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The Civil War #1
Brother Against Brother
Published on the 125th anniversary of Lee's surrender at Appomattox, this masterful account of the Civil War brilliantly chronicles the events which lead up to the bombardment of Fort Sumter, starting with the decades-long debate over slavery. The period of the Missouri Compromise, the Bleeding Kansas years, and the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 are also covered. The final two chapters cover the battle for Fort Sumter.
431 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 2, 2021
I thought this was a solid opener to the Time-Life Civil War series. The book is clearly laid out and the information is well-written and very informative. This book starts with leading events/background before the Civil War and ends with the firing on Ft. Sumter. There are lots of accompanying pictures that go along with the reading. There is a good segment on slavery and slaves from pgs. 48-66.
This was a short book but informative without overloading the reader with details. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the American Civil War. Thanks!
This was a short book but informative without overloading the reader with details. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the American Civil War. Thanks!
October 1, 2025
An excellent condensation of a very complex period, the causes of the US Civil War.
August 23, 2017
With the current controversy over RE Lee and the initiative to move confederate statues, I thought it a good time to bone up on my knowledge of Civil War history. Written objectively, this narrative approach analyses the major personalities involved and circumstances that lead to Civil War, a great American tragedy.
July 3, 2021
Great beginning to the series, briefly but comprehensively covering events leading up to the war, the secession of the states, and the defeat of Fort Sumter. The format makes it very easy to read, and there are many photos and diagrams to make it all more interesting. Amazing amount of detail for such a short book.
April 28, 2018
This is the first volume of the 1980's Time Life set on the War Between the States, and like all the following volumes this one is a highly illustrated, brief, yet quality introduction to the subject matter. This particular volume was penned by William C. Davis, one of the best Civil War historians to have chosen to break down in easily digestible detail the various and nefarious causes of the war.
The book goes into some detail highlighting the economic situation of the mid 19th century, and serves as an excellent, succinct refutation of the school of thought that economics can overcome politics in avoiding conflict. The North and South were linked economically, and ironically, this only exacerbated the regional differences.
Also, Southern slave agriculture ensured that the South would stagnate economically, even doing much to drive away a large portion of her economic potential by driving away thousands of poor whites whose farms and lands were gobbled up by plantation owners. Irresponsible planting(refusing to allow seasons of fallow to allow soil renutriation) wasted thousands of acres of arable land, ensuring despite the American South dominating the global cotton trade, profits were surprisingly on the small side.
And of course, the peculiar institution of human slave labor, caused a moral backlash in the abolitionist movement. The war of words between abolitionists and pro-slavery agitators led to physical violence in the territory of Kansas.
A series of compromises set in Congress, designed to still the tumult, failed spectacularly, only further exacerbating the regional differences. The skirmishing between Free Staters (poor urban northern and some southern whites who wanted slave free land for colonization) and slavery expansionists in Kansas saw a grim fulfillment in the insanity known as John Brown.
Brown would be the dark foreboding of the nations future, and though he met a violent end, his prophecy of purging the nations sins by a sea of blood would sadly come to fruition.
Davis' narrative offers a surprising degree of detail and is refreshingly unbiased. In discussing Lincoln's political rise in Illinois, he acknowledges Lincoln's mixed stance on slavery and his views on Blacks, all the while pointing out that Stephen Douglas was very much against the breakup of the United States.
And following Southern secession, his two chapters on the Fort Sumter saga is one of the best narratives of the beginning of the war I have read.
While this book does not go into deep detail, it is a fantastic primer on the topic, refusing to skimp on the truth, just told in a succinct way. And most interestingly, written decades before the current Constitutional crisis between Left and Right, Davis' narrative bears haunting similarities to the current ill will between Americans.
An excellent little book, part of an excellent series written before political correctness began to destroy the writing of history. If you can find the set, do yourself a favor and get one. Study our first Civil War, and hopefully if enough people do, we will refrain from having a second.
The book goes into some detail highlighting the economic situation of the mid 19th century, and serves as an excellent, succinct refutation of the school of thought that economics can overcome politics in avoiding conflict. The North and South were linked economically, and ironically, this only exacerbated the regional differences.
Also, Southern slave agriculture ensured that the South would stagnate economically, even doing much to drive away a large portion of her economic potential by driving away thousands of poor whites whose farms and lands were gobbled up by plantation owners. Irresponsible planting(refusing to allow seasons of fallow to allow soil renutriation) wasted thousands of acres of arable land, ensuring despite the American South dominating the global cotton trade, profits were surprisingly on the small side.
And of course, the peculiar institution of human slave labor, caused a moral backlash in the abolitionist movement. The war of words between abolitionists and pro-slavery agitators led to physical violence in the territory of Kansas.
A series of compromises set in Congress, designed to still the tumult, failed spectacularly, only further exacerbating the regional differences. The skirmishing between Free Staters (poor urban northern and some southern whites who wanted slave free land for colonization) and slavery expansionists in Kansas saw a grim fulfillment in the insanity known as John Brown.
Brown would be the dark foreboding of the nations future, and though he met a violent end, his prophecy of purging the nations sins by a sea of blood would sadly come to fruition.
Davis' narrative offers a surprising degree of detail and is refreshingly unbiased. In discussing Lincoln's political rise in Illinois, he acknowledges Lincoln's mixed stance on slavery and his views on Blacks, all the while pointing out that Stephen Douglas was very much against the breakup of the United States.
And following Southern secession, his two chapters on the Fort Sumter saga is one of the best narratives of the beginning of the war I have read.
While this book does not go into deep detail, it is a fantastic primer on the topic, refusing to skimp on the truth, just told in a succinct way. And most interestingly, written decades before the current Constitutional crisis between Left and Right, Davis' narrative bears haunting similarities to the current ill will between Americans.
An excellent little book, part of an excellent series written before political correctness began to destroy the writing of history. If you can find the set, do yourself a favor and get one. Study our first Civil War, and hopefully if enough people do, we will refrain from having a second.
July 29, 2011
This is the first book in the Time-Life Civil War series. As always, the pictures and captions make the book; but 5 chapters of basic history of the steps leading up to war and full descriptions of the Fort Sumter standoff and artillery battle create a good narrative to set up the broader story of the times and the war. There are minor stories in this book that I had not found in other sources, and the bibliography is extensive for those who wish to go more in depth on other topics.
July 3, 2019
The pictures add greatly to the detailed history of the events in the years before the Civil War and ending with the shelling of Fort Sumter.
February 10, 2024
I assumed this book would be more pictures than text, but I was quickly proven wrong. The text was far more in depth thus I spent more time reading this one as the narrative was interesting and informative. I thought the text was well written and was an excellent scene setter for the series. Key excerpts below:
- American politics was a fiercely partisan affair, and for decades, that had been all to the good, spurring the people's interest in national issues, putting new ideas and policies to the test of the ballot box. P22. PJK: For all the talk of the vitriol in current politics, it’s not that unusual in America is one were to look back at our history.
- John Brown was paralyzed by indecision; not knowing what to do next, he did nothing. P88. PJK: The challenge for any leader/commander. When faced with an unexpected action by an enemy, or a bigger crisis of attacks across multiple domains, what orders should one give? What should one do?
- The tall Westerner would be addressing the cream of New York's intellectual and political society… p98. PJK: Funny to think of Illinois as the “West”. Different times.
- In spite of the stated American ideals of religious and social tolerance, the country had always displayed a strain of prejudice… The cause or excuse was, quite simply, the great increase in the number of people arriving from famine-stricken Ireland and from the German states, where liberal revolutions had been crushed in the 1840s. p100. PJK: Ahhh. Once again the “crisis” we have on our southern border is nothing new. Prejudice against increased immigration is common in our history. :(
- Floyd (Secretary of War), whose loyalty was to his native Virginia, was busily sending guns south to Federal installations where secessionist militia units could easily supply themselves when hostilities broke out. P120. PJK: Amazing; an insurgent in high office.
- The trouble was that the big guns were out in the open, and they afforded no protection for the crews manning them… For yet another problem, the Federals had no fuses for their explosive shells and would be able to fire nothing but solid shot. P147. PJK: I don’t know MAJ Anderson’s priority of work, but one would think that protecting one’s biggest guns would have been on the list somewhere. Also amazing that they had to fuses for their explosive shells. Was this Floyd denying such supplies, or the fort’s leaders not thinking ahead of what was needed for defense of the fort?
- But the men on guard kept up a sharp watch for the relief boats and also for a Confederate attempt to storm the fort in the darkness. They suddenly realized that the possibility of confusion was dreadful in a war between Americans. P154. PJK: Identifying friend and foe is a common problem, especially in a civil war. The war in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc also saw challenges in identifying whom the combatants really were.
- American politics was a fiercely partisan affair, and for decades, that had been all to the good, spurring the people's interest in national issues, putting new ideas and policies to the test of the ballot box. P22. PJK: For all the talk of the vitriol in current politics, it’s not that unusual in America is one were to look back at our history.
- John Brown was paralyzed by indecision; not knowing what to do next, he did nothing. P88. PJK: The challenge for any leader/commander. When faced with an unexpected action by an enemy, or a bigger crisis of attacks across multiple domains, what orders should one give? What should one do?
- The tall Westerner would be addressing the cream of New York's intellectual and political society… p98. PJK: Funny to think of Illinois as the “West”. Different times.
- In spite of the stated American ideals of religious and social tolerance, the country had always displayed a strain of prejudice… The cause or excuse was, quite simply, the great increase in the number of people arriving from famine-stricken Ireland and from the German states, where liberal revolutions had been crushed in the 1840s. p100. PJK: Ahhh. Once again the “crisis” we have on our southern border is nothing new. Prejudice against increased immigration is common in our history. :(
- Floyd (Secretary of War), whose loyalty was to his native Virginia, was busily sending guns south to Federal installations where secessionist militia units could easily supply themselves when hostilities broke out. P120. PJK: Amazing; an insurgent in high office.
- The trouble was that the big guns were out in the open, and they afforded no protection for the crews manning them… For yet another problem, the Federals had no fuses for their explosive shells and would be able to fire nothing but solid shot. P147. PJK: I don’t know MAJ Anderson’s priority of work, but one would think that protecting one’s biggest guns would have been on the list somewhere. Also amazing that they had to fuses for their explosive shells. Was this Floyd denying such supplies, or the fort’s leaders not thinking ahead of what was needed for defense of the fort?
- But the men on guard kept up a sharp watch for the relief boats and also for a Confederate attempt to storm the fort in the darkness. They suddenly realized that the possibility of confusion was dreadful in a war between Americans. P154. PJK: Identifying friend and foe is a common problem, especially in a civil war. The war in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc also saw challenges in identifying whom the combatants really were.
Want to read
September 16, 2010I need this like a hole in the head, but it cost ¢50, contains battle maps detailed to brigade level, and introduced me to David Bustill Bowser (1820-1900), an African-American artist from Philadelphia. Bowser was a portraitist (notably of John Brown, who sat for this portait in the Underground Railroad safe house Bowser operated) with a sideline in costumes and banners for fire companies and fraternal societies; during the Civil War he was asked to design battle flags for a number of black regiments. (These flags were stored at West Point until the 1940s, when they were thrown away.) This photograph, of the banner Bowser made for the 22nd USCT, shows a black soldier skewering a reb under Virginia's motto Sic semper tyrannis ("thus always to tyrants"):
December 12, 2023
This book was an engaging beginning to the series. It covers issues that led to the southern states seceding, with a large emphasis naturally being on slavery and political representation, and really sets the stage for the beginning of the Civil War. After President Lincoln's election, many states quickly began to secede and the book ends after Major Anderson's surrender at the battle of Fort Sumter. This book is detailed, while still being concise enough that I feel most people who have an interest in history would enjoy it. There are a multitude of pictures throughout as well. The perspective is very neutral and it really spotlights a diverse array of key individuals at the time.
January 25, 2022
This was a very readable account of the lead up to the civil war. Though dated, it was a balanced look at both sides and their values, the politics, some good background on slavery (though this could have been enlarged even more, really), and a really good collection of pictures, portraits, early photos, paintings, maps, and sketches from the period or slightly later. This seems to be the most valuable part of this book. I hope the rest are as engaging in the series.
November 13, 2025
This volume stands out for its balanced narrative, giving weight to the convictions and fears on both sides. The writing is academic yet deeply human, focusing on the individuals caught in the crisis. You finish it not with a sense of who was right, but with a profound sense of a national tragedy. It’s an essential read for understanding the war's true beginnings, not just its first battle if you want to learn more of my review you can check out https://gbwhatsap.id
June 7, 2025
Amazing introduction to the issues leading to succession, to abolitionists, to finally the first battle of Fort Sumter. There are many pictures that will be disturbing to some readers. But history is hardly ever neat or pretty
February 16, 2026
Got the entire Time Life Civil War series for Christmas. This is the first volume, and was fascinating to read about the politics that led to the Civil War. My words to that section: the more things change, the more they stay the same.
A well-written book.
A well-written book.
October 23, 2021
This is a good book and does a good job of setting the foundation for the other books in the series. Lots of pics. This is a Time-Life series book.
January 16, 2015
This is volume one of Time Life's Civil War series they passed out like popcorn back in the late 80's till the late 90's when it was discontinued. I've owned almost the whole series for years, but have never read them in sequence. (I also have the three missing volumes saved in my Amazon wish list so I'll be able to get to all of them.) Now that I've graduated college I've decided to go ahead and read the series all the way through.
This first volume, written by William C. Davis, is an excellent, albeit brief, overview of the many, many issues that led to the coming of the Civil War/War Between the States. The one thing I always liked about Davis' writing is that he never took sides. Unlike far too many modern historians he refused to not be truly objective. He narrated things as they were, and let the reader choose the moral distinctions, if any actually existed.
In this volume we see the impact that differing economic models (agriculaturalism propped up by human slavery for the South versus industrialization and free market capitalism in the North) combined with a growing rift in the main political parties (back then there were more than just two) as well as moral propaganda from both sides had upon the slowly unraveling fabric of the young nation.
John Brown is covered in this volume, and it was refreshing to see him portrayed as the rabid, blood lusting fanatic that he was. Lincoln shines in this volume, and even Stephen Douglas, a man who lost his health in his travels in 1860 to do his utmost to convince Southerners to stay in the Union also is redeemed in the pages of this slim volume. President Buchanan, however, is a bumbling, absent minded fool whose unwillingness to be decisive or to even make a decision at all helped condemn the nation to a truly devastating, and needless, civil war. The book ends with an excellent two chapters on the Fort Sumter saga.
All in all a great start to what I think will be a good series on the American Civil War.
If you can find these books, give them a shot.
This first volume, written by William C. Davis, is an excellent, albeit brief, overview of the many, many issues that led to the coming of the Civil War/War Between the States. The one thing I always liked about Davis' writing is that he never took sides. Unlike far too many modern historians he refused to not be truly objective. He narrated things as they were, and let the reader choose the moral distinctions, if any actually existed.
In this volume we see the impact that differing economic models (agriculaturalism propped up by human slavery for the South versus industrialization and free market capitalism in the North) combined with a growing rift in the main political parties (back then there were more than just two) as well as moral propaganda from both sides had upon the slowly unraveling fabric of the young nation.
John Brown is covered in this volume, and it was refreshing to see him portrayed as the rabid, blood lusting fanatic that he was. Lincoln shines in this volume, and even Stephen Douglas, a man who lost his health in his travels in 1860 to do his utmost to convince Southerners to stay in the Union also is redeemed in the pages of this slim volume. President Buchanan, however, is a bumbling, absent minded fool whose unwillingness to be decisive or to even make a decision at all helped condemn the nation to a truly devastating, and needless, civil war. The book ends with an excellent two chapters on the Fort Sumter saga.
All in all a great start to what I think will be a good series on the American Civil War.
If you can find these books, give them a shot.
March 5, 2016
We have the complete set of the Time-Life Civil War series in our home library, and these books have been unread since 1983. They are a part of Hikerdon's extensive collection of books about the Civil War. To read all the books in this Time-Life series in 2016 is a resolution of mine. I just finished the first one.
I was disappointed a photograph of Senator James Chesnut was not in this volume.
I was disappointed a photograph of Senator James Chesnut was not in this volume.
July 14, 2008
From the Time-Life series, The Civil War. A slim, quick read that gives a very digestible overview of the most important people, events, and crises leading to the American Civil War. As a more visual learner, I tend to enjoy Time-Life series books for their inclusion of maps, diagrams, and photographs.
September 3, 2013
Loved it, just loved it. Great pictures, pleasure to read.
December 31, 2013
Contains a lot of information that I didn't know about the leadup to the Civil War.
September 7, 2017
This is a great look back to the civil war and the terrible time it was for those involved. Yes,it was in many cases brother against brother. Time Life does a great job on this.
September 15, 2020
Great narrative and amazing collection of photos and paintings
February 22, 2015
Easy read and informative.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews