ebooks The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi (Littlefield History of the Civil War Era) by Earl J. Hess in History

Review

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Gray areasBy MagnitudeHess provides an overarching narrative of the campaigns in the Western Theater in the American Civil War. It provides a little more detail than something like James McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom;" but this book somehow left me wanting more. It may be missing a strong thesis that ties it all together.Hess describes the campaigns well; but military history buffs should know up front that Hess doesn't present detailed; regimental-level accounts of every battle; or even major ones like Shiloh and Chickamauga. That suited my purposes fine; but this doesn't promise to be a full-blown; definitive military history. In a concluding chapter; Hess argues that the Western theater was the definitive theater primarily because control of the Mississippi divided the South geographically. He also leaves the impression that Western generals and soldiers (especially Union ones) were better than their Eastern counterparts; although it's not consistently demonstrated throughout his narrative and he never really explains why this situation developed.At the same time; what were the most interesting parts were those on the political and social aspects of the theater. In brief; as the Union forces marched into some areas; they encountered pockets of allies where you might not expect them. Too; how they handled the occupied civil population was a complicated matter; and this seems to be of great interest to Hess. His approach seems slightly revisionist; in that he generally portrays the Unionists as somewhat conflicted in how to treat Southerners in occupied places and exploiting the South's resources when they could. Inconsistent; ad-hoc policies toward freed black labor stand out in this regard.There's no doubt that Hess is an able historian; as his footnotes show; ranging from memoirs; the O.R.; letters; and newspaper articles. You can tell he's lived in archives and done his homework; probably from a lifetime of effort across many books. He spends a lot of time picking apart the Unionists (such as Sherman); but it's hard to tell if the Northerners' thoughts were simply better documented; or whether Hess was trying to get us to look at the North in a different way. In contrast; Hess doesn't cover the Southern side of these events as well.The Kindle version was amazingly well edited; nearly perfect; and Hess has a clear; easy-to-read style. However; the book (at least in the Kindle format) could have benefited from more maps; especially highlighting the campaigns being discussed. Therefore; make sure you have an atlas handy.20 of 21 people found the following review helpful. Comprehensive Analysis of the Pivotal (and little known) Events in the Civil War in the WestBy Writing HistorianI confess to being on page 165 of the book when I wrote this review. Given the quality of Hess' research; analysis; and writing up to this point; I cannot conceive of any scenario in which the rest of this book falls below the high standards it has already set for itself. Quite simply; this is one of the best books on the Civil War in the West that I have read. Why say such a thing? Because Hess approaches the topic in a manner that few other historians have attempted. There are books aplenty on the battles and some on key campaigns; but most treatments of this subject have been lumped together with accounts of operations in the Eastern Theater as part of an account covering the entire war. Hess recognized this shortfall and has remedied it quite nicely with the publication of this book. For Civil War enthusiasts seeking a detailed tactical narrative; you are best advised to look elsewhere. Hess deals with most battles in a paragraph or two. He would have to do that to keep this book to a manageable size. The strength of this book lies in Hess' ability to weave together the seemingly disparate battles and campaigns while simultaneously injecting political and economic considerations into the mixture. He does this in sixteen chapters; with the main body of the narrative ending on page 306 (of 448 pages). The endnotes span fifty additional pages while the bibliography numbers 14 pages. For those who peruse the endnotes; be aware that they are generally limited to sources and do not include additional information not contained in the main narrative. Very well written and very well researched. An overdue and extremely welcome addition to any serious collection of Civil War history.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. A well done and concise overview...By Dave Hoeltje...of a massive theater of the Civil War that is little known and even less written about by the scholars of the era. I was hoping for a little more depth and analysis on the subject but Hess is a writer with a clear; authoritative style that satiated my curiosity on the topic for the time being. I docked it one star for the complete and utter lack of serviceable maps other than the one; ambiguous "theater" map in the first chapter. I've never understood many publishers aversion to including maps in books such as this. It can't be a copyright issue so maybe they're under the misapprehension that most Americans can't read them. A major shortcoming IMHO but I recommended the book to those looking for an very readable overview of this fascinating and critical theater of the War Between The States..