The Civil War: Exploring History One Week at a Time (The Seven-Day Scholar)

"A bite of history a day, all year long."

Flawless storytelling, expert research, and a whole new way of providing history in intriguing, one-page essays makes The Seven-Day Scholar: The Civil War a book that anyone interested in the topic will want on their bookshelf.

This volume in the Seven-Day Scholar series brings to life significant moments in our nation's heroic tragedy, the Civil War, and coincides with its 150th anniversary. The book is organized into fifty-two chapters, corresponding to the weeks in a year; and each week has a theme-what ignited the war, Antietam, soldiers' food and drink, the 54th Massachusetts, the Gettysburg Address, Vicksburg, medical care, Lincoln's assassination, why the North won, and many more. Each chapter includes seven related narrative entries, one for every day of the week. These one-page entries, which read like historical fiction, bring to life crucial political decisions, unforgettable people, key battlefield moments, scholarly debates, and struggles on the home front.

The book also explores many little-known episodes, answering questions such as:

• Why did Jefferson and Varina Davis take in a mixed-race child during the war
• What were the causes of riots in New York City and Richmond
• Why was General William Sherman demoted for "insanity"
• Why did the Union Army turn Robert E. Lee's estate into a cemetery

Entries also include follow-up resources where curious readers can learn more.

Readers can sweep through the book from beginning to end, or use it as a reference book, periodically dipping in and out of topics they want to explore. This is the perfect book for history buffs, and for those who missed out on learning about this captivating period in American history.

Dennis Gaffney is an adjunct professor at the University at Albany SUNY, and also a journalist who has written for The New York Times, Mother Jones, and Reader's Digest. Peter Gaffney is Senior VP, Programming, Scheduling and Acquisitions for HISTORY.


Peter Gaffney is the Vice President of Program Planning & Acquisitions for HISTORY Channel and A& E.