disagree with the authors' arguments." —Justin Vance, College of Western Idaho, in The Journal of Southern History"[T]he accessibility and persuasiveness of [these] essays separate them from other scholarly works. Individuals with a cursory knowledge of the American Civil War but not possessing an academic background will find the structure easy to follow, the evidence compelling, and the arguments convincing. Academics will appreciate the historiographical treatments within each essay, and perhaps find useful examples to use in the classroom or entry points for new scholarship. The seven essays in this collection constitute a fraction of those myths still enveloping the war, but they address some of the most pernicious and divisive myths currently debated in the twenty-first century." —Adam Zucconi, Richard Bland College, on H-WarTable of ContentsContents: Series Editors' Foreword Editor's Preface Introduction Confederate States' Rights: A Contradiction in Terms Was Abraham Lincoln a Racist? African Americans in Confederate Military Service: Myth and Reality The Myth of the "Great" Conventional Battlefield War Civil War Prisons: The Legacy of Responsibility The Lost Causers' Favorite Target: Grant the Butcher Marching through Georgia: The Myth of Sherman's Total War Epilogue Suggested Readings

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Book SynopsisBeyond the Civil War Hospital understands Reconstruction as a period of emotional turmoil that precipitated a struggle for form in cultural production. By treating selected texts from that era as multifaceted contributions to Reconstruction's "mental adaptation process" (Leslie Butler), Kirsten Twelbeck diagnoses individual conflicts between the "heart and the brain" only partly compensated for by a shared concern for national healing. By tracing each text's unique adaptation of the healing trope, she identifies surprising disagreement over racial equality, women's rights, and citizenship. The book pairs female and male white authors from the antislavery North, and brings together a broad range of genres.Trade Review"Firmly grounded in American Literary Studies and Cultural Studies, "Beyond the Civil War Hospital" convincingly shows how textual forms, and especially literary experimentations, can function as key sites for negotiating the political and societal future of the United States of America." Marc Priewe, Amerikastudien / American Studies, 66 (2021)

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Book SynopsisThe true story of one man''s determination to master the world''s deadliest helicopter and of a split-second decision that changed the face of modern warfare.May 2006. Pilot Ed Macy arrives in Afghanistan with a contingent of the Apache AH Mk1. It's the first operational tour for the deadly machines and confidence in the cripplingly expensive attack helicopter is low. It doesn't help that for their first month in action', Ed and his mates see little more than the back-end of a Chinook.But when the men of 3 Para get pinned down during Op Mutay, reservations about the fearsome new attack helicopters are thrown out the window. In the blistering firefight that follows, Ed unleashes the first ever Hellfire missile in combat and, with one squeeze of the trigger, changes the war in Afghanistan forever. What had been rumoured as a 4.2 billion mistake quickly becomes the British Army's greatest asset, as the awe-inspiring Apache is dramatically redirected to fight the enemy head-on.In this gripTrade Review‘Ed Macy is a 21st Century Top Gun. His journey to the gunship pilot elite is truly awesome.’ Andy McNab Praise for ‘Apache’: ‘Puts you right in the cockpit with your finger on the trigger. A truly awesome read; and a climax that Hollywood couldn’t invent…’ Andy McNab 'Macy is the real deal. Nobody could write that powerfully about combat, or emotionally about the men fighting with him, unless he has been at the gunship's controls. A fantastic, totally exhilarating rollercoaster read. Forget his Hellfire missiles, the book itself is enough to blow you away' Sergeant Major Dan Mills, author of number one bestseller Sniper One 'An honest account of exceptional bravery' Ross Kemp

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Book SynopsisThe first Western autobiography since Augustine's Confessions, the Monodies is set against the backdrop of the First Crusade and offers stunning insights into medieval society. As Guibert of Nogent intimately recounts his early years, monastic life, and the bloody uprising at Laon in 1112, we witness a world-and a mind-populated by royals, heretics, nuns, witches, and devils, and come to understand just how fervently he was preoccupied with sin, sexuality, the afterlife, and the dark arts. Exotic, disquieting, and illuminating, the Monodies is a work in which the dreams, fears, and superstitions of one man illuminate the psychology of an entire people. It is joined in this volume by On the Relics of Saints, a theological manifesto that has never appeared in English until now.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin ClasTrade Review"The fascination of this elegantly translated volume lies in Guibert's perceptions of his own time, so utterly different from the worldview of a modern Westerner. Jay Rubenstein is a learned, witty, and sympathetic host as he introduces us to one of the twelfth century's most idiosyncratic, confessional, and engaging writers." —Diarmaid MacCulloch, author of Christianity & The Reformation"Marvelous: a revelation. I had not heard of Guibert of Nogent. His Monodies is a very dark autobiography and profoundly moving in its visions of sin." —Harold Bloom"This magnificent autobiography has all the stuff of a psychological drama, the excitement of a great social upheaval, and the intrigue of a monastic mystery. It is one of those rare books that both delights scholars of the period and makes fascinating reading for the general literate soul." —R. Howard Bloch, Yale University“This is a valuable addition to medieval literature, and Penguin are to be applauded for adding it to their list of Classics. . . . The Monodies has been translated before but clumsily, and here at last is a smooth and comprehensible version. . . . [It] provides an intriguing insight into the mind of a medieval monk . . . a complex and troubled man, austere, conservative, at sea with a changing world . . . an isolated and introspective figure who broods continually on his relationship with God. This is, of course, one of the reasons why the Monodies is so interesting.” —Charles Freeman, History Today

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Book SynopsisSick from Freedom provides the first study of the health conditions of emancipated slaves and reveals the epidemics, illnesses, and poverty that former slaves suffered from when slavery ended and freedom began.Trade ReviewSick from Freedom is a welcome corrective to the prevailing triumphalist view of emancipation, providing a much-needed perspective on its tragic epidemiological impact. * Peter McCandless, American Historical Review, *One comes away from this book with no doubt that the path out of slavery was a minefield of death and disease that needs its proper acknowledgement in histories of reconstruction. * Journal of the History of Medicine *An important challenge to our understanding of an event that scholars and laypeople alike have preferred to see as an uplifting story of newly liberated people vigorously claiming their long-denied rights. * The New York Times *A major turning point in how we understand the African-American past, the nation's past, and their intertwining. * The Journal of Interdisciplinary History *Based on extensive research, particularly in the Freedman's Bureau's Medical Division records, the book details the enormity of the public health crisis that afflicted freed people during and after the Civil War... This is revisionist history at its finest, and it deserves a wide audience. Highly recommended. * Choice *Jim Downs' exceptional research has resulted in a major study... Highly recommended. * Civil War News *Sick from Freedom is a welcome addition to the literature on the history of the Civil War and Reconstruction, medicine, and public health... [T]hought-provoking. * The Journal of American History *Sick from Freedom is beautifully written... The author dedicates this work to 'all those who were emancipated but never made it to freedom'. He honors their memories in this excellent and haunting book. * Arkansas Historical Quarterly *As Jim Downs makes clear in this carefully documented work, the Union leadership, domestic and military, was wholly unprepared to deal with the breakdown of the system of slavery that followed the Union army with every foray into southern soil... One comes away from this book with no doubt that the path out of slavery was a minefield of death and disease that needs its proper acknowledgment in histories of reconstruction. * Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences *A signal contribution to the vastly understudied question of freedpeople's health and a formidable challenge to the dominant analytical framework that has heretofore framed our understanding both of the transition from slavery to freedom in the American South and the meaning of death and dying in the era of the Civil War. It, quite simply, remaps a field. * Thavolia Glymph, Duke University *A fresh and ambitious account of the Civil War era that not only interrogates the transition from slavery to freedom in new and unsettling ways but also invites us to rethink the geographical dimensions of Reconstruction. * Steven Hahn, University of Pennsylvania *Charts new, darker, and profoundly revealing paths into the history of the American emancipation in the Civil War. In a work of medical, social, labor, and military history all at once, Downs shows that achieving freedom for American slaves was a signal triumph, but only through a horrible passage of disease, suffering and death. A 'new' history of emancipation is emerging, and Downs is one of its most talented and innovative craftsmen. * David W. Blight, author of American Oracle: The Civil War in the Civil Rights Era *Jim Downs paints a startling and little known portrait of African American emancipation in which struggles for health and survival must be factored alongside the political and economic history of the period. * Sharla Fett, Occidental College *Traces a shrouded chapter of American history: the mass death and medical devastation that visited African Americans in the immediate wake of legal emancipation. Downs compellingly reveals how the confluence of racial slander, government indifference, and medical malign neglect proved widely fatal, and in doing so he paints a detailed and disheartening portrait of man's inhumanity to man. * Harriet Washington, author of Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present *An important contribution to understanding the process of emancipation and the suffering so many freedpeople endured. * North Carolina Historical Review *Downs insists that understanding the scale of the medical crisis for African Americans during the war is critical to the idea of what freedom felt and looked like for those who were trying to experience it... This book reminds us that this grim portrait must be a part of any discussion of the years that messily separate African American slavery from freedom. * Bulletin of the History of Medicine *Downs' book places the Civil War in another perspective that helps the reader think critically beyond the Emancipation Proclamation ... I would highly recommend this book. * Joshua V. Chanin, The Midwest Book Review *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ; Introduction ; 1. Dying to be Free: The Unexpected Medical Crises of War and Emancipation ; 2. The Anatomy of Emancipation: The Creation of a Healthy Labor Force ; 3. Freedmen's Hospitals: The Medical Division of the Freedmen's Bureau ; 4. Reconstructing an Epidemic: Smallpox among Former Slaves, 1862-1868 ; 5. The Healing Power of Labor: Dependent, Disabled, Orphaned, Elderly, and Female Freed Slaves in the Postwar South ; 6. Narrating Illness: Freedpeople's Health Claims at Reconstruction's End ; Conclusion ; Epilogue ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisFoner's famous book has been one of the most influential and successful works dealing with the factors that brought the North to fight the Civil War. Foner has now written a new introduction that puts his argument in the book into the context of contemporary scholarship.Trade Review"First-rate in every respect...[A] work of genuine distinction, and a major contribution to ante-bellum political history."--Kenneth Stampp, author of The Imperiled Union "Still the best book on the politics of the 1850's."--Norman B. Ferris, Middle Tennessee State University "It's the best book on Republican ideology there is. Foner is among the very best Americanists ever. Bravo!"--Harlow Sheidley, University of Colorado "Foner's work remains the classic treatment of the subject!'--K.M. Startip, Williams Baptist College "Excellent volume--Foner is always good anyway!"--John F. McCormack, Delaware County Community CollegeTable of ContentsThe Idea of Free Labor in Nineteenth-Century America Abbreviations Used in Footnotes and Bibliography Introduction 1. Free Labor: The Republicans and Northern Society 2. The Republican Critique of the South 3. Salmon P. Chase: The Constitution and the Slave Power 4. THe Radicals: Anti-Slavery Politics and the Moral Imperative 5. The Democratic Republicans 6. Conservatives and Moderates 7. The Republicans and Nativism 8. The Republicans and Race 9. Slavery and the Republican Ideology Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWhether it was planter patriarchs struggling to maintain authority, or Jewish families coerced by Christian evangelicalism, or wives and mothers left behind to care for slaves and children, the Civil War took a terrible toll. From the bustling sidewalks of Richmond to the parched plains of the Texas frontier, from the rich Alabama black belt to the Tennessee woodlands, no corner of the South went unscathed. Through the prism of the southern family, this volume of twelve original essays provides fresh insights into this watershed in American history.Trade ReviewThe quality of work is uniformly excellent. This collection will prove useful to a wide variety of scholars. It will appeal especially to those working on the Civil War, the family, gender relations or African American studies. * Journal of American Studies *Catherine Clinton has brought together a fine collection of twelve essays exploring the diverse and multiple experiences of the war years and their legacy in the American South ... solidly researched and welcome contributions to the new social history of the Civil War. * American Studies Today *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Michael P. Johnson: Looking for Lost Kin: Efforts to Reunite Freed Families after Emancipation 2: Michelle A. Krowl: For Better of Worse: Black Families and 'the State' in Civil War Virginia 3: Donald R. Shaffer: In the Shadow of the Old Constitution: Black Civil War Veterans and the Persistence of Slave Marriage Customs 4: Amy E. Murrell: "Of Necessity and Public Benefit": Southern Families and their Appeals for Protection 5: Judith Lee Hunt: "High with Courage and Hope": The Middleton Family's Civil War 6: E. Susan Barber: "The White Wings of Eros": Courtship and Marriage in Confederate Richmond 7: Jennifer Lynn Gross: "Good Angels": Confederate Widows in Virginia 8: Daniel W. Stowell: "A Family of Women and Children": The Fains of East Tennessee during Wartime 9: Henry Walker: Power, Sex, and Gender Roles: The Transformation of an Alabama Planter Family during the Civil War 10: Lauren F. Winner: Taking up the Cross: Conversion among Black and White Jews in the Civil War South 11: Anne J. Bailey: In the Far Corner of the Confederacy: A Question of Conscience for German-Speaking Texans 12: Ted Ownby: Patriarchy in the World Where There is No Parting?: Power Relations in Confederate Heaven

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Book SynopsisThe first full account of Whitman's Civil War years sheds new light on the man, his poetry, and the treatment of the war's sick and wounded.Trade ReviewIn this first full account of Whitman's Civil War years, Morris leaves readers with a new image of what he calls `a great mothering sort of man' who visited the hospitals in and around Washington, D.C. for three years, bringing his charges ice cream, tobacco, brandy, books, magazines, pens, and paper; he wrote letters for those who could not, and more than a few died in his arms.--Library JournalA thrilling narrative told with empathy and vast learning, rich with images that reinvigorate figures as familiar as Lincoln.--The New York Tiems Book ReviewMorris's skills as a researcher are evident and his writing is first rate. Teens can read Better Angel as a moving introduction to Whitman, for its information on the home front and the medical profession during the Civil War, or to gain insight into the sociological and psychological aftermath of the war on individuals or nations.--School LibraryBrillantly researched and written, Morris' book gives a full account of poet Walt Whitman's profoundly transformative Civil War years. Through his tireless tending of the sick and wounded, Whitman found his true, compassionate poetic voice, and Morris' examination is an invaluable addition to Whitman scholarship.--ETC, Etcetera MagazineThe Better Angel illuminates Walt Whitman's Civil War years with frankness and compassion. Its insights and compelling narrative afford us new and humanly rich understandings of the poet and his vision of America.-- Robert H. Abzug, author of Cosmos Crumbling: American Reform and the Religious Imagination and Inside the Vicious Heart: Americans and the Liberation of Nazi Concentration CampsRoy Morris, Jr.'s elegant and moving book shows how the great civil war that redeemed the nation's soul also reawakened the soul of the nation's greatest poet, Walt Whitman. It is essential reading for everyone who cares about American culture.-- Sean Wilentz, Princeton University, author of Chants Democratic and The Kingdom of MatthiasThis deftly written, almost unbearably moving book serves us to remind us powerfully of the horrors faced by the wounded on the Civil War battlefields, of the genius and compassion of Walt Whitman in dealing with them, and of the remarkable skill of one of America's most accomplished biographers in researching and telling so poignant a story.--Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and The MadmanThis pathbreaking study of Whitman's Civil War years reveals more facts--and a greater understanding--of the man than the vain, foppish poet-nurse that too many writers have sought to create.--James I. Robertson, Jr., author of Stonewall JacksonA particularly thorough and informative account of the poet's activities during the Civil War.--The Boston Book ReviewMorris brings us in for a close, often harrowing look at the poet in a moment of national and personal crisis. He follows Whitman's descent into hell and reveals how the lifeblood of a nation of young men revitalized and reinvented the 'Good Gay Poet'--Out MagazineThe Civil War years were transformative for Walt Whitman, leading him to a new, more direct poetic style. In The Better Anger, acclaimed biographer Roy Morris Jr. presents the first full account of this period in Whitman's life.--Inside BordersA thrilling narrative told with empathy and vast learning, rich with images that reinvigorate figures as familiar as Lincoln.--The New York Times Book Review, Books in Brief

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Book SynopsisOn February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared its independence, becoming the seventh state to emerge from the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. A tiny country of just two million people, 90% of whom are ethnic Albanians, Kosovo is central - geographically, historically, and politically - to the future of the Western Balkans and, in turn, its potential future within the European Union. But the fate of both Kosovo, condemned by Serbian leaders as a fake state and the region as a whole, remains uncertain. In Kosovo: What Everyone Needs to Know, Tim Judah provides a straight-forward guide to the complicated place that is Kosovo. Judah, who has spent years covering the region, offers succinct, penetrating answers to a wide range of questions: Why is Kosovo important? Who are the Albanians? Who are the Serbs? Why is Kosovo so important to Serbs? What role does Kosovo play in the region and in the world? Judah reveals how things stand now and presents the history and geopolitical dynamics that have led to it. The most important of these is the question of the right to self-determination, invoked by the Kosovo Albanians, as opposed to right of territorial integrity invoked by the Serbs. For many Serbs, Kosovo's declaration of independence and subsequent recognition has been traumatic, a savage blow to national pride. Albanians, on the other hand, believe their independence rights an historical wrong: the Serbian conquest (Serbs say liberation) of Kosovo in 1912. For anyone wishing to understand both the history and possible future of Kosovo at this pivotal moment in its history, this book offers a wealth of insight and information in a uniquely accessible format.Trade Review"A straightforward guide to the history and geopolitics of Kosovo and the first book on the country since its declaration of independence in February this year."--The Economist "Packs a surprising amount of nuance into a slim volume... a solid introduction to an important topic."--Booklist "Judah does a commendable job of telling the dense story in an understandable fashion. Because the region changes so quickly, an up-to-date history like this is welcome."--Library Journal "[A] concise and updated version of his longer and more detailed history published in 2000...Judah's short history of Kosovo is a fair and sympathetic account of an impossible situation..."--New York Review of BooksTable of ContentsPreface: Why Kosovo? ; Albanians ; Serbs ; Creating History ; From Dardania to Yugoslavia ; Kosovo in Yugoslavia ; From the Golden Age to the Memorandum ; The Milosevic-Rugova Years ; The War ; Kosovo after 1999 ; March 2004 and the Ahtisaari Plan ; Kosovo and the Region ; Kosovo and the World ; Not the Last Chapter: Independence

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Book SynopsisAmericans are fond of reflecting upon the Founding Fathers as selfless patriots who came together to force out the tyranny of the British and bring democracy to the land. Unfortunately, as Terry Bouton shows in this highly provocative first book, the Revolutionary elite often seemed as determined to squash democracy after the War of Independence as they were to support it before the conflict. Centering on Pennsylvania, the symbolic center of the story of democracy''s rise during the Revolution, Bouton shows how this radical shift in ideology spelled tragedy for thousands of common people. Leading up to the Revolution, most Pennsylvanians were united in their opinion that the people (i.e. white men) should be given access to the political system, and that some degree of wealth equality was required to ensure that political freedom prevailed. As the war ended, Pennsylvania''s elites began abandoning these ideas and instead embraced a new vision of the Revolution where government worked tTrade ReviewThis is a rare book - scholarly yet written with verve, readable for pleasure as well as for knowledge. * Publishers Weekly *In thoughtful, readable prose Terry Bouton shows us what the American Revolution meant for one group who counted: the small-scale farmers of Pennsylvania. They struggled; they thought; they fought. Ultimately they lost what they believed what they had won, a world that would be good for them and their families. The Revolution belonged to Bouton's kind of people, ordinary Americans living through an extraordinary time, as much as it did to the Founding Fathers. * Edward Countryman, author of The American Revolution *For many ordinary Americans living in Pennsylvania, the Revolution did not turn out as they had hoped. Committed to the creation of a more egalitarian society, they resisted British rule, only to discover that the rich and well-born had no interest in supporting serious democratic reform. In this compelling study, Bouton brings passion and insight to the bittersweet story of the betrayal of a truly revolutionary society. * T.H. Breen, Director, Center for Historical Studies, Northwestern University *The whiskey rebellion clearly has been misnamed: Bouton argues convincingly that it grew out of two decades of struggles by Pennsylvania's farmers with moneyed men for the fruits of the Revolution. He tells their story in gripping scenes of the sheriff's wagon carting off the belongings of debtors and of farmers defiantly closing down roads. This is a book about the Revolution that breaks new ground. * Alfred Young, author of Liberty Tree: Ordinary People and the American Revolution *Prominent citizens like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton considered the American Revolution an unruly steed, and they devoted considerable energy to reining it in. Terry Boutons superbly-written account of how they achieved that feat leaves us wishing they had failed. The focus of Boutons startlingly-original book is nothing less than the struggle for the soul of America. * Woody Holton, University of Richmond *Taming Democracy will have a major impact on early American historians and further the re-evaluation of the entire Revolutionary period. Boutons book will revitalize the economic interpretation of the era. * Allan Kulikoff, University of Georgia *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION ; PART ONE: THE RISE OF DEMOCRACY (1763-1776) ; PART TWO: CONFRONTING THE COUNTER-REVOLUTION (1776-1787) ; PART THREE: TAMING DEMOCRACY (1787-1799) ; CONCLUSION

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA masterful, wide-ranging, compelling study of why Arab armies have typically fared poorly in combat. With this certain-to-be classic work, Ken Pollack solidifies his position as one of the world's foremost scholars on Middle Eastern military and political affairs. * General David Petraeus (US Army, Ret.), former Director of the CIA *Ken Pollack argues convincingly that efforts to uncover causes of military success or failure must begin far from the battlefield. He shines new light on social, economic, political, and cultural impediments to improving military effectiveness in Arab states. His argument that the influence of culture is predominant is certain to generate introspection among Arab leaders and their overseas partners who support their military reform efforts. This should be read and debated by readers who want to understand better this complex and important region. * H.R. McMaster, Former National Security Advisor and author of Dereliction of Duty *Few if any military analysts know as much, or have thought as deeply, about Arab armies as has Ken Pollack. In Armies of Sand-a masterpiece of political science-he distills a lifetime of learning to grapple with the most important and most difficult questions that lie at the intersection of technology, culture and politics. Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of warfare in the Middle East. * Max Boot, author of Invisible Armies *Armies of Sand belongs in the library of every military professional serving in the Middle East, whether Western or Arab. It is a unique blend of military history and social science that comprehensively explains the military effectiveness of our Arab friends and foes alike. Pollack has courageously and objectively tackled the sensitive subject of culture, which we ignore at our peril. Armed with its insights, future commanders might avoid the surprises and frustrations that have long been the hallmarks of military operations in this theater of persistent conflict. * Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland, U.S. Army (Ret.); Commander of Coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, 2015-2016 *This is a path-breaking volume on an uncomfortable topic: Arab military failure. Kenneth Pollack is the model of the engaged scholar, whose extensive field experience on today's battlefields complements his knowledge of military affairs and the Arab world more broadly. The volume is lucid, comprehensive and fascinating. His conclusions about the relationship between culture and military effectiveness will be controversial, but they are compellingly put and will set the terms of debate for years to come. * Eliot A. Cohen, Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins-SAIS *Table of ContentsForeword Acknowledgments Introduction: The Six-Day War and the Mystery of Arab Military Ineffectiveness 1. Pattens of Arab Military Performance Part I: Soviet Doctrine 2. The Soviet Way of War 3. Arab Militaries and Soviet Doctrine 4. North Korea, Cuba, and Soviet Doctrine Part II: Politicization 5. Politicization 6. Arab Militaries and Politicization: Egypt 7. Arab Militaries and Politicization: Iraq 8. Politicization and the South Vietnamese Armed Forces 9. Politicization and the Argentine Armed Forces Part III: Underdevelopment 10. Economic Development and Military Effectiveness 11. Economic Development and Syrian Military Effectiveness 12. Economic Development and the Libya-Chad Wars 13. Economic Development and Chinese Military Effectiveness 14. Economic Development and Arab Military Effectiveness Part IV: Culture 15. War and Culture 16. Arab Culture as an Explanation for Military Ineffectiveness 17. Aab Culture: Patterns and Predilections 18. Arab Culture and Arab Military Effectiveness 19. Arab Culture and Civilian Organizations 20. Culture and Education: The Causal Link 21. Arab Military Training Methods 22. Exceptional Arab Militaries: State Armed Forces 23. Exceptional Arab Militaries: Nonstate Armies Conclusions: The Past, Present, and Future of Arab Military Effectiveness Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe claim by the Ministry of Defence in 2001 that ''the experience of numerous small wars has provided the British Army with a unique insight into this demanding form of conflict'' unravelled spectacularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. One important reason for that, David French suggests, was because contemporary British counter-insurgency doctrine was based upon a serious misreading of the past. Until now, many observers believed that during the wars of decolonisation in the two decades after 1945, the British had discovered how western liberal notions of right and wrong could be made compatible with the imperatives of waging war amongst the people, that force could be used effectively but with care, and that a more just and prosperous society could emerge from these struggles. By using only the minimum necessary force, and doing so with the utmost discrimination, the British were able to win by securing the ''hearts and minds'' of the people. But this was a serious distortion of actual BrTrade ReviewDavid French's authoritative...exemplarily fair-minded study...should be compulsory reading for modern British officers * Max Hastings, Sunday Times *Brilliant...French explodes the myth that a uniquely British quest to recruit "hearts and minds" made the British end of Empire easy. * Ben Macintyre, The Times *a sobering and timely book ... Professor French marshals an impressive volume of archival research ... fluent and always engrossing * Kenneth Payne, Times Literary Supplement *a brilliant book that sheds light on a misunderstood and misquoted era ... masterly * Patrick Mercer, Military History *a careful, often riveting book that has been constructed on the basis of rigorous archival research. French takes on a major task, insisting on a sweep of place and time that must have demanded he tackle an intimidating quantity of archival material, and the results are frequently a testament to modern historical scholarship. * Musab Younis, The Oxonian Review *French's book represents the first comprehensive reassessment of the violence used by the British across the entire range of these insurgencies * Royal United Services Institute *Based on unparalleled research into official documents on nine campaigns it is likely to be the authoritative work on the subject for years to come ... Indeed, Professor French has set the bar very high, and that can only be a good thing for the rest of us who yet labour in these contested trenches. * David Charters, Canadian Military History *His counter-insurgency volume is ... likely to become the standard work on the subject. Thankfully, he avoid the temptation to adapt the book to the contemporary concerns of the academic-military-industrial complex. * John Newsinger, Race & Class *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ; List of Abbreviations ; Introduction ; 1. The Colonial State ; 2. Gangsters, Thugs, and Bandits: the Enemies of the Colonial State ; 3. The Legal Context and Counter-insurgency by Committee ; 4. Varieties of Coercion: Exemplary Force, Counter-terrorism, and Population Control ; 5. Britain's "Dirty Wars"? ; 6. Winning Hearts and Minds ; 7. Counter-insurgency and the Learning Curve ; 8. The Problems of Sustainability ; Conclusion ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisThe prohibition of the use of force is one of the most crucial elements of the international legal order. Our understanding of that rule was both advanced and challenged during the period commencing with the termination of the Iran-Iraq war and the invasion of Kuwait, and concluding with the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The initial phase was characterized by hopes for a functioning collective security system administered by the United Nations as part of a New World Order. The liberation of Kuwait, in particular, was seen by some as a powerful vindication of the prohibition of the use of force and of the UN Security Council. However, the operation was not really conducted in accordance with the requirements for collective security established in the UN Charter. In a second phase, an international coalition launched a humanitarian intervention operation, first in the north of Iraq, and subsequently in the south. That episode is often seen as the fountainhead of the post-Cold War claiTable of Contents1. Introduction: The Vision of the New World Order and its Collapse ; 2. Iraq and Kuwait 1990/1 ; 3. Forcible Humanitarian Action and the Aerial Exclusion Zones ; 4. The Use of Force in Relation to Iraqi Disarmament Obligations 1991-1998 ; 5. Resolution 1441 (2002) and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq ; 6. The Role of International Law in UK Decision-Making ; 7. Conclusion: The Use of Force in International Law after Iraq

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Book SynopsisThe Oxford Handbook of the American Revolution introduces scholars, students and generally interested readers to the formative event in American history. In thirty-three individual essays, by thirty-three authorities on the Revolution, the Handbook provides readers with in-depth analysis of the Revolution''s many sides, ranging from the military and diplomatic to the social and political; from the economic and financial, to the cultural and legal. Its cast of characters ranges far, including ordinary farmers and artisans, men and women, free and enslaved African Americans, Indians, and British and American statesmen and military leaders. Its geographic scope is equally broad. The Handbook offers readers an American Revolution whose geo-political and military impact ranged from the West Indies to the Mississippi Valley; from the British Isles to New England and from Nova Scotia to Florida. The American Revolution of the Handbook is, simply put, an event that far transcended the boundariTrade ReviewThis is a well-conceived and edited volume, and an excellent resource. * Andy Hamilton, British Journal for the History of Philosophy *Table of ContentsList of Maps ; Contributors ; Introduction: American Revolutions ; Edward G. Gray and Jane Kamensky ; Part I. Cultures and Crises ; Chapter 1. Britain's American Problem: The International Perspective ; P. J. Marshall ; Chapter 2. The Unsettled Periphery: The Backcountry on the Eve of the American Revolution ; William B. Hart ; Chapter 3. The Polite and the Plebian ; Michael Zuckerman ; Chapter 4. Political Protest and the World of Goods ; Laurel Thatcher Ulrich ; Chapter 5. The Imperial Crisis ; Craig B. Yirush ; Chapter 6. The Struggle Within: Colonial Politics on the Eve of Independence ; Michael A. McDonnell ; Chapter 7. The Democratic Moment: The Revolution and Popular Politics ; Ray Raphael ; Chapter 8. Independence before and during the Revolution ; Benjamin H. Irvin ; Part II. War ; Chapter 9. The Continental Army ; Caroline Cox ; Chapter 10. The British Army and the War of Independence ; Stephen Conway ; Chapter 11. The War in the Cities ; Mark A. Peterson ; Chapter 12. The War in the Countryside ; Allan Kulikoff ; Chapter 13. Native Peoples in the Revolutionary War ; Jane T. Merritt ; Chapter 14. The African Americans' Revolution ; Gary B. Nash ; Chapter 15. Women in the American Revolutionary War ; Sarah M. S. Pearsall ; Chapter 16. Loyalism ; Edward Larkin ; Chapter 17. The Revolutionary War and Europe's Great Powers ; Paul W. Mapp ; Chapter 18. Funding the Revolution: Monetary and Fiscal Policy in Eighteenth-Century America ; Stephen Mihm ; Part III. A Revolutionary Settlement ; Chapter 19. The Impact of the War on British Politics ; Harry T. Dickinson ; Chapter 20. The Trials of the Confederation ; Terry Bouton ; Chapter 21. A More Perfect Union: The Framing and Ratification of the Constitution ; Max M. Edling ; Chapter 22. The Evangelical Ascendancy in Revolutionary America ; Susan Juster ; Chapter 23. The Problems of Slavery ; Christopher Leslie Brown ; Chapter 24. Rights ; Eric Slauter ; Chapter 25. The Empire That Britain Kept ; Eliga H. Gould ; Part IV. New Orders ; Chapter 26. The American Revolution and a New National Politics ; Rosemarie Zagarri ; Chapter 27. Republican Art and Architecture ; Martha J. McNamara ; Chapter 28. Print Culture after the Revolution ; Catherine O'Donnell ; Chapter 29. Republican Law ; Christopher L. Tomlins ; Chapter 30. Discipline, Sex, and the Republican Self ; Clare A. Lyons ; Chapter 31. The Laboring Republic ; Graham Russell Gao Hodges ; Chapter 32. The Republic in the World, 1783-1803 ; J. M. Opal ; Chapter 33. America's Cultural Revolution in Transnational Perspective ; Leora Auslander ; Index

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Book SynopsisHailed as a pithy and compelling account of an intensely relevant topic (Kirkus Reviews), this wide-ranging volume offers a superb account of a key moment in modern U.S. and world history. Drawing upon the latest research in archives in China, Russia, and Vietnam, Mark Lawrence creates an extraordinary, panoramic view of all sides of the war. His narrative begins well before American forces set foot in Vietnam, delving into French colonialism''s contribution to the 1945 Vietnamese revolution, and revealing how the Cold War concerns of the 1950s led the United States to back the French. The heart of the book covers the American war, ranging from the overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem and the impact of the Tet Offensive to Nixon''s expansion of the war into Cambodia and Laos, and the final peace agreement of 1973. Finally, Lawrence examines the aftermath of the war, from the momentous liberalization--Doi Moi--in Vietnam to the enduring legacy of this infamous war in American books, films, and poTrade Review"Crisply concise.... Delves into the 'whys' of the war: why the Vietnamese fought against the United States, why the great powers were involved, why the war turned out as it did and why legacies of the war linger."-Philip Seib,Dallas Morning News"[A] succinct history of a frustrating war that raised several painful issues America's leaders are now encountering for a second time.... A pithy and compelling account of an intensely relevant topic."-Kirkus Reviews"Distills the US's longest war into a short, readable narrative.... This brief summary of the tangled negotiations that prolonged the suffering caused by the war is perhaps Lawrence's most valuable contribution, since it covers an area that more extensive histories overlook.... A valuable addition to any academic library.... Essential."-C.C. Lovett, CHOICE"The book lives up to its brief and accessible billing...."-Publishers Weekly"In an elegant, almost elegiac prose style, Mark Lawrence takes us through the history of the Vietnam War in a narrative that transcends the usual focus on Vietnam and the United States. There is no other one volume history of the war that so thoroughly captures the war as an event in world history."-Marilyn B. Young, author of The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990"A succinct and persuasive account of the Second Indochina War in its global context. At a time when the current U.S. involvement in Iraq evokes uneasy memories of America's controversial 'war of choice' in Vietnam, Mark Lawrence's thoughtful analysis of that previous conflict is highly welcome."-William J. Duiker, author of Ho Chi Minh: A Life"It takes skill to condense a massive subject into a concise, entertaining, and accessible book. This is what Mark Atwood Lawrence accomplishes in his 224 page book The Vietnam War: A Concise International History.... This book might be even more attractive than the larger volumes on the subject because it is succint and focuses on the primary issues of the war."-Shelton Woods, ResourcesTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION; FURTHER READING

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Book SynopsisHistorical accounts of major events have almost always relied upon what those who were there witnessed. Nowhere is this truer than in the nerve-shattering chaos of warfare, where sight seems to confer objective truth and acts as the basis of reconstruction. In The Smell of Battle, the Taste of Siege, historian Mark M. Smith considers how all five senses, including sight, shaped the experience of the Civil War and thus its memory, exploring its full sensory impact on everyone from the soldiers on the field to the civilians waiting at home. From the eardrum-shattering barrage of shells announcing the outbreak of war at Fort Sumter; to the stench produced by the corpses lying in the mid-summer sun at Gettysburg; to the siege of Vicksburg, once a center of Southern culinary aesthetics and starved into submission, Smith recreates how Civil War was felt and lived. Relying on first-hand accounts, Smith focuses on specific senses, one for each event, offering a wholly new perspective. At Bull Run, the similarities between the colors of the Union and Confederate uniforms created concern over what later would be called friendly fire and helped decide the outcome of the first major battle, simply because no one was quite sure they could believe their eyes. He evokes what it might have felt like to be in the HL Hunley submarine, in which eight men worked cheek by jowl in near-total darkness in a space 48 inches high, 42 inches wide. Often argued to be the first total war, the Civil War overwhelmed the senses because of its unprecedented nature and scope, rendering sight less reliable and, Smith shows, forcefully engaging the nonvisual senses. Sherman''s March was little less than a full-blown assault on Southern sense and sensibility, leaving nothing untouched an no one unaffected. Unique, compelling, and fascinating, The Smell of Battle, The Taste of Siege, offers readers way to experience the Civil War with fresh eyes.Trade ReviewSmiths choice of episodes is inspiring. Perhaps not evident from the last two chapters titles, themes are introduced with playful language, his enjoyment in writing this volume evident throughout ... I would be surprised if this book does not change historical accounts of warfare. The twentieth century brought total war to greater numbers of civilians of many other nations, but historians have yet to write the sort of total history, which adequately conveys the full meaning of such collective trauma. Yet again, Smith has provided us with a model. * Jonathan Reinarz, University of Birmingham, The American Historical Review *Read this book for an original methodology that encourages readers to consider the influence of the confusions of battle, the noise of shells, and the stench of death. Smith describes some of the key encounters of the civil war, including the Battle of Bull Run and Gettysburg, in terms of assaults on the senses and shows how that affected outcomes. * Books of the year 2014, War on the Rocks *Historians often ask readers to imagine the intense sights, sounds, and smells of battle. Smith goes one step further and explores how such sensory assaults affect the conduct of war itself. * Lawrence D. Freedman, Books of the year 2014, Foreign Affairs *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The Sounds of Secession ; 2. Eying First Bull Run ; 3. Cornelia Hancock's Sense of Smell ; 4. Hollowing Out Vicksburg ; 5. The Hunley's Impact ; Epilogue: Experiencing Total War

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Book SynopsisDespite the abundance of books on the Civil War, not one has focused exclusively on what was in fact the determining factor in the outcome of the conflict: differences in Union and Southern strategy. In The Grand Design, Donald Stoker provides for the first time a comprehensive and often surprising account of strategy as it evolved between Fort Sumter and Appomattox. Reminding us that strategy is different from tactics (battlefield deployments) and operations (campaigns conducted in pursuit of a strategy), Stoker examines how Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis identified their political goals and worked with their generals to craft the military means to achieve them--or how they often failed to do so. Stoker shows that Davis, despite a West Point education and experience as Secretary of War, ultimately failed as a strategist by losing control of the political side of the war. Lincoln, in contrast, evolved a clear strategic vision, but he failed for years to make his generals implementTrade ReviewThe Grand Design is an excellent military study of the Civil War. It is well researched and written. It flows smoothly and keeps the reader's interest. It is critical of both sides ... and Stoker is not afraid to offer controversial interpretations. * Dr. J. Boone Bartholomees Jr., Parameters *Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. 'We only want to be left alone.' - The Confederacy's Political Objective and the Union's Rebuttal ; 2. Making War a Little at a Time ; 3. Mr. Lincoln Goes to War ; 4. The Border States: Policy, Strategy, and Civil-Military Relations ; 5. King Cotton's Tarnished Crown: Confederate Economic and Diplomatic Strategies ; 6. McClellan on Top: The Evolution of Union Strategy, July 1861 - March 1862 ; 7. The Foundations of Naval Strategy ; 8. The War in the West - Breaking the Cordon ; 9. A New Year and a New Strategy ; 10. War in Virginia ; 11. The Summer of 1862 in the West ; 12. To Free Maryland and Tennessee! ; 13. The Union Rebuffed: The Autumn of 1862 ; 14. The Emancipation Proclamation - Strategy, Policy, and Escalation ; 15. 1863: A New Year and New Hopes ; 16. Vicksburg and Exhaustion ; 17. The Cruel Summer: 1863 - The Gettysburg Campaign ; 18. From Vicksburg, to Chickamauga, to the Rappahannock ; 19. Indecision and the West ; 20. Decision and Desperation, 1864 ; 21. The Full Fury of Modern War - Exhaustion and Attrition ; 22. War Termination ; Some Conclusions ; Acknowledgments ; Notes ; Index

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Book SynopsisLincoln Prize-winning author Craig L. Symonds offers an authoritative history of the Civil War navies and considers how aspects of the naval conflict affected the trajectory of the American Civil War.Trade ReviewWell written, fast paced, and illustrated with a number of fine maps...this book provides a perfect offing for the general reader who wants to explore the Civil War at sea. However, scholars too should pay close attention, for...Symonds challenges us to think about the struggle [at sea and on the rivers] in new ways. Here we have the best in history - readable, informative, and provocative. * Historian *Symonds writes briskly and with great competence, and The Civil War at Sea (and on the rivers) is a masterful overview of a most meaningful topic. * Naval History *Excellent.... Crisp writing, incisive assessments of leading personalities, and attention to details often overlooked enhance Symonds's book. * CHOICE *Symond's account of the campaigns, strategies, tactics, and personalities that characterized the naval conflict is both detailed and comprehensible for laypersons. He effectively places the naval war within the broader context of an emerging industrial age, as steam and steel led to great changes in the construction and use of warships. The author uses a topical approach, with his descriptions of the Union blockade and Confederate efforts to thwart it are particularly interesting. A good addition to Civil War collections. * Booklist *Covering river and sea, tradition and technology, strategy and happenstance, admirals and sailors, this is as comprehensive and authoritative a book as has ever been written on the naval side of the Civil War. Craig Symonds' hand at the tiller guarantees superb scholarship and lucid prose. All hands aboard! * Harold Holzer, Chairman of The Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation *Craig Symonds combines his talents as a fine historian of the U.S. Navy and of the Civil War to produce this outstanding study of the Union and Confederate navies. Focusing on the ways in which Southern technological innovations and Northern industrial productivity shaped the strategy and tactics of the naval war, he offers important insights on the course and outcome of the conflict. * James M. McPherson *Distinguished naval historian Craig Symonds' well-researched and engagingly written overview, The Civil War at Sea, touches all the major areas of the naval war, including the ships and their guns, the differing strategies pursued by the North and South, and the contest that ensued. Simply put, it is a splendid introduction to the naval side of the conflict. * Spencer C. Tucker *The Civil War at Sea is crisp and well written, well researched and insightful as well as a timeless contribution to that neglected aspect of Civil War literature. * B. Franklin Cooling *This is a superb read that melds emerging technology and captivating personalities, both of which continue to mold the U.S. Navy to this day. Craig Symonds masterfully brings this largely overlooked piece of our country's history to life, in a fine book that will appeal to a wide range of interests. * Admiral Bruce DeMars, USN (Ret) *Craig Symonds' timely and readable tour-de-force, detailing the actions of the U.S. and Confederate navies, sheds new light on both well-known strategies, battles, and personalities as well as on those less well known. Here is a book for Civil War buffs and those looking for good history. * Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn, USN (Ret), and President of the Naval Historical Foundation *Symonds has a gift for making complex and technical issues easy to understand, and his straightforward style makes for enjoyable reading. This book will appeal to general readers interested in either U.S. naval history or naval aspects of the Civil War. His thematic structure allows readers to understand the big picture of naval tactics and strategy without being overwhelmed by minutiae." * Library Journal *[A] comprehensive and outstanding history of the Navy during that period...Symonds' book provides an excellent introduction and an insightful look at naval strategy and technology for those familiar with the naval war and those who have devoted their Civil War study to armies and land battles." * ivil War News *Table of Contents1. The Ships and the Guns: Civil War Navies and the Technological Revolution ; 2. The Blockade and Blockade Runners ; 3. The War on Commerce: The Hunters and the Hunted ; 4. "Unvexed to the Sea": The River War ; 5. Civil War Navies and the Siege of Charleston ; 6. The End Game: Mobile, Wilmington, and the Cruise of the Shenandoah

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Book SynopsisWhen Liddell Hart''s Sherman was first published in 1929, it received encomiums such as these: A masterly performance . . . one of the most thorougly dignified, one of the most distinguished biographies of the year.- Henry Steele Commager, New York Herald Tribune It is not often that one comes upon a biography that is so well done as this book. Nearly every page bears evidence of the fact that it is the product of painstaking and exhaustive research, mature thought, and an expert understanding of the subject in hand . . .- Saturday Review of Literature

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Book Synopsis“Riveting. . . a testament to a misconceived war, and to the ease with which ordinary men, under certain conditions, can transform into monsters.”—New York Times Book ReviewThis is the story of a small group of soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division’s fabled 502nd Infantry Regiment—a unit known as “the Black Heart Brigade.” Deployed in late 2005 to Iraq’s so-called Triangle of Death, a veritable meat grinder just south of Baghdad, the Black Hearts found themselves in arguably the country’s most dangerous location at its most dangerous time. Hit by near-daily mortars, gunfire, and roadside bomb attacks, suffering from a particularly heavy death toll, and enduring a chronic breakdown in leadership, members of one Black Heart platoon—1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion—descended, over their year-long tour of duty, into a tailspin of poor discipline, substance abuse, and brutality.<

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Book Synopsis

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