The Enduring Civil War - (Conflicting Worlds: New Dimensions of the American Civil War) by Gary W Gallagher (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In the seventy-three succinct essays gathered in The Enduring Civil War, celebrated historian Gary W. Gallagher highlights the complexity and richness of the war, from its origins to its memory, as topics for study, contemplation, and dispute. He places contemporary understanding of the Civil War, both academic and general, in conversation with testimony from those in the Union and the Confederacy who experienced and described it, investigating how mid-nineteenth-century perceptions align with, or deviate from, current ideas regarding the origins, conduct, and aftermath of the war. The tension between history and memory forms a theme throughout the essays, underscoring how later perceptions about the war often took precedence over historical reality in the minds of many Americans.

The array of topics Gallagher addresses is striking. He examines notable books and authors, both Union and Confederate, military and civilian, famous and lesser known. He discusses historians who, though their names have receded with time, produced works that remain pertinent in terms of analysis or information. He comments on conventional interpretations of events and personalities, challenging, among other things, commonly held notions about Gettysburg and Vicksburg as decisive turning points, Ulysses S. Grant as a general who profligately wasted Union manpower, the Gettysburg Address as a watershed that turned the war from a fight for Union into one for Union and emancipation, and Robert E. Lee as an old-fashioned general ill-suited to waging a modern mid-nineteenth-century war. Gallagher interrogates recent scholarly trends on the evolving nature of Civil War studies, addressing crucial questions about chronology, history, memory, and the new revisionist literature. The format of this provocative and timely collection lends itself to sampling, and readers might start in any of the subject groupings and go where their interests take them.

Review Quotes

"The Enduring Civil War is a compilation of short pieces appearing in popular Civil War publications over a twenty-year period. Gary W. Gallagher emphasizes the importance of 'narrative, chronology, and biography, ' so even when he is writing about broad social and political forces, human beings never disappear from the picture. A vast knowledge of the period, a remarkable command of the literature, and a forceful writing style (enhanced with flashes of sharp humor) make each essay both informative and pleasurable to read. . . . As a historian who has taught the Civil War to countless undergraduates and mentored an impressive group of graduate students, Gallagher sees everything from primary source texts to photographs, monuments, and battlefields as teaching tools. . . . Whether writing for a popular or more scholarly audience, Gary Gallagher remains one of the most consequential historians of the Civil War era."--George Rable, Journal of Southern History

"For decades the Civil War has had no more insightful or thought-provoking commentator than Gary W. Gallagher, and The Enduring Civil War offers ample and eloquent evidence of that. No mere contrarian, he approaches accepted 'truths' and controversial assertions with the same unfettered viewpoint, regardless alike of criticism or acclaim. His latest book is unfailingly interesting, stimulating, and frequently amusing."--William C. Davis, author of Bluegrass Confederate: The Headquarters Diary of Edward O. Guerrant

"Gary W. Gallagher has devoted his career to writing and speaking to diverse audiences about the Civil War, from scholars, to teachers, to students, to loyal audiences fascinated with the nation's conflict. These wonderful essays, originally written for the field's leading glossy magazines, are short gems bridging the academic and popular, and bound to reward all readers."--J. Matthew Gallman, author of Mastering Wartime: A Social History of Philadelphia During the Civil War

"The Enduring Civil War should take its place alongside Gary W. Gallagher's other indispensable books. In these crisp, engaging essays, covering the broad sweep of the war, Gallagher puts his peerless knowledge of the era in service of deeply humanistic goals: promoting historical literacy, and inspiring his readers to do more reading. With his mantra of 'go where the evidence leads, ' Gallagher vividly illuminates the uncertainty of events as they unfolded, the human dilemmas and fallibility of historical actors, the interpretive richness of first-hand accounts and of modern scholarship, and the tensions between history and memory. There is no better guide for this journey."--Elizabeth R. Varon, author of Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War

About the Author

Gary W. Gallagher is the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War Emeritus at the University of Virginia. He is the author or editor of more than forty books on the Civil War and its memory.