Struggle for a vast future: The American Civil War(Osprey Digital)

“Struggle for a Vast Future brings together a talented group of authors whose essays illuminate important dimensions of the American Civil War. Offering a mass of useful information, first-rate analysis of events and personalities ... it should find an appreciative audience.” Gary W. Gallagher, author of The Confederate War “Struggle for a Vast Future provides a rich and cohesive analysis of the uniqueness of the Civil War generation. In dealing with divisions in society and the great issues that Americans confronted, the authors bring to light a series of stimulating and compelling interpretations about the nature and conduct of the war that places the conflict in a broader context for understanding the American Republic in crisis... Engagingly written, this new volume is sure to take its place among the short shelf of highly readable surveys of the American Civil War.” Stephen D. Engle, author of Struggle for the Heartland Tearing apart a nation founded on ideals of liberty and union, the American Civil War saw some of the most bitter and bloody fighting that humankind has ever witnessed. The war changed America forever, shaping its future and determining its place in history. In this book 13 eminent historians discuss the origins of and legacy of a landmark conflict. Each chapter offers a fresh perspective on the key themes of the Civil War. Innovation in military and naval warfare, espionage, emancipation, personalities of the leaders both on and off the battlefield, and the home front are explored, painting a fascinating and comprehensive picture of America at war with itself.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by James McPherson/Smart Chronology/Origins of the war/The nature of civil war/Leadership and personalities/Opposing armies/The naval campaign/Modern warfare?/The war in the West/Spies and secrets/Women in warfare/Ethnicity/The European perspective/Desertion/PoW camps/The reconstruction years/The legacy of the war

About the Author :
Dr Aaron Sheehan-Dean is Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Florida. He completed his PhD at the University of Virginia. He has devoted most of his academic career to the study of the American Civil War and has published essays on various themes surrounding the conflict. He is completing a book project titled Creating Confederates: Family and Nation in Civil War Virginia (forthcoming). He lives and works in Florida. Professor James M. McPherson is the George Henry Davis `86 Professor of History at Princeton University and the 2003 president of the American Historical Association. Widely acclaimed as the leading historian of the Civil War, he is the author of Crossroads of Freedom (2002) (a New York Times bestseller), For Cause and Comrades (1997) (winner of the Lincoln Prize, and many other books on Lincoln and the Civil War era. McPherson is widely known for his ability to take American history out of the confines of the academy and make it accessible to the general public. His bestselling book, Battlecry for Freedom: The Civil War Era (1988) won the Pulitzer Prize in history in 1989.