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neens_m's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Racism, and Rape
jmclincoln's review
5.0
It’s amazing how history so often can expose what we think is true turns out to be just myth. The photos and diary excerpts are amazing and enlightening. I did not realize how many Black doctors we had at the time of the Civil War who served with the Union.
Now, someone needs to do the same for women who fought in the Civil War. Many women disguised themselves as men so they too could fight.
Now, someone needs to do the same for women who fought in the Civil War. Many women disguised themselves as men so they too could fight.
annieb123's review
5.0
Scheduled to publish on my blog at release: Nonstop Reader.
The Black Civil War Soldier is a well researched and thoroughly annotated study of the black men who served (on both sides) in the American Civil War. Due out 21st Jan 2021 from the NYU Press, it's 240 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
The author, Dr. Deborah Willis, is a historian and film/ephemera researcher as well as a photographer in her own right. This book, while academically rigorous and prodigiously annotated throughout is refreshingly accessible to non-academics. The language is understandable and readable and most often, she allows the subjects to speak eloquently for themselves, through their photos and the ephemera (letters, diaries, family oral history, and archival evidence) they left behind.
I found myself often moved emotionally during reading this book and affected deeply by the plight of the young men and their families depicted here. There are epigraphs aplenty from luminaries (Frederick Douglass, Lincoln, Dr. Alexander T. Augusta, and many others who will be familiar to many readers), but it's the unknowns, lesser knowns, the family men, the wives and mothers whose histories are preserved here who affected me the most. I grew up in West Virginia and am intimately familiar with many of the cities and towns described.
Seeing the resilience and bravery and honor and mettle of the men here against the backdrop of the nauseating prejudiced mishandling by everyone *including their comrades at arms and commanding officers* was often difficult to read and process.
The chapters are laid out chronologically: 1860-61, 1861-62, 1863, 1864, and 1865-66. The text is liberally annotated and illustrated with line drawings, facsimiles of period documents, and an impressive number of photos. Although the treatment is admittedly academic, there's enough annotation and chapter notation and bibliography to satisfy the staunchest pedant - at the same time, there's a clear and compelling biographical narrative. I'm amazed that there's enough period record to reconstruct the stories of these families after more than 150 years.
Five stars. I would recommend this book to readers of American history, war history, American culture, classroom instruction in the Civil War period or allied subjects, ephemera, etc.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Black Civil War Soldier is a well researched and thoroughly annotated study of the black men who served (on both sides) in the American Civil War. Due out 21st Jan 2021 from the NYU Press, it's 240 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
The author, Dr. Deborah Willis, is a historian and film/ephemera researcher as well as a photographer in her own right. This book, while academically rigorous and prodigiously annotated throughout is refreshingly accessible to non-academics. The language is understandable and readable and most often, she allows the subjects to speak eloquently for themselves, through their photos and the ephemera (letters, diaries, family oral history, and archival evidence) they left behind.
I found myself often moved emotionally during reading this book and affected deeply by the plight of the young men and their families depicted here. There are epigraphs aplenty from luminaries (Frederick Douglass, Lincoln, Dr. Alexander T. Augusta, and many others who will be familiar to many readers), but it's the unknowns, lesser knowns, the family men, the wives and mothers whose histories are preserved here who affected me the most. I grew up in West Virginia and am intimately familiar with many of the cities and towns described.
Seeing the resilience and bravery and honor and mettle of the men here against the backdrop of the nauseating prejudiced mishandling by everyone *including their comrades at arms and commanding officers* was often difficult to read and process.
The chapters are laid out chronologically: 1860-61, 1861-62, 1863, 1864, and 1865-66. The text is liberally annotated and illustrated with line drawings, facsimiles of period documents, and an impressive number of photos. Although the treatment is admittedly academic, there's enough annotation and chapter notation and bibliography to satisfy the staunchest pedant - at the same time, there's a clear and compelling biographical narrative. I'm amazed that there's enough period record to reconstruct the stories of these families after more than 150 years.
Five stars. I would recommend this book to readers of American history, war history, American culture, classroom instruction in the Civil War period or allied subjects, ephemera, etc.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
dustcircle's review
4.0
Beautiful necessity for any history buff. Tons of rare and possibly extinct photographs, love letters from black soldiers to their wives, wonderful exposition, solicitation posters, and more. A wonderful collection of black 19th century American history.
faegirl's review
4.0
This is a solid book with a mix of letters from politicians, family members, and Black soldiers who fought for the Union in the Civil War. While most people believe that all photographs of Black soldiers from this time period are of the 54th, this book will show you the wide variety of images that survived of USCT (United States Colored Troops). The book is divided into logical sections based on time and bring in lots of different voices. Solid research!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair review, all opinions are my own.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair review, all opinions are my own.
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