Don't Know Much About the Civil War - Hardcover

Davis, Kenneth C

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688118143 ISBN 13: 9780688118143

Publisher: William Morrow, 1996

Synopsis

“Highly informative and entertaining...propels the reader light years beyond dull textbooks and Gone with the Wind.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

It has been 150 years since the opening salvo of America’s War Between the States. New York Times bestselling author Ken Davis tells us everything we never knew about our nation’s bloodiest conflict in Don’t Know Much About ® the Civil War—another fascinating and fun installment in his acclaimed series.

About this title

Review:

By the vastly amusing author of Don't Know Much About History and Don't Know Much About Geography, this fresh look at America's greatest conflict will dispel all those misconceptions you acquired by watching "Gone With the Wind". Davis has a genius for bringing history to life, sorting out the players, the politics and the key events -- Harpers Ferry, Shiloh, Gettysburg, Emancipation, Reconstruction -- in a way that will enlighten even the most dedicated back-of-the-class napper. A brilliant crash course, this book vividly brings to life the people -- from Dred Scott to Abraham Lincoln -- and the everyday details that make up History with a capital H.

From the Inside Flap:

"What was the leading cause of death among Civil War soldiers? Why did Robert E. Lee resign from the U.S. Army? Which group was exempt from the Confederate draft? Whom did the Emancipation Proclamation emancipate? Was the Gettysburg Address truly written on the back of an envelope? Did General Sherman really say, "War is Hell?"

If you can't answer most of these questions, you're not alone. Millions of Americans, bored by dull textbooks, are in the dark about the most significant event in American history. Too many others thought they learned it all from Gone With the Wind.

Bestselling author Kenneth C. Davis sheds light on these and other questions about America's greatest conflict in this fascinating program, providing listeners with everything they "need to know" about the Civil War. With his deft wit and unconventional style, Davis sorts out the players, the politics, and the key events. Drawing on moving eyewitness accounts of the people who lived through the war, he brings listeners into the world of the ordinary men and women who made history -- the side of the story that textbooks never tell.

Don't Know Much About "RM" the Civil War explodes the myths and misconceptions about the war, its causes, and the men who fought on both sides. A brilliant crash course, it vividly brings to life Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Generals Lee and Grant, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe. It looks behind the battles and the tactics to the astounding human misery the war brought upon a divided nation, and includes a wealth of "hidden history," the lesser-known facts sure to fascinate even the most learned Civil War buff.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0688118143
• ISBN 13: 9780688118143
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480