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Battle Cry of Freedom
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era | James M. McPherson
11 posts | 19 read | 21 to read
Filled with fresh interpretations and information, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, Battle Cry of Freedom will unquestionably become the standard one-volume history of the Civil War. James McPherson's fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomattox. Packed with drama and analytical insight, the book vividly recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the Civil War--the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry--and then moves into a masterful chronicle of the war itself--the battles, the strategic maneuvering on both sides, the politics, and the personalities. Particularly notable are McPherson's new views on such matters as the slavery expansion issue in the 1850s, the origins of the Republican Party, the causes of secession, internal dissent and anti-war opposition in the North and the South, and the reasons for the Union's victory. The book's title refers to the sentiments that informed both the Northern and Southern views of the conflict: the South seceded in the name of that freedom of self-determination and self-government for which their fathers had fought in 1776, while the North stood fast in defense of the Union founded by those fathers as the bulwark of American liberty. Eventually, the North had to grapple with the underlying cause of the war--slavery--and adopt a policy of emancipation as a second war aim. This "new birth of freedom," as Lincoln called it, constitutes the proudest legacy of America's bloodiest conflict. This authoritative volume makes sense of that vast and confusing "second American Revolution" we call the Civil War, a war that transformed a nation and expanded our heritage of liberty.
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Crystallinegirl
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Aaaaahhhh I found a Friends of the Library bookstore and most of their books are $2 and I would get in soooo much trouble if they were closer to me, LOL. Colonize This! and Battle Cry of Freedom have been on my TBR list for quite some time, so those made me really happy. The Kathy Love books look fun, and Brandon Sanderson is a favorite author of ours. The bottom book is a college level history book, and I should brush up. #bookhaul

10 likes1 stack add
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BFlynnP
Pickpick

Tour de force. I recommend this for anyone trying to make sense of our country today.

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BooksForYears
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Today is Memorial Day in the US, a public holiday to remember those women and men of the armed forces who died while serving their country.

The holiday began as a day to specifically remember those who died before and during during the American Civil War, but was expanded to include all conflicts after World War 1.

Texreader Very nice. Thanks 7y
Kimberlone Best book on the Civil War! Back in college I had the chance to meet the author while taking a seminar on Lincoln and the Civil War. 7y
BooksForYears @Kimberlone That's amazing!! 7y
92 likes3 comments
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BFlynnP
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A little light summer reading.

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Yossarian
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Lincoln considered Rosecrans "confused and stunned like a duck hit on the head."

A duck? Do they get particularly stunned when whacked on the noggin? More so than a person? Or a goose?

And how does Lincoln know?

drokka I could be misremembering something I've read but I vaguely recall something about a pet duck as a child. 7y
TheBookAddict 😂😂😂 7y
Robothugs 😂😂 Lincoln clearly knows from experience. 7y
DuckOfDoom Ducks are just very important animals 🐣😊 7y
Hobbinol 🤔 7y
101 likes5 comments
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GoneFishing

Lincoln too considered secession the “essence of anarchy.” He branded state sovereignty a “sophism.” “The Union is older than any of the States,” Lincoln asserted, “and, in fact, it created them as States.” The Declaration of Independence transformed the “United Colonies” into the United States; without this union then, there would never have been any “free and independent States.

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Yossarian
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Pickpick

Learned today that the phrase "wage slave" was popularized by Southern slaveowners, to show that their type of slavery was kinder than the Northern variety.

78 likes1 stack add
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Yossarian
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Me last night. For a long time.

Books_Wine_Repeat Me every night. The kids are asleep early, I can finally get some sleep. Nope. 📖🔦 8y
GemLThompson Me every night! 😂📚 8y
morgan_krahn This is me most nights! My husband comes in and turns the lights out on me so I will actually get some sleep 😂 8y
See All 12 Comments
katedensen Me too! I bailed on plans and just read instead ☺️ 8y
MrsV Most nights, this is me! 8y
JessieReadsInBK I really wish I could relate to this but I fall asleep too easily. 😕 8y
Bookies My wife! 8y
intothehallofbooks Yes, this is perfect. Every night! Ha! 8y
LitHousewife That is me. Every night. 🤗 8y
BekahB Yep! My friend asked if I wanted to go to a party. I told her I was sorry, but I already had plans. She asked me what I was doing and I mumbled, um...reading. Thank goodness she knows me well so she didn't push it any further 😄 8y
Zelma So true! @BekahB I turned down plans last night too. I already had dinner going but really I just needed to stay home and finish my book. 😳 8y
Readingismyescape Perfect night!! 8y
179 likes2 stack adds12 comments
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Yossarian
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I never understood people (everyone) who say they can only read one book at a time. How is reading multiple books any different from watching multiple TV shows? Do you get Game of Thrones confused with The Simpsons confused with America's Got Talent?

This is the jumbled pile of everything I'm reading, just finished, or about the start, excluding stuff on the Nook.

Laura317 Exactly! I always have 3-4 going at a time. 8y
SoniaC Thank you. That needed to be said! Monogamy is for relationships books should be an all out frolicking romp lol. 8y
DebinHawaii Perfect! I change my reading to fit my mood and always have multiple books going at once! 👍📚 8y
See All 29 Comments
Suzze Always 4 or 5. I do try to not read something like two historicals set in the same time period. That can be confusing. 8y
Cortg I'm trying to read multiple books at a time...it's so hard for me though! I have one book, 2 audiobooks and a serial reader book. The stories don't confuse me, I think my personality is too Type A 😂 8y
DragonSadhana I read 2-5 books at a time. Keeps things interesting! 8y
youngreadrshelf I always have several going at once. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and a middle grade or ya. 8y
Kaye I envy people who can juggle multiple books. I seem to have the need to complete one before moving on. 8y
SusanInTiburon Exactly. 8y
Notafraidofwords I guess I'm the minority here. I get really stressed if I have many going. 8y
alisonrose But you don't usually watch multiple episodes of a tv show at once, or pause a movie partway through and start another, and another. I only read one book at a time because it is hard to keep the small details straight if you jump from one world to another all the time. With television, you watch a complete episode; with movies, generally a complete story. Books are different. No need to imply intellectual deficiency for ppl who prefer it this way 8y
alisonrose (Hmm, I meant to say "multiple different tv shows" or something like that) 8y
BethFishReads I'm always on the middle of many 8y
AmyWrites I'm always reading multiple books, usually with one "leader." I grab whichever one suits my mood at the moment. Sometimes I want non-fiction about parenting or cooking and sometimes I want to get lost in excellent fiction. 8y
shawnmooney I agree 100%. I started reading at least six books at one time this year and I find it's helping me read and engage more deeply. 8y
AshleyS I usually have an audiobook, one on my kindle for the bus, and a hardcover for home 8y
britt_brooke Excellent point! 8y
Reviewsbylola I feel like if I don't limit myself somewhat, I would never finish a book. I try and limit myself to one book per format. So one physical book, one ebook, and one book on serial. 8y
Bookworm54 I tend to read one at a time, mainly because I get so hooked I need to finish it! 8y
Hooked_on_books Now Bart is Arya's brother, right? And Howie Mandel's from beyond the wall? I'm so confused! 🤔 8y
EricaReads I usually have at least 3 in the go! Now I'm reading a classic, a historical fiction, a book of essays, a book of short stories and a work-related book :) 8y
ReadosaurusText That is a good way to put it--the TV show example. I'm putting that one in my back pocket! 8y
drokka I've always have loads of books on the go too. Some for work, and then for pleasure I usually always have a mystery handy, plus whatever strikes my mood. 8y
bookwrm526 I usually have two ebooks, a paper book, and an audio book going at the same time....I can't help it lol 8y
megt When I was much younger I tended to read a lot at once but eventually realized I was probably finishing less than half of what I started. Now I tend to limit myself to no more than three at a time, one in print (or digital), one on audio, and one comic or graphic novel. 8y
Beckys_Books I practice serial book monogamy. That's just the way my brain is wired. 8y
Makatma Only one novel at a time...I just like to finish one before I start another. One movie at a time. One marathoned series at a time. I WISH I could read more than one at a time, because if I get stalled in a novel, I can't start another. 8y
Gleefulreader This makes me feel so much better! I am almost embarrassed by the massive list of books in progress because so many people seem to be die-hard one book at a time sorts. 8y
enidkeaner I'm the same way. I always have multiple books going. I never understood folks who say they could only read one at a time. 8y
134 likes29 comments
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Yossarian
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Starting to pack for vacation. I read slowly and won't have tons of time to read... But I don't want to run out of books...... I think I've got 4,000 pages already as suitcase liners.

Onioons It's a recognised condition! I feel so much better now. Happy holiers! 8y
Megabooks I have this phobia! 8y
Smarkies Oh definitely! The one thing I overpack! 😂😂😂 8y
See All 25 Comments
Reviewsbylola I just took five books for a five day trip. 😂 On the other hand, it's nice to have options! 8y
LeahBergen Yep. 8y
Gleefulreader I am confident I put more thought into what books to pack for any trip longer than a half day then I do what to wear. 8y
Notafraidofwords My biggest fear. Having nothing to read 😩 8y
LiteraryinLawrence I leave in 10 days for a trip and my books are already set aside! My challenge, though, is timing the library requests right... 8y
DaniRa Sounds like me😂 8y
Ange44 I leave in ten days for a 3 week vacation and picking out my books is my favourite part of the preparations! 8y
Casmt Get Serial Reader ap 😊 8y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled This is so apropos - I just packed 2 400+ page books for a 4-day vacation (in addition to my Kindle, of course). Should I take more?? 🤔 8y
JacintaMCarter I'm considering buying a Kindle before I go to Portland next month because I'm afraid of running out of room in my bag for books. 8y
Gezemice Kindle. 😀😜 8y
mcctrish Every time I fly I contemplate buying a new e-reader, I have an iPad but it doesn't stay charged like an e-reader. My original kobo is a push button, not a swipe and not wifi, so 👎🏻But then I think I will bring books I don't care if I leave them behind, and I can buy any book I want while away. 8y
Lizpixie And my picture is under this in the dictionary. My tbr is getting ridiculous, but too many books is better than not enough, right? Right?? 8y
CrazyBookLady I just bought 47 books at my library book sale at 25 cents apiece because I was running ow on my TBR list. (I had at least 20 books in my TBR list). It's an addiction. 8y
Susannah A friend of mine messaged me to say she had finished everything she had to read a full day before her on-hold books were due to arrive at her local library. I asked her how she would survive. I meant "survive" literally. ? 8y
Haweller And yet, there are people out there who would never think to bring a book on vacation...I feel bad for them! 8y
ColleenLindsay This is a real thing????? 😂😂😂 8y
AnnieReads What??? There are people who don't take books on vacation? That is so sad. 8y
Joriebooks This is me all the way. I always pack so many books even when it's just a weekend. 8y
AnnaDesourdy How is this possible?! 8y
MyNamesParadise Me!!!!! 8y
Vexingcircumstance This is why I love my Kindle. I never have time to read on trips but I can't not take books. My kindle means I don't lug lots of books around and break my back for no reason. I still usually pack 1 paperback but that and a kindle is much better than the five or six books I use to pack. 8y
204 likes2 stack adds25 comments
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Liberty
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It's Fun Friday Photo time! Today's photo: What do you like to read books about? I like reading about sharks, bats, Francis Bacon, books about books, the Black Death, and the Civil War. This is my CW book collection. Show me what you're interested in! And be sure to tag me in your photo!

KrisConstantReader Ahhh, I wanted to do another doggy photo! Lol 8y
BookNotes Nice Civil War book collection! CW is one of my favorite subjects. 8y
peggyriley I don't know how to tag photos - but I like this idea! And snooping other people's shelves, obviously... 8y
See All 11 Comments
Neverlistless My husband and I are planning a CW battlefield vacation in September. Anybody have a rec for books to start with?? 8y
KVanRead @Neverlistless, I haven't read a lot of CW, but Michael Shaara's Pulitzer winner offers an excellent day by day account of Gettysburg. Required reading for my daughter's school trip there - I read it too and loved it. 8y
Jennifer3 @Liberty I love to read about so many things I can't seem to figure out what to pick. I love CW too and Gettysburg was forty-five minutes away from my college. 8y
Beth_parker Oooohhhhhh can I send you a civil war book?? 8y
Jgotham Is that Confederates in the Attic? I love that book and the bright green cover 8y
HeatherBookNerd I'm on vacation, so no picture from me. But I like to read plays, books about book lovers and theatre people. I also love a well done surprise ending. 8y
Traej73 Historical fiction is my favorite. I like to know that I am learning something while still getting a good story lol. 8y
198 likes5 stack adds11 comments