plan2read's review against another edition
4.0
Very helpful for gaining a bit of an understanding of the geography of the war and accomplished the improbable - making me want to read more military history.
sandybrady's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Well paced overview of the civil war. Explains the participants, the stakes, the movements of armies, and the experience of soldiers.
matttrevithick's review
3.0
Dense but good read on the American Civil War. Written by a Brit, so some distance from the topic, at times startling (the book opens with, more or less, 'The South never had a chance' - strong words even for a Northerner like me) but on the whole appreciated. He weaves in references to comparable European wars and battles, which I liked. Little hard to pin down at times, he slides around time periods with ease and it's occasionally a little tricky to follow - one page we're reading a detailed account of a battle in 1862 and the next page it's how this battle was perceived after the war, while moving right on to the next sequential battle on the next page.
hseldon's review
2.0
Keegan may be the greatest military historian of our time, as the dust jacket blurb says, but this is definitely not his best work. Interesting as a perspective from a non American, as most Europeans don't seem to have much interest in the US Civil War, but far below his usual standard. Considering who the author is I can only say I was disappointed.
djwardell's review
4.0
Keegan's analysis of the American Civil is developed from his usual broad perspective. This viewpoint, together with Keegan's keen intellect, provide insights not readily available elsewhere to general readers.
His influence from contemporary sources is uneven: he clearly uses Grant's memoirs but ignores some of his analysis. Keegan diminishes Lee's role, by modern standards, although his thinking is closer to Grant's on this subject. As another example, he seems to have overlooked Grant's comment that much of the Confederacy's behavior was caused by the fact that, effectively as an authoritarian dictatorship, it could act out of proportion to its real economic and political strength.
Valuable and engaging, as are most Keegan books.
His influence from contemporary sources is uneven: he clearly uses Grant's memoirs but ignores some of his analysis. Keegan diminishes Lee's role, by modern standards, although his thinking is closer to Grant's on this subject. As another example, he seems to have overlooked Grant's comment that much of the Confederacy's behavior was caused by the fact that, effectively as an authoritarian dictatorship, it could act out of proportion to its real economic and political strength.
Valuable and engaging, as are most Keegan books.
zelda's review
2.0
read for class for a book review .... can imagine how tired i am about writing about it.
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