Read The Last Battleground The Civil War Comes to North Carolina Philip Gerard 9781469649566 Books

Product details Hardcover 362 pages Publisher Univ of North Carolina Pr (March 18, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 146964956X

The Last Battleground The Civil War Comes to North Carolina Philip Gerard 9781469649566 Books Reviews

• I’ve just begun this book but I can tell I’m going to truly enjoy reading it. The first few chapters are absolutely terrific. I’ve read many books on the Civil War but this is the first book to just slap me in the face with the reality of the devastation to people’s lives wrought by that conflict. Highly recommended.
• A wonderful piece of writing. For anybody interested in the Civil War and its impact on North Carolina (not to mention elsewhere in the US), this is a must read. Written in the present tense...it will bring you back in time.
• Novelist Philip Gerard applies the storyteller's craft to portraits of people in the Civil War -- not just the presidents and generals but ordinary folks, black and white, men and women. Incredibly detailed; a page-turner.
• I received an ebook copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
  I have been reading books on the Civil War for almost 50 years and have read everything from general overviews of the war to specialized niche books focusing on a single battle or a specific regiment or company, memoirs, and pretty much everything in between.
  
  This is one of the better works I've had the pleasure of reading. It nicely balances the competing requirements of being somewhat scholarly and effectively researched while at the same time the desire to pull the reader in and along with a compelling narrative.
  
  Philip Gerard covers a lot of ground here and touches on major topics (i.e., the actions of NC troops at Gettysburg and Sherman's march through the state) and also the personal (the effect of the war on individuals and their families, like the Bennitts, who have the distinction of having their home serve as the location of the surrender of Johnson's army to Sherman in the western theater of the war). Major topics (journalism's coverage of the war and the enlistment of Negro soldiers) are covered both broadly and with a focus on individuals.
  
  Virtually every facet of the war is covered. I hadn't realized the prominence of North Carolinians in the Civil War. Prior to this, what I chiefly knew was the large amount of Unionist sentiment in NC, the primary port for blockade runners bringing in goods past the Union blockade and the speed and skill with which Sherman's army and his pioneers moved through the swamps on corduroy roads. NC had a hand in ironclads, the southern privateers preying on Union merchant ships and was also an important center for rails.
  
  In short, it's an informative and fascinating read and I recommend it highly for anyone interested in the Civil War beyond the basics. Well worth reading.
• Philip Gerard may not be a professional historian of the war, as he mentions in the introduction, but he writes with the confidence of a veteran of the craft; his newness to the topic parlays into a strength instead of a weakness. This is a fantastic book, easily one of the best books I have read on the war in some time. I like the fact that each chapter stands alone, and elucidates a different aspect of the war as it relates to North Carolina. The topics range widely, from medicine to music, from slavery to journalism, from privateers to foot soldiers. Every chapter is fascinating, even those I initially thought I wouldn’t have much interest in. In addition, the fact that it is written in the present tense adds a sense of relevance and involvement to what is going on. I really can’t say enough good things about this book. The prose is delightful, the stories are engaging, and the overall result is a triumph of the highest order.
• I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
  What a fascinating read! Because the book began as a series of single articles that were then put together, there's an excellent synthesis of both macro- and micro-history of the Civil War in North Carolina. The author has done an excellent job of really bringing each small moment to life and through them, painting an excellent picture of the end of the war in North Carolina. Additionally, because the format began as small articles, each chapter is really easy to read on its own, a great coffee-table read for history-buffs. The material is great for those interested in learning more, but there's enough new details and tales that even Civil War buffs will learn something new. I would highly recommend for anyone remotely interested in the Civil War!
  
  Because I just finished creating a Civil War in Raleigh Trolley Tour, I found this book to be immensely helpful in understanding the broader importance of North Carolina in the Civil War as well. You won't go wrong with this book.