ebooks The American Civil War: A Military History (Vintage Civil War Library) by John Keegan in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Liked it so much that I read it twice in ...By CustomerLiked it so much that I read it twice in a row. I thought it was excellent! The military aspect was explained very adequately. War was presented in chronological order. Editing seemed fine. Really liked how he covered out the importance of the colored soldiers and how they helped fight for their own freedom and were crucial in winning the war for the Union.184 of 191 people found the following review helpful. Weak offering from a normally stellar military historianBy John WarkI'm a big John Keegan fan. I'm also a serious reader of Civil War history. On both counts I'm very disappointed in this book. Keegan is usually an insightful historian and a solid writer. This book falls short in both areas. I can't recommend the book even for serious Civil War buffs as; at best; there's nothing new here. The book has annoying factual errors (doesn't anyone fact check anything anymore?) and is very poorly edited to the point that it's almost incoherent in several sections.The factual errors tend to be related to details; e.g. on page 321 Keegan states that Winfield Scott was 85 years old at the beginning of the war while Scott's actual age was 75 or on page 218 the Confederates are described as making preparations to escape from besieged Vicksburg by crossing to the "eastern shore" where in fact Vicksburg was on the eastern shore of the Mississippi River. This doesn't distract necessarily from Keegan's larger point but it's highly distracting to any reader who has background in the period. These types of factual errors are scattered throughout the book and their accumulation eventually undercuts belief in the larger picture that Keegan attempts to paint.But even more seriously the book is almost unreadable in a number of sections. The quality of the editing in this book is nothing short of appalling. There are serious problems with continuity throughout the book. There is significant repetition in the book. These problems seems to occur much more frequently in the sections describing the war in the "west" (i.e. Tennessee; Georgia; Mississippi; Alabama). It is literally impossible to read the sections on Chickamauga or Hood's Nashville campaign and not get seriously confused and misled regarding what actually happened relative to who did what; in what sequence; etc. When poor editing leads to creating factual confusion; as in the discussion of the end of the siege at Vicksburg when we have the Confederate General Bowen seemingly described as a subordinate ("his emissary") of Union commander Grant; the results should be embarrassing to a publisher like Knopf and an author like Keegan.There are many good single volume treatments of the American Civil War. This is unfortunately not one of them.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Succinct but close to comprehensiveBy DRankinWith characteristic acumen; in this work Keegan strikes a perfect balance of tactical and strategic; technical and philosophical. We see battles from the private's perspective as well as the general's and politician's. This book functions well as a narrative; but brilliantly as both a medium-level analysis of the methods of waging war in this era--and this war in particular; and a high-level analysis of the war's causes and effects.The author begins with several chapters of highly incisive explication of the political; social; and economic causes of the war. I did not expect him to devote that much space to the pre-1861 years; but I'm glad that he did. The next major portion takes us through the events of the war; incorporating Keegan's awesome powers of analysis throughout.Around the three-quarter mark; he brings the narrative right up to the eve of the surrender at Appamattox and then puts it on pause to devote several chapters to broader topics such as black soldiers; the home fronts; generalship; and even Walt Whitman. Then he covers the surrender and aftermath in the final chapter. I found this jarring; but on the other hand it is an innovative approach to the problem of how to incorporate sidebar topics into a narrative work. Those familiar with the sequence of events probably will not mind so much; those reading this story for the first time may be left hanging in suspense.Which brings me to my recommendation--that this book is not for neophytes to Civil War history. While it does succeed at covering almost everything important; I think that a reader with a previous knowledge of the facts would benefit most from Keegan's analyses. Even in the opening chapters he refers to outcomes that are years in the future; and many of his conclusions seem best pondered through the prism of one's pre-existing opinions about the war. I had a nice lively mental debate between myself and the phantom John Keegan after finishing this book.As a narrative this volume is a solid success but as an incisive military history it is a treasure; like most of Keegan's work.