A House Reunited: How America Survived the Civil War

by Jay Winik

Book by Jay Winik

Genres: History, Civil War, Audiobook, Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

First published March 28, 2011

About the author

A New York Times best-selling author and American historian. He had a brief career in the U.S. government's foreign policy, involving civil wars around the globe, from the former Yugoslavia to El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Cambodia, including helping to create the United Nations plan to end Cambodia's civil war. In 1991, he took up writing history full-time.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. I learned a lot about the Civil War that I didn't know before. This book makes me want to go find out more.

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A House Reunited: How America Survived the Civil War by Jay Winik is a refreshingly awesome and thorough take of the final month or so of the civil war, and how the United States managed to narrowly avoid a situation that was described as Armageddon - or rather a sustained insurgent effort that could have prolonged the war for decades or ruined any hope for union. I'm going to recommend this one broadly, if you're into this type of thing.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this lecturer and learned quite a bit from him. Most of them are worthwhile but this is one of the better Modern Scholar presentations I have listened to.

(Note: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book. 3 = Very good; 4 = Outstanding {only about 5% of the books I read merit this}; 5 = All time favorites {one of these may come along every 400-500 books})

[Amber Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as much new information as I would have hoped for (I'm a history buff) but sound informationally. Dull delivery though, the narration at times is rather flat.

[Gonzalo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Very informative.

[Counsel182 · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Audio). This is the audio companion to Professor Winik's excellent "April 1865." I thought I knew a lot about the Civil War but Professor Winik has some new new tales and ideas to add. Other reviewers have criticized the professor's supposed speech impediment but I think it is more of a splitting of tracks on the cd's in 5 minute segments that explains this. He does repeatedly want to have you imagine yourself in certain scenes that may be overly dramatic but a more likely explanation is his enthusiasm for the topic. However, a couple of nit picky observations: there are some "errors" on the cd's. Professor Winik tells us how George Washington even thought that "the great experiment" in forming the United States might only last 20 years. Later on, when the professor reminds us of this he says Washington thought the experiment might only last 20 minutes as opposed to 20 years. Probably a more troublesome editorial problem is at the end of one section the professor is asked a question about why didn't Robert E. Lee travel to Washington D.C. Himself and negotiate directly with Lincoln. In answering the question the professor instead talks about Lee negotiating with Grant not any mention of Lee going to D.C. (Which we know would not have happened--Lee was too refined a gentleman to step on 'the Confederate government's' toes). There also is a point where Professor Winik talks about Mary Todd Lincoln remarking how "happy" her husband seemed on the morning of April 14, 1865 and later refers to Lincoln as "Lee." Finally, There also SPOILER ALERT: is a "story" told at the end of Lee taking communion with a "refined black man" in Richmond on the Sunday after the war had ended. I never heard this before and wonder where it was first reported or who this brave man might have been...Professor Winik leaves you hanging.

[Cat. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting information here, all of the events that occurred in the month of April 1865. I learned a great deal, for instance putting together the timing of Lee's surrender and the remainder of the Confederate Army's (or rather Armies') surrenders. And Lincoln's assassination, which happened less than a week after Appomattox.

The downside of this recording is that Winik has some of Tom Brokaw's more annoying speech difficulties, and talks too fast, misspeaks regularly, and repeats himself word-for-word over and over. Ugh.

[Steve H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for an audio edition of Winik's April 1865, and this lecture was the closest I could come to it. The lecture follows the outline of the book with much less detail and therefore much less of the flavor that makes the book as readable as it is. Unfortunately, a lecture is not a reading of a script (usually), and this performance is rife with repetition and occasional mis-speaking. One particularly annoying tendency is Winik's lack of use of the series.

[Kevin Beary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information was fascinating. The delivery of said info was not. It reminded me of one of those TV documentaries where they Repeat the info over and over again in a weak attemr mightpt at building anticipation. Mr. Winik might be a great author of history but he doesn't make a great narrator. But all in all , I know SO much more about this incredibly important time of American history.

[Coral · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinting lecture series from Recorded Books that talks about the events of April 1865. It helps better understand the events surrounding the end of the Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative. Narrator had some odd speech patterns, but they did not detract from the piece.

[Michael Funck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting perspective on the final month of the Civil War and its major players: Lincoln, Davis, Grant, Lee, Booth, Sherman, and others.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more I learn about Lincoln, the more I want to learn about him