William C. Davis; one of America's best Civil War historians; here offers a definitive portrait of the Confederacy unlike any that has come before. Drawing on decades of writing and research among an unprecedented number of archives; Look Away! tells the story of the Confederate States of America not simply as a military saga (although it is that); but rather as a full portrait of a society and incipient nation. The first history of the Confederacy in decades; the culmination of a great scholar's career; Look Away! combines politics; economics; and social history to set a new standard for its subject. Previous histories have focused on familiar commanders such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson; but Davis's canvas is much broader. From firebrand politicians like Robert Barnwell Rhett and William L. Yancey; who pushed for secession long before the public supported it; to Dr. Samuel Cartwright; who persuaded many Southerners of the natural inferiority of their slaves; to the women of Richmond; who rioted over bread shortages in 1863; Davis presents a rich new face of the Confederate nation. He recounts familiar stories of battles won and lost; but also little-known economic stories of a desperate government that socialized the salt industry; home-front stories of the rangers and marauders who preyed on their fellow Confederates; and an account of the steady breakdown of law; culminating in near anarchy in some states. Never has the Confederacy been so vividly brought to life as a full society; riven with political and economic conflicts beneath its more loudly publicized military battles. Davis's astonishingly thorough primary research has ranged across the 800-odd newspapers that were in operation during the war; but also across the personal papers of over a hundred Southern leaders and ordinary citizens. He quotes from letters and diaries throughout the narrative; revealing the Confederacy through the words of the Confederates themselves. Like any society; especially in the early stages of nation-building and the devastating stages of warfare; the Confederacy was not one thing but many things to many people. One thing; however; was shared by all: the belief that the South offered a necessary evolution of American democracy. Look Away! offers a dramatic and definitive account of one of America's most searing episodes.
#87069 in Books Freeman Douglas Southall 1997-08-01 1997-08-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.60 x 6.12l; 1.61 #File Name: 0684829533656 pagesLee
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Customernone1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A solid chapter of historyBy flakhappyThe author has given history lovers a good solid segment; without which one cannot understand the Civil War. It was a plus for the Union to know it had an honorable enemy. Lee had few faults; either as a general or as a man; and the author uncovers what we may understand to be the real peerson.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent condensed volume of Freeman's multi-volume set of Lee's lifeBy Susan Lee BriantExcellent condensed volume of Freeman's multi-volume set of Lee's life. Drawings are pretty clear for an ebook. Certainly a good buy if you want less detail as outlined in the original biography by Freeman.
