Civil War Curiosities: Strange Stories, Oddities, Events, and Coincidences,   ISBN:9781558533158

Customer Rating: 

Purchased this book for my mom who lives in another state and had asked me to find her something about the Civil War. She is 92 and just now getting curious about it. It arrived promptly in excellent conditions and she is thoroughly enjoying reading it.

Customer Rating: 

In the course of a life long study of history, especially when looking at the impact of great revolutions on the course of history, and the American Civil War fits into that category, I have read many books that narrate the main events of those upheavals. I have honed in on the lives of the most important political actors in those dramas as well. Further, I have gone to the backs streets of the events to find out what the "people", who formed the backbone for all the major revolutions, at least in the West, had to say. I have even, and here is where this book, "Civil War Curiosities", falls run into compilations of the oddities and contradictions that have emanated from this historic events. This, my friends, as the headline to this entry indicates is a task for aficionados. So once you've gotten the main narrative of the Civil War down, have read about the major actors and checked out was happening in the back streets then you can take some time for some light, but informative , reading about the oddities.

Of course, on the subject of the American Civil War there is no shortage of books covering individual oddities and topics, or at least the subject has been covered in such depth that at this distance from the event there is not much room for fresh commentary except for the running through the ephemera. Personally, my tastes run to more detailed mainstream studies, like James McPherson's, that center on the fight to abolish slavery or of Bruce Catton's that detail the struggle to preserve a unitary state on this part of the continent. However, Mr. Garrison, a noted author with a resume filled with books that center on compiling the bric-a-brac of this war fills a rather different niche. And along the way provides some interesting information about the personage of Lincoln, his adversary Jefferson Davis, the women of the Civil War, plenty of material on battles and leaders, and most importantly, some new information about the role of blacks in their own liberation as soldiers. Not a book for everyone but interesting nevertheless.

Customer Rating: 

I picked this book up after reading a monster of a historical book and enjoyed it very much. It is written in anecdotal paragraphs, with each paragraph being relevant to the chapter it is included in. It has a very interesting chapter on hostages and also one on officers who were in the clergy. My favorite chapter was on quotes about officers from their contemporaries. I will warn the reader that the book seems to lean toward northern sympathies, which is just fine, but I like my history to be a bit more unbiased. Any casual student of the American Civil War should pick up this entertaining book. Advanced scholars will probably enjoy it as well, but the material is pretty light, and most of the anecdotes I am sure you will have come across before.

Customer Rating: 

This provided some little known insights into the humanity and inhumanity of this epic war in America's history. Both sides were brutal, both sides compassionate in individual ways. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Customer Rating: 

This book is a must have for Civil War buffs. It gives some very interesting stories which you probably wouldn't find anywhere else.