Drawn with the Sword: Reflections on the American Civil War - Hardcover

"McPherson takes the latest professional thinking on the war and gives it clear and popular shape."--American Heritage "Not merely is McPherson the leading living historian of the Civil War, but he is a scholar whose knowledge and authority are unsurpassed; when McPherson speaks, even in a minor key, people listen....McPherson is uniformly interesting and, to the general reader's eternal relief, both lucid and uncondescending."--Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post "These essays present some very complex ideas in vigorous, succinct prose. Whether he is discussing the persistent appeal of the Civil War, tracing the manner in which a war of limited goals evolved into the first total war, evaluating competing theories on the causes of the Confederate defeat, or explaining the genesis of Ulysses S. Grant's military strategy, Mr. McPherson is exact, convincing, and judicious....These pieces provide a lively reminder that the best scholarship is also often a pleasure to read."--The New York Times Book Review "McPherson has compiled a series of thoughtful essays on some of the most thought-provoking questions of the Civil War....In these essays the author has proven that history can be accurate, informative, and interesting."--Library Journal "Clear, luminous writing matched by incisive, original thinking makes this collection irresistible to anyone interested in U.S. history."--Booklist "Thoughtful essays on the Civil War by one of its foremost contemporary students....McPherson is successful in explaining why popular interest in the Civil War endures, and indeed why it should endure. Fine historical writing, and required reading for both Civil War buffs and scholars--divided audiences, as McPherson notes."--Kirkus Reviews "A must for all buffs, McPherson's book not only gives us an astute survey and summary of recent work on the Civil War but also many brilliant insights of his own."--C. Vann Woodward, Professor of History, Yale University "A marvelous collection, Drawn With the Sword enhances James McPherson's reputation as a major scholar of the Civil War. Impressive in their range and their incisiveness, these essays illuminate diverse areas of the great American conflict. The writing is clear and forceful; the arguments are always thoughtful, and often compelling. For McPherson there was nothing inevitable about the outcome of the Civil War. The battlefield was central, and individuals did make a difference. Anyone interested in the Civil War should read this book."--William J. Cooper, Jr., Boyd Professor of History, Louisiana State University "James McPherson is the master historian of the Civil War in our time."--Gabor Borritt, Director, Civil War Institute, Gettysburg "These perceptive essays deliver just what readers have come to expect from the pen of our generation's leading Civil War historian. Learned, original, quick to question convention, and written in McPherson's clear and often eloquent prose, they challenge readers to think anew about important issues and personalities associated with the nation's great trauma."--Gary W. Gallagher, Professor of American History, Penn State University "Drawn with the Sword is an assured winner. These are among the finest essays from the pen of one of America's premier historians. Written with verve and chock full of clever ideas and brilliant analysis, this book is certain to inform and impress its readers."--Joseph Glatthaar, Professor of History, University of Houston

This series of essays reveal McPherson's profound knowedge of the Civil War and of the controversies among historians that have existed about aspects of it. He is eminently fair in stating the opposing arguments in each of these controversies, but his own measured opinions are always clearly stated and are invariably persuasive.