num_pages: 425
description: "The Civil War defined us as what we are &amp; it opened us to being what we became, good &amp; bad things...It was the crossroads of our being, &amp; it was a hell of a crossroads: the suffering, the enormous tragedy of the whole thing."- Shelby Foote  When the illustrated edition of The Civil War was published, The NY Time hailed it as "a treasure for the eye &amp; mind." Ward's history interweaves the author's narrative with the voices of those who lived thru the cataclysmic trial of nationhood: not just Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass &amp; Robert E. Lee, but genteel Southern ladies &amp; escaped slaves, cavalry officers &amp; common foot soldiers who fought in Yankee blue &amp; Rebel gray. The Civil War also includes essays by historians of the era: Don E. Fehrenbacher, on the war's origins; Barbara J. Fields, on the freeing of slaves; Shelby Foote, on the soldiers &amp; commanders; James M. McPherson, on the political dimensions; &amp; C. Vann Woodward, assessing the America that emerged from the war's ashes.Introduction: The crossroads of our being1861: A house divided Why the war came/ Don E. Fehrenbacher1862: Forever freeWho freeds the slaves?/ Barbara J. Fields1863: The universe of battleMen at war: an interview with Shelby Foote1864: Most hallowed groundWar &amp; politics/ James M. McPherson1865: The better angels of our natureWhat the war made us/ C. Vann Woodward
language: English
title: The Civil War: An Illustrated History
titlecomplete: The Civil War: An Illustrated History
genres: Civil War, Historical, Reference, Military Fiction, American History, American Civil War, War, Nonfiction, History, Military History
ratings_count: 3846
awards: awardedAt: 662716800000
name: Lincoln Prize
publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (NY)