The Civil War/ American Homer: A Narrative (Modern Library)

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By this light can we make sense of the pending exhumation of Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife from the Memphis park which once bore his name and the calls for sandblasting the Stone Mountain memorial to Jefferson Davis, Stonewall, and Lee. These men fought for slavery and if they must be remembered at all it should be with contempt. Foote would have been deeply troubled by such developments, and a reader holding this limited view of greatness will find no sympathy in his work. This magisterial work is the best book that I've read on the Civil War. Incredibly well researched, but if you're looking for something with a lot of footnotes for your own work or research, this isn't it; however, if you're an American history buff or simply a fan of good writing, you should read these books.

Shelby Foote Dies - The Washington Post Shelby Foote Dies - The Washington Post

Unfortunately, it seems as if “The Civil War” will not hold up against historical scrutiny as well as “Reconstruction” likely will. As Eric Foner opined in his critique of “The Civil War,” “Faced with the choice between historical illumination or nostalgia, Burns consistently opts for nostalgia.” As we’ve seen in “Reconstruction,” historical reality, no matter how painful and violent and vivid, can be effectively and evocatively portrayed though documentary film.

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This is important particularly because these issues are still alive in the former Confederacy, particularly in the Republican Southern Strategy of racism and resentment starting in 1964, after passage of the Civil Rights Acts and the Voting Rights Act. I have written about that and about the use of Dog Whistle code for White Supremacy and other such issues at Daily Kos, under the name Mokurai, and on dKosopedia, particularly The Civil War: A Narrative is just about as good as history writing gets. Upon my reread, though, I did have one nagging concern, that of tone. I hesitate to mention it, since this is such an overwhelmingly praised body of work, but I don’t think I can ignore it.

The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 1: Fort Sumter to The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 1: Fort Sumter to

I did learn a lot, and maybe I’ll be able to remember some of it. Of all the things I could write about, though, from military to political maneuvers, I think I’ll choose names and construction.A stunning book full of color, life, character and a new atmosphere of the Civil War, and at the same time a narrative of unflagging power. Eloquent proof that an historian should be a writer above all else.”—Burke Davis Mitchell, Douglas. "'The Conflict Is behind Me Now': Shelby Foote Writes the Civil War." The Southern Literary Journal, vol. 36, no. 1, 2003, 25

The Civil War: A Narrative - 3 Volume Box Set: Foote, Shelby

It’s hard to know where to start when discussing Shelby Foote’s three-volume The Civil War: A Narrative. When he began working on the project, he was a novelist of some acclaim, though not widely known. When he finished, he had created a literary Rushmore, not just a book (or rather three books) but a veritable monument. It brought Foote fame and fortune unusual for an authority on the Civil War. Random House publisher Bennett Cerf commissioned southern novelist Shelby Foote to write a short, one-volume history of the American Civil War. Thirty years and a million and a half words later—every word having been written out longhand with nib pens dipped into ink—Foote published the third and final volume of what has become the classic narrative of that epic war. As a nearly irrelevant aside, the cover lists the Civil War as ‘one of National Review’s 100 best nonfiction books of the century’, which I am totally down for, but I googled it and the book ranks 97th on the list. That feels vaguely misleading on the part of the publisher. It’s technically true, yes, but you have to admit, it’s a little shady to say. The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 3: Red River to Appomattox. New York: Vintage Books. 1986. ISBN 0-394-74622-8. His first novel, "Tournament" (1949), was followed by two more books set in Mississippi and colored by fatalism, "Follow Me Down (1950) and "Love in a Dry Season" (1951).He was called William Faulkner's heir apparent for his early fictional work, often grim and gothic tales from his native Mississippi that focused on farmers, gamblers and assorted ne'er-do-wells. Like all Civil War histories, the interesting and exciting parts are at the beginning. By the end of the war all the illusions had been stripped away. The armies of both sides had gone from eager volunteers out for adventure to bitter veterans and unwilling draftees engaged in an industrial war of attrition; from the fifes and drums of the Revolution to the trench warfare of Verdun and Flanders, in four years. The Civil War taught anyone who had eyes to see that if war ever had been bright flags and heroic adventure, (which it hadn't, of course,) it wasn't that now, and it never would be again. In fact, it had become so horrible that we couldn't even lie to ourselves about it any more. In a 2011 commentary, Ta-Nehisi Coates concluded that Foote was not guilty of "neo-Confederate apologia." However, Foote "gave twenty years of his life, and three volumes of important and significant words to the Civil War, but he could never see himself in the slave. He could not get that the promise of free bread can not cope with the promise of free hands. Shelby Foote wrote The Civil War, but he never understood it. Understanding the Civil War was a luxury his whiteness could ill-afford." [7] a b "We Could Use a Shelby Foote Today". Theamericanconservative.com. November 29, 2017 . Retrieved October 26, 2021. But Foote was given the final word in the scene. Instead of slavery, he claimed, the Civil War occurred because of our “failure to compromise.” Fields would receive approximately eight-and-a-half minutes of airtime throughout the nine episodes, while Foote, whose quotes could best be described as a Confederate apologia , would be featured for an astounding 45 minutes and 56 seconds.