This book deserves 5 stars for drawing together a large, diverse group of primary source documents, and related articles by noted historians. The book helps to explain why the North and the South were so far apart, before, during, and after the Civil War. If Michael Perman had written this book, instead of editing and commenting on the source documents, the rating would be lower, because the source documents are sometimes difficult to understand. However, this does not detract from the fact that Perman has done an outstanding job of presenting conflicting opinions. The documents make it obvious why the North and South were at the opposite end of many issues. After reading this book, you will have a better understanding of why the South seceded, why the Civil War started and lasted as long as it did, and why Reconstruction was both a success and a failure. You will understand why the South lost the war and won the peace.

I recommend this book as an adjunct to any study of the Civil War and the Reconstruction period. Even though it is not always easy to understand the primary source documents, Perman's editorial comments, in each chapter, are excellent summaries. They make it easy to understand the meat of the discussion in each document.

This is not light reading. Buy it if you want to truly understand all of the things they did not teach you in high school. For me, high school greatly simplified the period of US history from about 1800 to 1960. With this book, you can begin to understand why African Americans view this period as an African American holocaust, and why the North and South were so far apart that they hated each other for generations.

Instead of the typical secondary source text, Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction allows the reader to get a true, inside viewpoint on the war but behind the scenes as well. It includes letters and documents from the time period as well as essays on all the different aspects of before, during and after the war. While it is sometimes difficult to follow the language of the time period it is worth the extra time for analysis to really be brought in on what was actually written and said over a century ago. Perman's book also offers both sides of conflicts, allowing both Union and Confederate voices. I would definitely use Major Problems in the United States history or Civil War classroom.

Michael Perman successfully incorporates primary documents from throughout the Civil War & Reconstruction to allow readers to gain a better insight into the real causes and issues with the Civil War. The chapters are brilliantly divided and very easy to reference for information. From the beginning of the book, Perman and friends establish the similarities are differences between the North and the South to act as a baseline to understand interactions and decisions made throughout the era. I really enjoyed Perman's introductions to certain chapters and the way he allows characters from the time to tell the story from their individual perspectives. All in all, great resource, great primary documents and great book for teaching about the Civil War time period.

This is a collection of original source documents and essays about the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Each chapter is devoted to one topic concerning the war and its aftermath. The chapters contain original source documents written by people who were living at the time, and are followed by essays written by historians that discuss the topic. Some of the essayists take opposing views, which encourage the reader to think through the issue himself and arrive at a conclusion.

Perhaps the most fascinating, thought-provoking essay in the 1991 edition examined how well-equipped the South was psychologically to fight the war, and how its psychology impacted the war's outcome.

This is a great study for those who have a basic knowledge of the Civil War, and want to plumb the topic to greater depths.

My son is a history major at college and needed this book for class. The price was affordable and a book he will have for many years to use in his teaching career.

Sun, 28 May 2006



After the Civil War fiasco, Jefferson Davis encouraged the South to "bury its dead, its hopes and its aspirations," but the South will never surrender. He declared that the past is dead. His first wife was Sarah Knox Taylor, daughter of U. S. President Zachary Taylor. Davis was a congressman, senator, secretary of war, and President of the Confederacy. His horse's name

was Thunder.



In 1858, Horace Greely called Jefferson Davis "unquestionably the foremost man in the South today" and a great president. He was educated at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. "His occasional unintentional arrogance came from his sense of great commanding power.



One of his generals during the war, declared the best by Robert E. Lee, was besmirked in 2005 by two college professors thusly:



This book was written in association with Texas Christian University for the American Crisis Series, Books on Civil War Era. Previously, I reviewed ON THE BRINK OF CIVIL WAR by John C. Waugh. This one, however, is what the title says all 'myth' written by two journalism professors at the University of Tennessee. I guess they were assigned this personage, the greatest Civil War General, according to Robert E. Lee, because they work in Tennessee. Neither are from the state of Tennessee and know nothing, no facts about this great soldier of the Civil War.



They know nothing about history per se, so I am just wondering why the history department at the University in Knoxville would

not have been a better selection to write about one of our native heroes. These frauds call their subject 'white trash' because the Klan wore white sheets in his reincarnation of the group(now they wear purple, green and white outfits) used to

protect everybody from the carpet baggers after the Civil War. These men are not from Tennessee, and should never have been chosen to write this book.



It is biased and slanted and exactly a 'myth' a fairy tale of the worse sort. Forrest was from a good background and family (father was a locksmith/doctor) and born in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, in Bedford County. These men thought he had been born in Memphis as they dwell on something which happened which was

infamous instead of famous. Those of us at the public meeting where they talked had not heard of that specific incident, and we are native Tennesseans. His life was not a 'morality tale,' as they claim, nor was he a comic book figure. He was a real live hero, not something made up in the comics. They even equate

him with Forrest Gump, how dumb can a person be? They are blasphamous in their assertions that he was less than they.



Anyone can get a PhD and still not be competent. I have three PhDs in my family, and they have no common sense. Neither do these writers. Don't believe anything you read in this book. It is all made up, that's what journalism is these days, manufactured lies. These teachers are in the journalism

department, not the history area, so they never should have taken on this endeavor.



They make Forrest out to be a dumb, silly "white trash" from

Tennessee when they know better. It is just to sully his reputation as a great general. They don't know how to present facts or truth. They did not research this book adequately, so just read it as fiction.



Jefferson Davis was born into a patriotic American family at Fairview, Kentucky. He would have drawn his sword if he could have been around to read this garbage about one of his best generals and a great American in his own

right.

Sun, 28 May 2006

After the Civil War fiasco, Jefferson Davis encouraged the South to "bury its dead, its hopes and its aspirations," but the South will never surrender. He declared that the past is dead. His first wife was Sarah Knox Taylor, daughter of U. S. President Zachary Taylor. Davis was a congressman, senator, secretary of war, and President of the Confederacy. His horse's name
was Thunder.

In 1858, Horace Greely called Jefferson Davis "unquestionably the foremost man in the South today" and a great president. He was educated at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. "His occasional unintentional arrogance came from his sense of great commanding power.

One of his generals during the war, declared the best by Robert E. Lee, was besmirked in 2005 by two college professors thusly:

This book was written in association with Texas Christian University for the American Crisis Series, Books on Civil War Era. Previously, I reviewed ON THE BRINK OF CIVIL WAR by John C. Waugh. This one, however, is what the title says all 'myth' written by two journalism professors at the University of Tennessee. I guess they were assigned this personage, the greatest Civil War General, according to Robert E. Lee, because they work in Tennessee. Neither are from the state of Tennessee and know nothing, no facts about this great soldier of the Civil War.

They know nothing about history per se, so I am just wondering why the history department at the University in Knoxville would
not have been a better selection to write about one of our native heroes. These frauds call their subject 'white trash' because the Klan wore white sheets in his reincarnation of the group(now they wear purple, green and white outfits) used to
protect everybody from the carpet baggers after the Civil War. These men are not from Tennessee, and should never have been chosen to write this book.

It is biased and slanted and exactly a 'myth' a fairy tale of the worse sort. Forrest was from a good background and family (father was a locksmith/doctor) and born in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, in Bedford County. These men thought he had been born in Memphis as they dwell on something which happened which was
infamous instead of famous. Those of us at the public meeting where they talked had not heard of that specific incident, and we are native Tennesseans. His life was not a 'morality tale,' as they claim, nor was he a comic book figure. He was a real live hero, not something made up in the comics. They even equate
him with Forrest Gump, how dumb can a person be? They are blasphamous in their assertions that he was less than they.

Anyone can get a PhD and still not be competent. I have three PhDs in my family, and they have no common sense. Neither do these writers. Don't believe anything you read in this book. It is all made up, that's what journalism is these days, manufactured lies. These teachers are in the journalism
department, not the history area, so they never should have taken on this endeavor.

They make Forrest out to be a dumb, silly "white trash" from
Tennessee when they know better. It is just to sully his reputation as a great general. They don't know how to present facts or truth. They did not research this book adequately, so just read it as fiction.

Jefferson Davis was born into a patriotic American family at Fairview, Kentucky. He would have drawn his sword if he could have been around to read this garbage about one of his best generals and a great American in his own
right.