Online Bookstore: Oxford University Press For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War Book

Oxford University Press Best selling books from the top online bookstore offering For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War book. Search our bookstore for books, For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War book and used out of print books. Search a large selection of rare out-of-print books from your source for new, used and hard to find book titles from the top book authors and publishers including Oxford University Press.

from: Oxford University Press
See Larger Image
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: Rating: - Making us feel what those felt 138 years ago James McPherson uses eloquent prose and thorough research to bring the letters of so many Civil War soldiers to life. He also, like any respectable historian, acknowledges the limits of his position and research, citing the lack of letters from the large number of soldiers that were unable to document their experiences due to illiteracy or other constraints. Above all, McPherson is helping to finally bring the analysis of the American Civil War to a human level, incorporating an examination of the battles and politics of the era in an overall look at how life was effected and why men fought against their countrymen. Rating: - Interesting study of why men fought for blue and gray On the surface, McPherson seems to cover the same ground Bell I. Wiley did in his two books on Billy Yank and Johnny Reb. Except, where Wiley concluded that by the end of the war, the soldiers were fighting more to end the conflict rather than for ideological grounds, McPherson found evidence from the letters that the soldiers maintained their high ideals -- to preserve the United States on the Union side, and to preserve individual freedoms (even the freedom to enslave others) on the Confederate side -- through the end of the war. He also noted that it was a time when the words patriotism, honor and courage had value, and that it motivated soldiers into being willing to fight and die for their causes. Reading "For Cause & Comrades" leaves one wondering just how we lost those ideals, and what will replace them in the battles of tomorrow. Rating: - The Civil War, Up Close and Personal In this latest work by the masterful writer and historian, James McPherson, the reader is introduced to the civil War soldier, "up close and personal." For Cause and Comrades sets out to explain to laymen and scholars alike why men sacrificed so much, including life, to fight in this country's most bloody war. In much of the same language, grace and style as his Pulitzer Prize winning work, Battle Cry of Freedom, McPherson eloquently describes the passion and persuasions that pulled Yankees and Rebels into the conflict. Much of the work is in the language of the men of that time, condensed and excerpted in the book from over 25,000 letters and diary entries. Organized by topical reasons for the soldiers' cause(s), McPherson lays out a grid of understanding through which modern-day Americans can attempt to get a grasp on one of the enduring mysteries of history, "Why did these men fight?"

Featured Book Publisher: Oxford University Press

Find Oxford University Press books, For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War and other related products from the top online bookstore. To find Oxford University Press books use the search box at the top left of the page.

Online Bookstore: Oxford University Press For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War

Online Bookstore Home Page > Online Bookstore

© COPYRIGHT 2003 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED SHOP-4-BOOKSTORE.COM