Discovering the Civil War

Photographs of astonishing detail, reproductions of handwritten records, and personal tales bring one of the most important eras of American history to rich, fascinating life. In his foreword, Ken Burns highlights the personal nature of history, a theme reinforced by letters (such as that written by a teenage soldier who died at Gettysburg), stories of women passing as men to enlist, and historic photographs of battlegrounds. Hand-drawn sketches of enemy camps mapped from an artist in a tethered balloon, startling pictures of war camps and hospitals, details of patents inspired by the war for improved prosthetic devices and other ideas, this beautiful and fascinating book expands on what we already know about the Civil War. Editor Barry also includes the Constitution of the Confederacy, the handwritten Emancipation Proclamation, and a short but powerful 13th Amendment to abolish slavery, clearly illustrating the sorrows and joys of this era. Photographs, maps, and documents are interspersed with articles that provide insight into the 1860s society: telegrams, censorship, shipbuilding, citizenship. This volume is highly recommended for high school and public library collections, as well as the personal collections of history buffs. (Dec.)