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Disunion: Modern Historians Revisit and Reconsider the Civil War from Lincoln's Election to the Emancipation Proclamation
A major collection of modern commentary from scholars, historians, and Civil War buffs on the significant events of the Civil War, culled from The New York Times' popular Disunion on-line journal.
Since its debut, The New York Times' acclaimed web journal entitled 'Disunion' has published hundreds of original articles and won multiple awards, including "Best History Website" from the New Media Institute and the History News Network. Following the chronology of the secession crisis and the Civil War, the contributors to Disunion , who include modern scholars, journalists, historians, and Civil War buffs, offer contemporary commentary and assessment of the Civil War as it unfolded chronologically.
Now, this commentary has been gathered together and organized in one volume. In The New York Disunion , historian Ted Widmer has curated more than 100 articles that span events beginning with Lincoln's presidential victory through the Emancipation Proclamation. Topics include everything from Walt Whitman's wartime diary to the bloody guerrilla campaigns in Missouri and Kansas. Esteemed contributors include William Freehling, Adam Goodheart, and Edward Ayers, among others.
The book also compiles new essays that have not been published on the Disunion site by well-known historians such as David Blight, Gary Gallagher, and Drew Gilpin Faust. Topics include the perspective of African-American slaves and freed men on the war, the secession crisis in the Upper South, the war in the West (that is, past the Appalachians), the war in Texas, the international context, and Civil War-era cartography. Portraits, contemporary etchings, and detailed maps round out the book.
Since its debut, The New York Times' acclaimed web journal entitled 'Disunion' has published hundreds of original articles and won multiple awards, including "Best History Website" from the New Media Institute and the History News Network. Following the chronology of the secession crisis and the Civil War, the contributors to Disunion , who include modern scholars, journalists, historians, and Civil War buffs, offer contemporary commentary and assessment of the Civil War as it unfolded chronologically.
Now, this commentary has been gathered together and organized in one volume. In The New York Disunion , historian Ted Widmer has curated more than 100 articles that span events beginning with Lincoln's presidential victory through the Emancipation Proclamation. Topics include everything from Walt Whitman's wartime diary to the bloody guerrilla campaigns in Missouri and Kansas. Esteemed contributors include William Freehling, Adam Goodheart, and Edward Ayers, among others.
The book also compiles new essays that have not been published on the Disunion site by well-known historians such as David Blight, Gary Gallagher, and Drew Gilpin Faust. Topics include the perspective of African-American slaves and freed men on the war, the secession crisis in the Upper South, the war in the West (that is, past the Appalachians), the war in Texas, the international context, and Civil War-era cartography. Portraits, contemporary etchings, and detailed maps round out the book.
450 pages, Hardcover
First published May 14, 2013
About the author
Ted Widmer
19 books77 followersEdward (Ted) Ladd Widmer (born 1963) is a historian, writer, and librarian, who served as a speechwriter in the later days of the Clinton White House.
His parents were Eric G. Widmer and Ellen B. Widmer. As of 1992, his father was working as Dean of Admissions and financial aid at Brown University, and his mother was an Associate Professor of Asian Languages and Literatures at Wesleyan University. Ted Widmer obtained an A.B. in the history and literature of France and the United States, an A.M. in history, and a Ph.D. in the history of American civilization from Harvard University.
Widmer was appointed lecturer on history and literature at Harvard University from 1993 until 1997. He then spent a few years working with Bill Clinton, both during and after Clinton's presidency. He was the special assistant to the president for national security affairs, writing foreign policy speeches, and subsequently was the senior advisor to the president for special projects, advising on history and scholarship related issues. He conducted interviews with Clinton while Clinton was writing his autobiography.
He was the first director of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and an associate professor of history at Washington College from 2001. On July 1, 2006 he was appointed director and librarian of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University.
His parents were Eric G. Widmer and Ellen B. Widmer. As of 1992, his father was working as Dean of Admissions and financial aid at Brown University, and his mother was an Associate Professor of Asian Languages and Literatures at Wesleyan University. Ted Widmer obtained an A.B. in the history and literature of France and the United States, an A.M. in history, and a Ph.D. in the history of American civilization from Harvard University.
Widmer was appointed lecturer on history and literature at Harvard University from 1993 until 1997. He then spent a few years working with Bill Clinton, both during and after Clinton's presidency. He was the special assistant to the president for national security affairs, writing foreign policy speeches, and subsequently was the senior advisor to the president for special projects, advising on history and scholarship related issues. He conducted interviews with Clinton while Clinton was writing his autobiography.
He was the first director of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and an associate professor of history at Washington College from 2001. On July 1, 2006 he was appointed director and librarian of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 6, 2014
This book is a collection of essays from the New York Times blog series, "Disunion," plus a few new ones on general themes. If you've read some of the articles online, you'll know what to expect: short discussions of often-overlooked aspects of the Civil War and American life in that era. I ended up reading the book cover to cover, but it could easily be enjoyed piecemeal, as each essay stands alone.
As sources of interesting history, the articles are great. But I was disappointed that there were a number of typographical errors that should not have made it into print. For instance, I recall a figure like 35,0000 troops being mustered at one point. In addition, the selection of articles (not every blog post is included) tends to ignore most of the actual fighting, instead concentrating around the edges. Politics is a much bigger theme than military activity.
These are minor quibbles. If you've enjoyed "Disunion" online, you will enjoy this book.
As sources of interesting history, the articles are great. But I was disappointed that there were a number of typographical errors that should not have made it into print. For instance, I recall a figure like 35,0000 troops being mustered at one point. In addition, the selection of articles (not every blog post is included) tends to ignore most of the actual fighting, instead concentrating around the edges. Politics is a much bigger theme than military activity.
These are minor quibbles. If you've enjoyed "Disunion" online, you will enjoy this book.
March 25, 2017
I’ve been a fan of the Civil War since I was a child, voraciously reading all the biographies, battle tales, and histories I could come across. The affection hasn’t waned much.
What’s arguably the most compelling and gratifying aspect of this huge compendium of articles, mostly between two and four pages, is that there is so much new revelation. The first day I started reading it, moving haphazardly throughout the book and often simply starting to read the story that began at whatever part of the book I chanced to open, I read through a dozen pieces, each one equally engaging. I also happened to discover the presence of an ex-pat colony still alive and well in Brazil, where it happens a lot of defeated Southerners sought a second chance. Even more fascinating is the fact that these descendants speak what might be the only living example of antebellum Southern dialect.
Additionally pieces focused on the role of women in the war, one far too underreported, the attitude of foreign nations about our war (and how they spitefully wished for the nation’s failure), the advent of authentic names in newspaper by-lines (most writers used pseudonyms), and the momentary wavering of long-time religious skeptic Abraham Lincoln when he pondered adding a religious phrase to the Constitution to help sell emancipation. It turns out that Lincoln used the religious zealots to market his ideas, knowing how loyal was their following and wide their reach, and that the crushing weight of the war caused him to re-think his positions, if only for a moment. Regardless, it certainly underscores the fact that America was most certainly not founded to be a Christian nation. Given that two of the most famous leaders of this nation were pronounced skeptics (Jefferson being the other), those who seek to argue their own Christian-based origin stories need to do a bit more research, but I digress.
As a fan of this genre, I can attest to the novel content as well as the high readability of these pieces. A delightful bed or bath-side book, this is a great read if only for a few minutes or for getting lost over several hours.
What’s arguably the most compelling and gratifying aspect of this huge compendium of articles, mostly between two and four pages, is that there is so much new revelation. The first day I started reading it, moving haphazardly throughout the book and often simply starting to read the story that began at whatever part of the book I chanced to open, I read through a dozen pieces, each one equally engaging. I also happened to discover the presence of an ex-pat colony still alive and well in Brazil, where it happens a lot of defeated Southerners sought a second chance. Even more fascinating is the fact that these descendants speak what might be the only living example of antebellum Southern dialect.
Additionally pieces focused on the role of women in the war, one far too underreported, the attitude of foreign nations about our war (and how they spitefully wished for the nation’s failure), the advent of authentic names in newspaper by-lines (most writers used pseudonyms), and the momentary wavering of long-time religious skeptic Abraham Lincoln when he pondered adding a religious phrase to the Constitution to help sell emancipation. It turns out that Lincoln used the religious zealots to market his ideas, knowing how loyal was their following and wide their reach, and that the crushing weight of the war caused him to re-think his positions, if only for a moment. Regardless, it certainly underscores the fact that America was most certainly not founded to be a Christian nation. Given that two of the most famous leaders of this nation were pronounced skeptics (Jefferson being the other), those who seek to argue their own Christian-based origin stories need to do a bit more research, but I digress.
As a fan of this genre, I can attest to the novel content as well as the high readability of these pieces. A delightful bed or bath-side book, this is a great read if only for a few minutes or for getting lost over several hours.
September 20, 2017
really comprehensive and took more than one perspective I'd never even considered.
November 18, 2017
A good collection of essays about the civil from secession to the emancipation proclamation. I hope they have a sequel to this book.
June 24, 2014
Based on what the editors say in the introduction and the general format of the book, there should be a sequel to this book coming out soon. I sure hope there is, because this collection of very short historical articles is quite good.
A whole number of historians wrote in short articles for a New York Times project, and Disunion is the result. What you end up with is a wide variety of perspectives on a lot of major talking points on the Civil War, and also a lot of close looks on very minor points concerning the Civil War. It's a fantastic collection for that reason. Generally, when you pick up a history book, what you read is a long treatise from one author's perspective about one topic. That means that you normally don't read about a whole lot of different topics because it takes you a week or whatever to read about one topic in one 300-page book. Well, this changes everything. While you don't get the 300-page, in-depth look at one or two battles, at Lincoln's cabinet, or the debate over states' rights that you might get in a typical history, Civil War book, you are exposed in bits and pieces to all of it. And all the while you're reading a bunch of different perspectives on the Civil War, which is always handy because the Civil War forms one of those ideological foundations that shape our thinking for the present and future.
Disunion is a fascinating read. You probably will encounter topics that you aren't interested in, but the good news is that you won't have to suffer through that article for any more than four or five pages. And you will read a lot of repetitious articles: repetitious because they cover the same ground, but not repetitious in that they are written by different historians with different opinions. The good news there is that you won't ever have to think about the Emancipation Proclamation or any other contentious issue with the same perspective that your high school teacher taught you since you'll be exposed to so much more.
I recommend this book to everyone, partly because our knowledge of history in the U.S. is pitiful.
A whole number of historians wrote in short articles for a New York Times project, and Disunion is the result. What you end up with is a wide variety of perspectives on a lot of major talking points on the Civil War, and also a lot of close looks on very minor points concerning the Civil War. It's a fantastic collection for that reason. Generally, when you pick up a history book, what you read is a long treatise from one author's perspective about one topic. That means that you normally don't read about a whole lot of different topics because it takes you a week or whatever to read about one topic in one 300-page book. Well, this changes everything. While you don't get the 300-page, in-depth look at one or two battles, at Lincoln's cabinet, or the debate over states' rights that you might get in a typical history, Civil War book, you are exposed in bits and pieces to all of it. And all the while you're reading a bunch of different perspectives on the Civil War, which is always handy because the Civil War forms one of those ideological foundations that shape our thinking for the present and future.
Disunion is a fascinating read. You probably will encounter topics that you aren't interested in, but the good news is that you won't have to suffer through that article for any more than four or five pages. And you will read a lot of repetitious articles: repetitious because they cover the same ground, but not repetitious in that they are written by different historians with different opinions. The good news there is that you won't ever have to think about the Emancipation Proclamation or any other contentious issue with the same perspective that your high school teacher taught you since you'll be exposed to so much more.
I recommend this book to everyone, partly because our knowledge of history in the U.S. is pitiful.
October 28, 2014
I can be a bit of a history buff. By that I mean I enjoy history and will read a nonfiction book for fun. But here's the key part of the 'a bit' statement: I am HORRIBLE at remembering facts. I used to be amazing at it, but I'd like to believe that I have simply reached a saturation point with what sticks in my brain...
That said, I cannot tell you all the facts that I read this large anthology of articles about the Civil War. They cover all different parts of the Civil War, some lesser known facets and those that have been covered widely. They are written by different people, all with a different voice and perhaps a different understanding of history. The anthology is broken up into different parts of the Civil War, leading up secession, the beginning of the war, expansion of the war, etc.
I found the secession parts most interesting because those are the parts that tend to get glossed over in high school history classes. I learned things about my own state that I didn't know and I found that fascinating. But really, the whole thing was fascinating, and I'm sure my fiance can attest to the amount of times I would read out parts to him that I was engaged in what I was reading.
At some point, it began to feel repetitive, particularly towards the end. I'm not sure if it's because the articles were indeed repeating things and covering very similar parts of the same narrative or if it was just reader fatigue.
It's very long though--probably not meant for a cover to cover read like I did. I believe it's only half of a collection with articles to appear in a later manual about the end of the war, and so on. I'd definitely be interested in finding that if/when it is published.
That said, I cannot tell you all the facts that I read this large anthology of articles about the Civil War. They cover all different parts of the Civil War, some lesser known facets and those that have been covered widely. They are written by different people, all with a different voice and perhaps a different understanding of history. The anthology is broken up into different parts of the Civil War, leading up secession, the beginning of the war, expansion of the war, etc.
I found the secession parts most interesting because those are the parts that tend to get glossed over in high school history classes. I learned things about my own state that I didn't know and I found that fascinating. But really, the whole thing was fascinating, and I'm sure my fiance can attest to the amount of times I would read out parts to him that I was engaged in what I was reading.
At some point, it began to feel repetitive, particularly towards the end. I'm not sure if it's because the articles were indeed repeating things and covering very similar parts of the same narrative or if it was just reader fatigue.
It's very long though--probably not meant for a cover to cover read like I did. I believe it's only half of a collection with articles to appear in a later manual about the end of the war, and so on. I'd definitely be interested in finding that if/when it is published.
January 16, 2017
Essay compilations by a collection of authors are pretty much always a mixed bag and this book is no exception. There is alot packed into the 444 pages of main text, covering 1860-1862. The format is good for short, easy reading. Some are pretty good, covering obscure but significant Civil War figures and other key topics. Two that I found particularly interesting were the drought of 1862 and its impact on the war, and the Minie bullet. There were a number of essays related to social history that didn't interest me. I also found some questionable claims and a couple outright mistakes which I would think would have been called out in the original blog posts before they ever got to this printed compilation. There are no citations and sometimes I wanted to scream "Citation needed!" at the book in frustration, either to have a contributing author support their claim or simply to find out more information about something they allude to in passing. I suppose for Civil War buffs who missed the original blog or who were big fans of the blog and want a 'Best Of' compiled in print form this will be worthwhile. However, it was such a mixed experience I can't make a strong personal recommendation for or against.
December 15, 2013
A very interesting series of articles with different subjects like the events leading to war and the proclamation, the key political players, cotton trade, slaves and slaveholders, the role of European states, armies and militia, volonteers, arms, underwear, camels, diseases, hygiene and medical care etc. Often very gruesome indeed. It is explained why there are not many written narratives from enslaved African Americans. Also a very interesting article on Grant and the Jewish population in the Union. Althoug the articles do not depict a comprehensive story of the history of the American Civil War it invites one to do further reading on the subject.
November 28, 2015
A compilation of the New York Times' Disunion blogs covering the period from Abraham Lincoln's election through the Emancipation Proclamation (i.e., 1860-1862). I hope that they come out w/ a sequel volume(s) that covers 1863-1865.
The blogs are short (5 pages or less)so they're quick reads. The blog authors include a number of well known historians who wrote books on the same topics. Although the 1862 section is dominated by discussions of the Emancipation Proclamation, there's something for everyone in this book. You're guaranteed to learn something new about the Civil War.
I recommend this book.
The blogs are short (5 pages or less)so they're quick reads. The blog authors include a number of well known historians who wrote books on the same topics. Although the 1862 section is dominated by discussions of the Emancipation Proclamation, there's something for everyone in this book. You're guaranteed to learn something new about the Civil War.
I recommend this book.
September 9, 2015
Many Points of View Makes an Enjoyable Dive
I really enjoyed this book because of the format. This collection of essays by many writers makes it easy to put down and pick back up, as I did many times, but it also allows many voices and views to swirl around your head at once. I learned a lot about the Civil War through this book, whether on big topics such as emancipation or smaller topics such as what exactly amputation was like. Not a game-changer in Civil War history, but highly recommended for any history nerd like me.
I really enjoyed this book because of the format. This collection of essays by many writers makes it easy to put down and pick back up, as I did many times, but it also allows many voices and views to swirl around your head at once. I learned a lot about the Civil War through this book, whether on big topics such as emancipation or smaller topics such as what exactly amputation was like. Not a game-changer in Civil War history, but highly recommended for any history nerd like me.
April 23, 2015
Yet another volume feeding USA's national obsession with the Civil War. Be warned, if you don't know quite a bit on the topic before reading this book, you probably won't get much out of it. The essays focus largely on issues and events peripheral to the conflict.
Very unevenly written, which I suppose should be expected from a disparate collection of essays, but I expected better from the NYT.
Very unevenly written, which I suppose should be expected from a disparate collection of essays, but I expected better from the NYT.
October 21, 2015
Very educational, though it would have been easier to follow if I had had a better understanding of the battles and generals of the Civil War beforehand. A lot of the articles seem to assume a hobbyist's level of understanding of the war.
April 2, 2016
This collection has essays from the past to now about the American Civil War. It is great for any history-lover -especially if you are a Civil War buff. I will be keeping this for reference and reading any essay I missed - I read this over two years as it was almost 500 pages.
August 16, 2013
A great collection of essays by historians covering different aspects of a critical period of time in America's Civil War: the start of the war to the Emancipation Proclamation.
August 3, 2014
A buffet of stories, some well written, some not. Some fascinating, some banal. The best part of this complication is that you may nibble at your pleasure as these are all former NYTimes articles.
January 3, 2016
A fine selection of articles about the Civil War, dipping its toe into a little bit of everything.
Ends rather with a whimper, though, with no concluding thoughts.
Ends rather with a whimper, though, with no concluding thoughts.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews