This Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War
This is the paperback edition of an essay collection originally published in 2007 by James McPherson, whose 1988 Battle Cry of Freedom is still regarded as the leading one-volume comprehensive history of the Civil War (despite being somewhat dated). Sixteen McPherson essays are loosely grouped under general topics: slavery as the cause of war; the Confederate war; the successful leadership team of Grant, Sherman and Lincoln; the war experience on the battlefield and at home; and Abraham Lincoln as War President. Ranging in length from 6 to 22 pages, their subjects are widely varied. In the Confederate grouping, for example, one essay undermines the romantic mythology surrounding Confederate guerilla and notorious outlaw Jesse James. Another criticizes Robert E. Lee’s postbattle efforts to recast his objectives in the Gettysburg Campaign. A third analyzes postwar efforts in the South to require that school textbooks replace facts with “Lost Cause” fictions about the war’s causes, conduct and results. All are well written, concise and cogent. Thirteen of these essays have been previously published, raising concerns about whether the material reflects current scholarship or is duplicative. (Seven originated as book reviews, meaning that, at least in part, they are not truly “essays” based on McPherson’s own research.) The author states that “most” have been “substantially revised and updated.” This reviewer sampled one of the original essays and one of the book reviews. The former has been revised, although “substantially” might be a stretch, and, judging from the endnotes, it has been slightly updated. The book review appears to be in the same category. That said, of the six true essays, two were originally published in journals with limited circulation, and three of the six were authored in 2004 or later. This book is recommended for those seeking brief treatments of interesting or important Civil War topics. Reviewer: John Foskett John Foskett is a practicing attorney in Boston, Mass., and has a life-long interest in the Civil War.
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Endnotes, index, 272 pp., 2009, Oxford University Press,