After the war people began to speak of the United States is…, as if it were one entity. Historian Shelby Foote remarked that before the war people spoke of the United States as “are”- the United States are… signifying a group of states.

The Revolutionary War made us a nation, but we were not truly united until the Civil War. I also read about it because there is no other event like it in our history. I read about it because I grew up near Gettysburg and have always had an interest in that war. Why do I read and blog about the Civil War? It’s over 150 years old after all. Other reviews will appear here as I write them. I have read the first volume and will be posting a review of it soon. I own that volume too-it’s the one in the red slip cover in the picture. McPherson (who had not contributed to the main series) provided the foreword for the excerpt edition.

The Assassination – Death of the PresidentĪ 432-page excerpt hardcover variant edition, its chapter organization roughly following the series title order as released, was concurrently published in 1990 by educational publisher Prentice Hall as Brother against brother, Time-Life Books history of the Civil War (ISBN 0139218181), as well as by Time-Life itself in a dust jacket for the general populace under the same title (ISBN 0809478471), and was subsequently reprinted as The Time-Life history of the Civil War by Barnes & Noble Books in 1995 (ISBN 1566199026).

Pursuit to Appomattox – The Last Battles.

The Shenandoah in Flames – The Valley Campaign of 1864.

War on the Frontier – The Trans-Mississippi West.

Death in the Trenches – Grant at Petersburg.

The Killing Ground – Wilderness to Cold Harbor.

Battles For Atlanta – Sherman Moves East.

Spies, Scouts and Raiders – Irregular Operations.

The Fight For Chattanooga – Chickamauga to Missionary Ridge.

The Struggle for Tennessee – Tupelo to Stones River.Twenty Million Yankees – The Northern Home Front.Rebels Resurgent – Fredericksburg to Chancellorsville.War on the Mississippi – Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign.The Bloodiest Day – The Battle of Antietam.The Coastal War – Chesapeake Bay to Rio Grande.

Lee Takes Command – From Seven Days to Second Bull Run.Confederate Ordeal – The Southern Home Front.

Decoying the Yanks – Jackson’s Valley Campaign.

Forward to Richmond – McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign.

The Road to Shiloh – Early Battles in the West.

Brother Against Brother – The War Begins.

I was wrong and have determined to read all 28 volumes this year. I considered them nice volumes with good illustrations and pictures, but thought the narrative would be shallow. When I first received the series, I thought they’d make nice reference material, but did not intend to read them cover-to-cover. This past summer, for my birthday, I received a complete set of these wonderful books-my wife loves me. My set of the Civil War Series books from Time–Life

Time Gettysburg by Time-Life Books