A People's History of the Civil War: Struggles for the Meaning of Freedom (New Press People's History)

Bottom-up history at its very best, "A People's History of the Civil War" "does for the Civil War period what Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" did for the study of American history in general" ("Library Journal"). Widely praised upon its initial release, it was described as "meticulously researched and persuasively argued" by the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution." Historian David Williams has written the first account of the American Civil War though the eyes of ordinary people--foot soldiers, slaves, women, prisoners of war, draft resisters, Native Americans, and others. Richly illustrated with little-known anecdotes and first-hand testimony, this pathbreaking narrative moves beyond presidents and generals to tell a new and powerful story about America's most destructive conflict. "A People's History of the Civil War" is "readable social history" that "sheds fascinating light" ("Publishers Weekly") on this crucial period. In so doing it recovers the long-overlooked perspectives and forgotten voices of one of the defining chapters of American history. “Does for the Civil War period what Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States did for the study of American history in general.” — Library Journal Historian David Williams has written the first account of the American Civil War as viewed though the eyes of ordinary people—foot soldiers, slaves, women, prisoners of war, draft resisters, Native Americans, and others. Richly illustrated with little-known anecdotes and firsthand testimony, this path-breaking narrative moves beyond presidents and generals to tell a new and powerful story about America’s most destructive conflict. A People’s History of the Civil War is a “readable social history” that “sheds fascinating light” on this crucial period. In so doing, it recovers the long-overlooked perspectives and forgotten voices of one of the defining chapters of American history ( Publishers Weekly ). “Meticulously researched and persuasively argued.” — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution "A People's History of the Civil War is "bottom up" history, illustrated with little-known anecdotes and first-person testimony. David Williams brings to life the brutal, mundane experiences of the war - such as the mutilated bodies which, in the words of one soldier, lay "thick as autumn leaves" over the fields after every major battle - and the harsh realities of battlefield medicine and wartime rations. At the same time, he gives us a moving and intimate glimpse into the personal acts of bravery and human kindness that helped to elevate a terrible fight into a sometimes-noble cause."--Jacket