Gabor S. Boritt - Böcker

BL The first direct comparison of America's participation in its two most significant wars - the Civil War and World War IIA group of prominent historians provide an illuminating comparison of the two wars in a number of central areas.

In LINCOLN, THE WAR PRESIDENT, no fewer than five Pulitzer Prize-winning historians - James McPherson, Carl Degler, Arthur Schlesinger Jr, David Brion Davis, and Robert Bruce - join eminent historian Kenneth Stampp and editor Gabor Boritt to offer a fresh look at how Lincoln confronted the central issues of the Civil War era, throwing sharp new light on the revolutionary changes he helped usher in. Kenneth Stampp explores the issue of self-determination, illuminating Lincoln's views and comparing the South's struggle for independence to others in history (including the post-Soviet situation in Eastern Europe). Arthur Schlesinger Jr, offers a provocative comparison of how Lincoln and our other outstanding war president, FDR, went beyond the limits of the Constitution in defence of the nation and freedom - as they understood them. David Brion Davis focuses on both the exhilarating moment of emancipation and its disappointing results. Gabor Boritt traces Lincoln's transition from strident opponent of the Mexican War, to resolute war leader, ("Destroy the rebel army," were his terse orders) to speaking out for reconciliation (after Appomattox he exclaimed, "Enemies, never again must we repeat that word"). Carl Degler compares the Civil War as a successful attempt at true national unification with the unifications of Italy, Germany, and even Switzerland (which waged a fraternal war not many years earlier). Robert Bruce provides an incisive look at the premonitions of civil war that haunted the American republic since independence, including Lincoln's reluctance to accept war as a possibility. And James McPherson establishes once and for all Lincoln's brilliance as a national strategist. Historians have often criticized specific military decisions Lincoln made, McPherson writes, ignoring his grasp of an overall national strategy that calculated political, economic, and military needs together.These outstanding essays - all but one published here for the first tiem - offer a new understanding of a revolutionary epoch in American history, and of the role of the leader who helped transform the nation forever.

Americans have always defined themselves in terms of their freedoms--of speech, of religion, of political dissent. How we interpret our history of slavery--the ultimate denial of these freedoms--deeply affects how we understand the very fabric of our democracy. This extraordinary collection of essays by some of America's top historians focuses on how African Americans resisted slavery and how they responded when finally free. Ira Berlin sets the stage by stressing the relationship between how we understand slavery and how we discuss race today. The remaining essays offer a richly textured examination of all aspects of slavery in America. John Hope Franklin and Loren Schweinger recount actual cases of runaway slaves, their motivations for escape and the strains this widespread phenomenon put on white slave-owners. Scott Hancock explores how free black Northerners created a proud African American identity out of the oral history of slavery in the south. Edward L. Ayers, William G. Thomas III, and Anne Sarah Rubin draw upon their remarkable Valley of the Shadow website to describe the wartime experiences of African Americans living on both borders of the Mason-Dixon line. Noah Andre Trudeau turns our attention to the war itself, examining the military experience of the only all-black division in the Army of the Potomac. And Eric Foner gives us a new look at how black leaders performed during the Reconstruction, revealing that they were far more successful than is commonly acknowledged--indeed, they represented, for a time, the fulfillment of the American ideal that all people could aspire to political office. Wide-ranging, authoritative, and filled with invaluable historical insight, Slavery, Resistance, Freedom brings a host of powerful voices to America's evolving conversation about race.

Confederate General P.G.T.Beauregard once wrote that "no people ever warred for independence with more relative advantages than the Confederates." If there was any doubt as to what Beauregard sought to imply, he later to chose to spell it out: the failure of the Confederacy lay with the Confederate president Jefferson Davis. In Jefferson Davis's Generals, a team of America's most distinguished Civil War historians present fascinating examinations of the men who led the South through the nation's bloodiest conflict, focusing in particular on Jefferson Davis's relationships with five key generals who held independent commands: Joseph E. Johnston, Robert E. Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard, Braxton Bragg, and John Bell Hood. Craig Symonds examines the underlying implications of a withering trust between Johnston and his friend Jefferson Davis. And was there really harmony between Davis and Robert E. Lee? A tenuous harmony at best, according to Emory Thomas. Michael Parrish explores how Beauregard and Davis worked through a deep and mutual loathing, while Steven E. Woodworth and Herman Hattaway make contrasting evaluations of the competence of Generals Braxton Bragg and John Bell Hood. Taking a different angle on Davis's ill-fated commanders, Lesley Gordon probes the private side of war through the roles of the generals' wives, and Harold Holzer investigates public perceptions of the Confederate leadership through printed images created by artists of the day. Pulitzer Prize-winner James M. McPherson's final chapter ties the individual essays together and offers a new perspective on Confederate strategy as a whole.Jefferson Davis's Generals provides stimulating new insights into one of the most vociferously debated topics in Civil War history.

Confederate General P.G.T.Beauregard once wrote that "no people ever warred for independence with more relative advantages than the Confederates." If there was any doubt as to what Beauregard sought to imply, he later to chose to spell it out: the failure of the Confederacy lay with the Confederate president Jefferson Davis. In Jefferson Davis's Generals, a team of America's most distinguished Civil War historians present fascinating examinations of the men who led the South through the nation's bloodiest conflict, focusing in particular on Jefferson Davis's relationships with five key generals who held independent commands: Joseph E. Johnston, Robert E. Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard, Braxton Bragg, and John Bell Hood. Craig Symonds examines the underlying implications of a withering trust between Johnston and his friend Jefferson Davis. And was there really harmony between Davis and Robert E. Lee? A tenuous harmony at best, according to Emory Thomas. Michael Parrish explores how Beauregard and Davis worked through a deep and mutual loathing, while Steven E. Woodworth and Herman Hattaway make contrasting evaluations of the competence of Generals Braxton Bragg and John Bell Hood. Taking a different angle on Davis's ill-fated commanders, Lesley Gordon probes the private side of war through the roles of the generals' wives, and Harold Holzer investigates public perceptions of the Confederate leadership through printed images created by artists of the day. Pulitzer Prize-winner James M. McPherson's final chapter ties the individual essays together and offers a new perspective on Confederate strategy as a whole.Jefferson Davis's Generals provides stimulating new insights into one of the most vociferously debated topics in Civil War history.

This extraordinary collection of essays by some of America's top historians focuses on how African Americans resisted slavery and responded to freedom. Ira Berlin sets the stage by stressing the relationship between how we understand slavery and how we discuss race today. The remaining essays offer a richly textured examination of black struggles for freedom. John Hope Franklin and Loren Schweninger recount actual cases of runaway slaves, their motivations for escape and the strains this widespread phenomenon put on white slave-owners. Edward L. Ayers, William G. Thomas III, and Anne Sarah Rubin draw upon their remarkable Valley of the Shadow website to describe the wartime experiences of African Americans living on both borders of the Mason-Dixon line. And Eric Foner gives us a new look at how black leaders performed during the Reconstruction, revealing that they represented, for a time, the fulfillment of the American ideal that all people could aspire to political office.

This unique exploration of Lincoln's economic beliefs shows how they helped shape his view of slavery, his conduct of the war, and most fundamentally his understanding of what the United States was and could become.

Winner of the Barondess/Lincoln Award of the Civil War Round Table of New York, 1989 "For Lincoln specialists, The Historian's Lincoln deepens and sharpens familiar arguments. For nonspecialists, it is the most efficient and enjoyable way to 'get right' with Lincoln." -- Robert E. McGlone, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography"Provides an excursion to the frontiers of Lincoln scholarship, and insight into the passions of those who labor there. . . . Rarely do the products of a scholarly symposium so richly deserve placement on public and academic library shelves." -- John Y. Simon, Choice"Authoritative, well written, and spiced by informed debate. In short, Lincoln's depth and height as a figure in history are well measured by this distinguished volume, not only in its several parts and authors, but also as a whole." -- Robert V. Bruce, author of Lincoln and the Tools of War