Drawn with the Sword by James M. McPherson

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. 'These perceptive essays deliver just what readers have come to expect from the pen of our generation's leading Civil War historian. 'James McPherson is the master historian of the Civil War in our time.'-Gabor Borritt, Director, Civil War Institute, Gettysburg Cooper, Jr., Boyd Professor of History, Louisiana State University Anyone interested in the Civil War should read this book.'-William J. For McPherson there was nothing inevitable about the outcome of the Civil War. The writing is clear and forceful the arguments are always thoughtful, and often compelling. Impressive in their range and their incisiveness, these essays illuminate diverse areas of the great American conflict.

'A marvelous collection, Drawn With the Sword enhances James McPherson's reputation as a major scholar of the Civil War. Vann Woodward, Professor of History, Yale University '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.

Fine historical writing, and required reading for both Civil War buffs and scholars-divided audiences, as McPherson notes.'-Kirkus Reviews '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. 'Clear, luminous writing matched by incisive, original thinking makes this collection irresistible to anyone interested in U.S. '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 McPherson is exact, convincing, and judicious.These pieces provide a lively reminder that theīest scholarship is also often a pleasure to read.'-The New York Times Book Review 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. 'These essays present some very complex ideas in vigorous, succinct prose. '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

'McPherson takes the latest professional thinking on the war and gives it clear and popular shape.'-American Heritage

Drawn with the Sword by James M. McPherson