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librarygurl's review against another edition
4.0
This book is part of the Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War. I am a few sessions ahead on the readings, but that is not stopping me. This book will be part of session 4 (we just ran session 2). I am not very knowledgeable about the Civil War. Let’s face it: I grew up in Miami. Miami has no deep cultural connection because Miami did not really exist in the middle of the 19th century. It was incorporated a few decades after the Civil War. There were no battle grounds to go visit on field trips, no local history to focus on, and no heroes to celebrate. While part of my father’s family has been in this country for generations, the majority of my family has come so recently that I am third/fourth generation American. My own family doesn’t have much of a connection to the Civil War so we never glorified or celebrated our own involvement.
All this has changed since I moved to Massachusetts. This is a state rich in history, especially Civil War era history. Living in Lowell specifically has opened me up to so much interesting history that I am now more interested in the Civil War than I have ever been. It is difficult though as I know so little about the Civil War. As I do the readings for this series I struggle to keep up with locations, historical figures, and who won a battle. Crossroads to Freedom was amazing at helping me understand all these ideas, places and people I am struggling with. McPherson does an amazing job of explaining what led up to Antietam. He was delightfully critical of McClellan, but also fair to his strengths as a leader. He did an amazing job explaining the frustrations the Confederacy was feeling about being recognized by Europe. He gave me new insight into Lincoln and his struggle to go forward with the Emancipation Proclamation. The maps were detailed and helped me understand troop movements. The writing style was simple and easy to understand.
What is my criticism? There isn’t any really. This book was selected because many, including McPherson, argue that Antietam was the turning point for the war. Even though it wasn’t a well fought victory (McClellan allowed Lee to just retreat without being followed – among other things McClellan failed to do) it was a much needed victory for them. It was after Antietam that Lincoln put forward the Emancipation Proclamation and it was after Antietam that Europe decided not to recognize the Confederacy as its own nation. McPherson recognized that, obviously, it was not the end of the war, but he makes the case that this battle is the deciding point.
The question is: did he make his case? Did he convince me that this was the deciding point? Not entirely. I agree this was a huge turning point. This is when the war stops being about just reuniting the country and becomes about ending slavery as well. McClellan’s choice to not follow Lee and continue fighting makes me feel like this was a minor victory after a bloody battle. McClellan seems to be the one who thinks his victory was more important than it was. To me it seemed like a de facto victory. He didn’t really beat Lee. McClellan just stood his ground long enough.
Should you read this book? Of course you should!
All this has changed since I moved to Massachusetts. This is a state rich in history, especially Civil War era history. Living in Lowell specifically has opened me up to so much interesting history that I am now more interested in the Civil War than I have ever been. It is difficult though as I know so little about the Civil War. As I do the readings for this series I struggle to keep up with locations, historical figures, and who won a battle. Crossroads to Freedom was amazing at helping me understand all these ideas, places and people I am struggling with. McPherson does an amazing job of explaining what led up to Antietam. He was delightfully critical of McClellan, but also fair to his strengths as a leader. He did an amazing job explaining the frustrations the Confederacy was feeling about being recognized by Europe. He gave me new insight into Lincoln and his struggle to go forward with the Emancipation Proclamation. The maps were detailed and helped me understand troop movements. The writing style was simple and easy to understand.
What is my criticism? There isn’t any really. This book was selected because many, including McPherson, argue that Antietam was the turning point for the war. Even though it wasn’t a well fought victory (McClellan allowed Lee to just retreat without being followed – among other things McClellan failed to do) it was a much needed victory for them. It was after Antietam that Lincoln put forward the Emancipation Proclamation and it was after Antietam that Europe decided not to recognize the Confederacy as its own nation. McPherson recognized that, obviously, it was not the end of the war, but he makes the case that this battle is the deciding point.
The question is: did he make his case? Did he convince me that this was the deciding point? Not entirely. I agree this was a huge turning point. This is when the war stops being about just reuniting the country and becomes about ending slavery as well. McClellan’s choice to not follow Lee and continue fighting makes me feel like this was a minor victory after a bloody battle. McClellan seems to be the one who thinks his victory was more important than it was. To me it seemed like a de facto victory. He didn’t really beat Lee. McClellan just stood his ground long enough.
Should you read this book? Of course you should!
tarmstrong112's review against another edition
4.0
It was very good and I highly enjoyed it. It was really a general summary of the first two years of the war and then a chapter on the Battle of Antietam. Still very good and entertaining.
avalydia's review against another edition
2.0
Very dry. Had the most ridiculous boxing metaphor ever, which I am going to quote in full for posterity's sake:
"One more punch by McClellan might have knocked the Confederacy out of the war. But McClellan could not bring himself to throw that punch. Instead, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee got the South off the mat at the count of nine and began counterpunching with such skill and power that by September the Union appeared to be on the ropes."
"One more punch by McClellan might have knocked the Confederacy out of the war. But McClellan could not bring himself to throw that punch. Instead, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee got the South off the mat at the count of nine and began counterpunching with such skill and power that by September the Union appeared to be on the ropes."
cocoawolf29's review against another edition
3.0
It wasn't a great book, but it wasn't a bad book. It gave a very detailed review of the occurrences before, during, and after Antietam and their importance of the war. This isn't my personal favorite subject. Though I find it interesting in small doses, it was a bit too much in a book like this. For anyone passionate about the subject though, I think they would enjoy it.
theeverglow17's review against another edition
4.0
A concise overview of the significance of the battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg in the South). Only one chapter is dedicated to detailing the battle (and it doesn't go into hardly any details). If you want to read a book about the combat, tactics, and events of the battle, you need to find another book (Like "Landscape Turned Red" by Stephen W. Sears). Here, McPherson deals with the lead-up to battle in 1862. He describes the ups and downs of momentum from the viewpoint of the North, the South, and Europe. He also does a nice job in describing the ineptitude of General George McClellan, and how many opportunities were lost because of McClellan's paranoia earlier in 1862 on the Virginia Peninsula as well as at Antietam.
In all, the book does a nice job of summarizing the importance of the battle of Antietam, and makes a very strong case that no other battle was as significant in terms of results regarding which side won. Had the Confederates won at Sharpsburg, peace was very much on the table in part because of European support and success on Northern territory. In the end, the battle itself was a draw after the 12 bloodiest hours in American history. Yet, Lee's Army of Northern Virginia ended its invasion of Maryland; an obvious Union triumph. This discouraged Europe from recognizing the Confederate States of America and let Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation. McPherson does an excellent job of explaining the impacts each of those things had on civilians, soldiers, and politicians on both sides, and across the Atlantic.
In all, the book does a nice job of summarizing the importance of the battle of Antietam, and makes a very strong case that no other battle was as significant in terms of results regarding which side won. Had the Confederates won at Sharpsburg, peace was very much on the table in part because of European support and success on Northern territory. In the end, the battle itself was a draw after the 12 bloodiest hours in American history. Yet, Lee's Army of Northern Virginia ended its invasion of Maryland; an obvious Union triumph. This discouraged Europe from recognizing the Confederate States of America and let Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation. McPherson does an excellent job of explaining the impacts each of those things had on civilians, soldiers, and politicians on both sides, and across the Atlantic.
allygator's review against another edition
2.0
finally, i have finished this.
do i think this was a bad book? no. did i enjoy it? also no.
i had to read this for a history essay -- that will never lead to me liking a book.
i thought this was better than the last book i read for this class, but i still will never read it again. ever.
McPherson is clearly a very talented writer and historian. his writing is engaging, but it's also full of complex military strategy that i simply don't care about.
i'm sure people who are into military history would love this though. good for them
do i think this was a bad book? no. did i enjoy it? also no.
i had to read this for a history essay -- that will never lead to me liking a book.
i thought this was better than the last book i read for this class, but i still will never read it again. ever.
McPherson is clearly a very talented writer and historian. his writing is engaging, but it's also full of complex military strategy that i simply don't care about.
i'm sure people who are into military history would love this though. good for them
robconner88's review against another edition
4.0
After listening to several audiobooks of History, I feel like the general rule of thumb is to skip audiobooks and stick to the text copy when it comes to Historical Nonfiction. But I feel like this book in particular actually breaks the rule a little bit. I will admit, perhaps it is coming from the fact that I have been a lover of Civil War History for well over 20 years now, so this all very much information I've learned 2 or 3 times over. But with that in mind, I quite enjoyed this audiobook version.
Let me start by getting my nitpick out of the way, and that is the book itself spends almost 2/3rd of the pages setting up Antietam and getting to the battle itself. For me, that felt like a lot of background just to get to the part of the book we were supposed to be reading. By the time we get to the battle, it is a quick synopsis and then it's over. So it was a bit of a let down in that way.
I think Audience has to be taken into account though, as I believe this book is really meant for general audiences more so than any large tome of History would be. So if you have NO idea what the Battle of Antietam is, or if you wanted to learn about it for the first time as an Adult, then this is the book for you!
Listening to the audio version of the book was pretty entertaining as well. It felt like I was listening to a PBS recording of "The Civil War" by Ken Burns sans background music. It felt a lot like returning to a part of History I've not read much about in recent years, and I enjoyed that. The narrator of this audiobook is definitely a huge plus and I feel like I've heard him before in other productions on the Civil War, though I can't quite place him.
So to sum it up, I would highly recommend this book to readers who haven't really heard about Antietam before. Maybe you're planning a trip or you just found out about it. But if you are a huge Civil War Buff looking to supplement your knowledge of the war, then I have to admit there are probably better works out there for you. McPherson himself writes a much more comprehensive history as well, for those who are looking for an 800 page tome to read. But again, to be fair, I don't think McPherson or anyone involved in the publishing wrote this book expecting it to cater to that crowd. So in the end it accomplishes the goal it set out to do quite nicely, in my opinion.
Let me start by getting my nitpick out of the way, and that is the book itself spends almost 2/3rd of the pages setting up Antietam and getting to the battle itself. For me, that felt like a lot of background just to get to the part of the book we were supposed to be reading. By the time we get to the battle, it is a quick synopsis and then it's over. So it was a bit of a let down in that way.
I think Audience has to be taken into account though, as I believe this book is really meant for general audiences more so than any large tome of History would be. So if you have NO idea what the Battle of Antietam is, or if you wanted to learn about it for the first time as an Adult, then this is the book for you!
Listening to the audio version of the book was pretty entertaining as well. It felt like I was listening to a PBS recording of "The Civil War" by Ken Burns sans background music. It felt a lot like returning to a part of History I've not read much about in recent years, and I enjoyed that. The narrator of this audiobook is definitely a huge plus and I feel like I've heard him before in other productions on the Civil War, though I can't quite place him.
So to sum it up, I would highly recommend this book to readers who haven't really heard about Antietam before. Maybe you're planning a trip or you just found out about it. But if you are a huge Civil War Buff looking to supplement your knowledge of the war, then I have to admit there are probably better works out there for you. McPherson himself writes a much more comprehensive history as well, for those who are looking for an 800 page tome to read. But again, to be fair, I don't think McPherson or anyone involved in the publishing wrote this book expecting it to cater to that crowd. So in the end it accomplishes the goal it set out to do quite nicely, in my opinion.