- How far back does his introduction go (I know the essentials of the Civil War, but very little about the, well, half century before it, really), and how much later does the epilogue/whatever go - does it discuss Reconstruction and that conquest of the West that you mention in much detail?
It starts with Senator Jefferson Davis resigning from the Senate. If you are interested in a lengthy explanation for the causes for the war you won't find it in this trilogy, which is more about the war itself. I'm sure there are plenty of books that do cover it, though.
- Do the books devote much attention to the geopolitical ramifications of the war, and the role played by the various other powers of the time?
The South's quest for international recognition is well-documented, which really is about how Great Britain was disinclined to recognize a nation that came into existence almost solely as the result of its desire to hold slaves, and how France under Napoleon III would not act without Great Britain. Russia was pro-Union from the start.
- Since you mention "the greatness of Lincoln" standing in sharp contrast to those around him, does that mean Foote is guilty of the common American habit of hero-worship for certain presidents that makes non-American readers (i.e. me) rather sceptical? I've long felt that the real merits of men like Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln are nearly impossible to determine because of all the hero-worship in most American sources (and in Lincoln's case, his assassination doesn't help either) - it's exaggerated, but by how much? I'd be interested in attempts to balance those portrayals out a bit, the way historiography has done with e.g. Winston Churchill, or Napoleon.
Foote notes that Lincoln was a skillful politician and doesn't have any problems stating that he would break "any promise" if it suited him. He tries to portray Lincoln in his totality, rather than through a distorting lens of idealism (in fact, he avoids falling into the trap of the "noble cause" of the South, too). However, your comments about hero-worship seem to apply to a different America than the present one. In the post-Watergate Presidential myth-smashing and cynical America of the turn of the millennium, there is very little inclination to engage in hero-worship. If anything, Foote showed me in a far more mature way that the hero-worship had a sound basis in fact, and that in our haste to tear down idols we perhaps discount too much. While the book may have been written (mostly) before the cynical turn in America, it seemed to anticipate it and makes a stronger, more compelling argument for thinking people, rather than resort to base cliche.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
The Civil War by Shelby Foote.
28/10/2010 08:25:39 PM
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Thank you for the review.
28/10/2010 08:37:38 PM
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Greg bought it for me a few years ago for my birthday.
28/10/2010 10:05:25 PM
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Well, Ken Burns did little than cannibalize Foote's trilogy and dumb it down for stupid people.
28/10/2010 10:15:26 PM
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I was also thinking of dumping this review onto my Facebook wall just for shits and giggles.
28/10/2010 10:18:48 PM
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I am curious
30/10/2010 03:38:56 AM
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