The Civil War: Exploring History One Week at a Time

by Dennis Gaffney, Peter Gaffney, Dan John Miller (Reader)

Authoritative American history meets a fun listening experience in the first volume of The Seven-Day Scholar series, which chronicles significant moments in our nation’s heroic tragedy. This audiobook is divided into 52 tracks that cover fascinating episodes of the Civil War. Each of these short entries, which read like historical fiction, covers crucial political decisions, unforgettable people, key battlefield moments, scholarly debates, what-ifs of the war, and struggles on the home front. Listeners can sweep through the book from beginning to end or scroll week by week, becoming a “scholar” in each topic in just a few day's time. The Seven-Day Scholar also serves as a reference book, inviting listeners to dip in and out of topics they want to explore whenever they want.

Genres: Civil War, History, Nonfiction, American History, Military Fiction

Audio CD

First published April 19, 2011

Reviews

[Ryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this great overview of the civil war. I have a much greater understanding of the fascinating history of our country. I particularly loved the excerpts from journals and the stories that personalized each interesting character. I have a better understanding of why so many Southerners take pride in the brilliance and gentlemanly conduct of General Robert E Lee, but of course, go team Union.

[Mike Corgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of stories the shaped the Civil War.

[Siddharth Khurana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provides an effective overview of the Civil War

[Mike (HistoryBuff) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a great review how the events leading up to the Civil War transpired and certain key events in the War. It is a great read for someone on the go. It provides a good background on the Civil War and other details that one may not know. Highly recommended.

[Jennifer Gelert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a very interesting set up. The authors took the Civil War and broke it up into a weekly and then daily break down of the war. They opened the book asking what caused the Civil War. They stated that "No one cause existed. Instead a complicated decades-long chain of events led to the violence that ripped the country apart and shaped America's history."

Personal accounts from men serving in the field, to people like Fredrick Douglas cover various points in the book. We read about the struggles Linccoln went through and see the trouble Jefferson Davis had with all of his states wanting to maintain their rights. Battles are shared in detail. Great losses are on each side. Discussion was had on the diseases that killed most of the both armies, the unclean hospital conditions, the important role women played in fixing that problem.

The joy the Negro soldier felt in being able to serve in the U.S. Army and the stand they took to get equal pay. The realization of white soldiers that the Negro could fight and be strong.

Chapters on food eating, both armies dealing with deserters. Families dying at home from no food. I read things I did not even know about the war and realize that is probably even more out there. If you are interested in the Civil War period, this book is a very good read.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Seven-Day Scholar: the Civil War: Exploring History One Week at a Time", by Dennis Gaffney was an intriguing concept. In this book, the Civil War is covered in 52 weeks, each week composed of 7 days. Each week covers a specific topic, from certain battles, to people, to events to subjects like slavery or women in the war, with each of the days being a different article. Though the subjects are not covered in great depth, there is a wide breadth of topics covered, leading to the reader being the recipient of a great deal of information. Though normally I am not a proponent of "quantity over quality", in this case there is a great deal of both quantity and quality. I would recommend this book experienced civil war historians and laymen looking to gain an greater understanding of the conflict. It will have a proud place on my history shelf. In addition, there is also a passable bibliography, with links to where to find further information on each of the topics. In short, this was a highly engaging and very interesting learning experience. I look forward to the next book in the "Seven-Day Scholar" series.

[Linda Appelbaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our most deadly war, one that ripped our country apart and there is so much still to know and learn about it. The biggest lesson of course is that war is so useless and simply makes no sense, but we all know wars will always be part of man's existence. Lincoln and Grant were such generous men and the end of the war proved it as the Rebels were allowed to keep their horses, guns and were even fed! I did not know that Thanksgiving as a federal holiday came after the States won a huge battle at Gettysburg. I did not know that Lincoln was really in favor of sending slaves back to Africa. He didn't approve of men owing slaves, but he also did not particularly think they belonged in the States and might be better off elsewhere. I didn't realize Arlington Cemetery was once the home of General Lee and his wife and was taken for back taxes owed. The war almost began and ended at the property of a man. His first property was nearby Ft. Sumter where the war began and it was if front porch on a 2nd property where Lee and Grant met to end the war. Interesting book but by no mean the only one to read about this tragic war.

[Afton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book. I learned more about the Civil War from reading this book than I did in all of my years growing up in the public school system for one very profound reason: I was interested and ready to learn about it. Personal interest and timing are crucial to learning!

I was fascinated by all aspects of the Civil War from civilian life to Abraham Lincoln's elections, war strategies, soldier experiences, slavery, and battle statistics. I cheered at every Union victory and cried when President Lincoln was assassinated. I almost couldn't put the book down every time I picked it up to read because it was so engaging. However, it's written in such a format that it's easily put down and picked up again. Every page is a separate narrative.

Loved it.

[David R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for the beginner, period. The Gaffneys break up the Civil War narrative into 1-2 page topics, organized for daily consumption. As a result there's only superficial scholarship. I don't know if the Gaffneys were part of the team that wrote for Ken Burns' "Civil War" of 1995, but huge portions of material in this book, in some cases down to same phrasings, seem lifted from the film narration. (Viewers may recall the extensive quotations from Elisha Hunt Rhodes and Sam Watkins, for example.) There's not much new for the long-time student of the conflict, so I'd advise those prospective readers to take a pass.

[Bob Dukelow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for someone who wants a simple overview of the Civil War. There is a little speculation, but most of the book is factual, presented in a straight-forward manner. The text is enhanced by diary excerpts and newspaper articles from those who participated. The book is easy to read and is written on a 10th-grade level.
The book is broken up into daily and weekly segments, hence the name of the series, The Seven-Day Scholar. Each page contains a description of a participant or an event. This leads to some broad-brush descriptions of some events, but the critical points are covered.
I only gave it five stars because I could not give it six.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for beginners as an interesting introduction to the Civil War. The book invites you to read at your own pace, which for me was trying to read it straight through and then skimming, looking up information I hadn't read about before. I think ideally it would be a great read if you owned it and could simply take 2 minutes every night for a year to read it page by page. Unfortunately , this was a library book and I've already renewed it 3 times! So time to release it back into the pond for others reading pleasures.

[Shawn Manning · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book was a nice introduction to the Civil War, it was almost like the USA TODAY for history. My only other complaint is that there was a lot of repetitiveness, either of facts or quotations.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interestingly formatted, but not sure I am a fan of the calendar set up. Aside from that, the authors provided seemingly unbiased information and stories. Very entertaining, I was never bored, however, some of the tales and dialog they gave seemed a little far fetched.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A easily readable overview of the American Civil War.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm learning a great manyh interesting facts. Easy to read short vignettes