Description
Book SynopsisThe Civil War thrust millions of men and women—rich and poor, soldiers and civilians, enslaved and free—onto the roads of the South. During four years of war, Southerners lived on the move. In the hands of Sternhell, movement becomes a radically new means to perceive the full trajectory of the Confederacy’s rise, struggle, and ultimate defeat.
Trade ReviewThe author’s incisive analysis leads to a number of fresh and fascinating ways to understand the history of the Civil War and its discontents…
Routes of War is a grand achievement because it raises…important questions that have not been examined in the many thousands of books and articles published on the Civil War. Sternhell deserves accolades not only for this, but also for demonstrating quite efficaciously how motion constitutes a fundamental aspect of war in general. The most brilliant aspect of the book is her willingness to analyze motion both as a physical act and as a symbol of meaning. -- Jim Downs * American Historical Review *
It’s not easy to say something fresh about the American Civil War; truly pioneering studies are few and far between. But Sternhell provides a decidedly new vantage point from which to view the war and to understand what it meant to Southerners—soldiers, slaves, and civilians. -- James L. Roark * Civil War Book Review *
Sternhell writes beautifully and convincingly, arguing that the road can be a place of liberty, of opportunity—but also of failure and fear. -- Megan Kate Nelson * Civil War Monitor *
