American Civil War: Books and Films
Histories
James McPherson, What They Fought For (1995) {This is a very brief analysis of why the rank and file soldiers (from both sides) fought in the war. JM drew extensively on letters written by soldiers. This book does a pretty good job, as far as it goes, of capturing some of the intellectual and cultural reasons that men went to war–as opposed to the politics that led to the war. But as one of my graduate school mentors pointed out to me, there are more “primal” forces that drove men to enlist but that aren’t revealed in their letters or in this book.}
James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (1988) {This is a lengthy and very popular, yet scholarly, account of the origins and course of the war.}
Novels
Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage (1895) {Crane was not even born at the time of the Civil War, but he had listened to plenty of stories about the war, and he was able to tell a story that rang true.}
E.L. Doctorow, The March (2005) {Doctorow tells a great story about Sherman’s “March to the Sea,” and he steps into the perspectives of Yankees, Rebels, and freed slaves.}
Michael Shaara, Killer Angels (1974) {This book is a classic modern novel about Gettysburg.}
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1998) {This novel only marginally deals with the war itself, but it’s one of my favorite pieces of historical fiction, less for the romantic plot device than for the epic nature of the story.}
Films
Glory (1989) {As far as I know, this is the best film about the Civil War. It tells the story of a famous black Union regiment.}
The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns (1990) {This is the documentary series that made Ken Burns famous. We have it in Media Services. The explosive sound effects are too corny for my tastes, but this is a good documentary with great images.}
Gettysburg (1993) {This film is based on Shaara’s Killer Angels. It’s by no means perfect, but it does a nice job depicting troop movements at Gettysburg.}
Cold Mountain (2003) {Not as good as the novel, but decent viewing.}
Gods and Generals (2003) {This is a prequel to Gettysburg. I can’t say that I really liked it, but it’s an attempt to capture the feeling of the war.}
Sherman’s March {This is a short and interesting online movie about Sherman’s march.}
(c) 2007 David Voelker
