I may have a copy of this book. If so it's on a shelf in the sitting room of my summer home near Seattle. Right now I'm in Turkey dealing with Greek and Roman ruins in various parts of what became the Ottoman Empire. Your description sounds like a book my parents bought when I was in elementary school. My mother had a habit of buying sets of Time-Life Books, including their Civil War Series, which I liked well enough to spend part of a summer selling Time-Life Book subscriptions over the phone from a call center on the north end of Lake Union in Seattle when that portion of the lake was undergoing upscale urban renewal in the vicinity of Gas Works Park. The view from above the dock next to the yacht club was fantastic and quite enjoyable and set the stage for Google's purchase of that portion of the Fremont neighborhood about twenty years later. Unfortunately my sales skills weren't up to the Time-Life standard and they let me go after about three weeks. Straight commission is a tough row to hoe, especially when you're doing cold calls from a list of people who had previously subscribed to a set of Time-Life books. I chose the one volume American Heritage book over the Time-Life set when my father passed and it was time to divvy up his books among six siblings and a few nephews and nieces.
Very grateful not only to learn about this, but to learn from the commenters how big a thing it has been for so long for so many. I had no idea--and like Norm, I was 12 in 1960, so I have memories of Civil War memory as it stood back then. I'm especially interested in the evolution of national memory of emancipation, and what I see as the puzzlingly scanted awareness of the contributions of hundreds of thousands of slavery escapees to emancipation's Civil War political evolution. I'm already looking for a copy. Thanks.
(PS: Just the other day I posted something about the Army's 1956 film "Historic Fort Monroe" for TV—27 minutes, available today online. They did a nice job, including an inadvertent, delayed-effect job of spotlighting the importance of constructive revisionism. The film reaches back to 1609 on Point Comfort, the Virginia sand spit where two centuries of fortifications preceded Fort Monroe. But it contains not even a hint that British North American slavery began there in 1619 or that--thanks in the very first place to the initiative of three enterprising slavery escapees stealing across Hampton Roads harbor--U.S. slavery began to crumble there in 1861. 1956 and 1960 were a long time ago.)
When I saw the title of your price the first thing I thought of was this exact book! As it happens I finally read "Killer Angels" last month and was talking about ti with a CW re-enactor buddy* and mentioned that used the illustration of the battle in this book to follow along. He remembered it sparking his interest as a kid as well. It definitely had a long and wide influence.
*FWIW, he only does Union, mostly as a white officer in the USCTs.
For me, The American Heritage Picture History was the start of a lifetime interest in the Civil War. I must have been 9 or 10 when I remember reading it. But at some time that book disappeared from my private library. A year ago my sister, a longtime school librarian, passed away and I was sent some of the books she had. And there was a copy of the American Heritage volume. Just opening it and looking at those maps brought back memories of how important they were in getting an elementary school kid wanting to know more about that war. It is amazing to me the commonality of some of our experiences. I had the Marx Toys Battle of the Blue and the Gray. Catton's trilogy on the Army of the Potomac was a treasured birthday present, probably when I was 11 or 12. Great memories and always on the search for great new books on the Civil War. I hear there will soon be one coming out on Robert Gould Shaw. There is an empty space on my book shelf waiting for that one.
Thanks for sharing your personal story, George. You said: "It is amazing to me the commonality of some of our experiences." I couldn't agree more and I think it beautifully encapsulates one of the reasons I chose to focus on this particular book.
I agree with you Kevin, this is the most important Civil War book ever published. Back in the early part of this century, when I was reading more current Civil War literature, I can't say how many author's introductions cited this book as an early influence.
Almost as equally important was "The Golden Book of the Civil War," which was an adaptation for young people of the American Heritage book. It also included the birds-eye battlefield views which were engrossing to ten-year old me. My older brother and I read our copy until it fell apart.
The Marx Toys Civil War "Battle of the Blue and Gray" toy soldier playsets did a lot to fuel young people's interest in the Civil War during the centennial also.
And speaking of toy soldiers, our friend Mannie Gentile did a nice blog post about the "Golden Book of the Civil War."
I'm one of the Civil War buffs created by this book! Dad bought it when it came out (I was 7 in 1960; yes, I am that old) and I devoured it. Well, not much of the main text, but the illustrations and the MAPS! Our copy came in two volumes and a thin "chronology" document, which all fit into a slipcase. The slipcase died long ago, but I still have the books, as well as a (recently acquired) copy of the 1990s edition. I don't think I have ever read much of the main text. And, yes, I think it might well be considered the most important Civil War book ever.
Thanks for sharing, Jim. I've seen the two volumes advertised for sale and may have to get myself a copy. I appreciate the honesty re: the reading of the narrative. I wonder what percentage of people are in the same camp. This speaks to the power of the illustrations.
The artwork of the 7th NY Regiment parading and the battlefield KML includes strongly strike chords, but as I don't recall seeing the text on enslaved men serving army officers, perhaps I saw them in other sources.
(I was 12 years old in 1960. As KML says, then came the Civil Rights movement, the anti-war movement, the assassinations and murders, and for me, the one nearby. failed attempt: Arthur Bremer stalked George Wallace at my local shopping center just before shooting him up in the next county.)
I'm hardly close to an expert on your topic du jour, despite having tons of books and periodicals on the CW, antebellum, Reconstruction, 1619, and Harriet Tubman.
Personally, and probably because they are the latest I've studied, are Kent Masterson Brown's two books on Gettysburg's opposing generals, Ltc Harold Knudsen's and Cory Pfarr's books on Longstreet dissecting the lies of The Lost Cause, rooted in the same battle!
Then again, Gang ('Team' seems way too civil!) of Rivals by that Red Sox lady ought to count for something.
I'd recommend 'Our Man in Charleston' about the 10 years Robert Bunch, the hapless British consul there, spent if it were not so specialized. Now I realize, books on one battle are also overspecialized!
If I don't get my collection under control, the most important book I ever bought will be the last one I trip over. (Tubman was my wife's guiding star when she worked for Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, sister Marylander to Tubman, rescuing refugees from around the world's trouble spots).
We did not have a copy of the book but my Mom’s best friend did. It was a coffee table book. I remember sitting in her living room ( 7 or 8 years old) deeply engrossed in the book while my mom and the other lady visited in the kitchen. I have no idea how many times I went through it cover to cover but several. Like others here it led me to Catton and a life long interest personally and professionally in the Civil War.
Maybe Gone With the Wind (book & movie) are more impactful, but I'm going to go with you on this one as less sensational but far deeper influence on us Civil War nerds.
Those maps, I think, made me the spatial learner I am. I could spend hours... and I'd love to do a modern museum element inspired by them. I love love love old school dioramas and these were basically the first for me.
I graduated from this to Catton's Army of the Potomac series and that snatched me so hard into history that I thanked him in my dissertation acknowledgements. (I still remember sitting late at night listening to the trains on what is essentially the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac railroad line rumble by while reading Catton's description of Herman Haupt hard at work on the 2nd Manassas campaign.)
There you go... that's how important this book is... it has me waxing nostalgic.
Was talking with a friend a couple of days ago about something you are well aware of... that much of what we metaphysically conceive of as "the Civil War" doesn't actually come from the war itself, but from how it was remembered through the lenses of things like Carlton McCarthy's deceptive memoir, or Bruce Catton's mid-century non-Lost Cause version, or reenacting, or ... the list is endless.
Good point re: GWTW and the Time-Life series. I would love to read a more critical analysis of Greenspan's maps, both in terms of how they attempt to make sense of the confusion of battle and their role is creating an entire industry of campaign/battle studies.
I tend to agree, as it is the book that gave us so many other books from those who read it. Anecdotally, many of the historians on the Civil War Talk Radio podcast, including the host mention this book as foundational to their interest in the war. Without it, its lavish illustrations and beautiful maps, those who became enthused by the war that may never have.
I may have a copy of this book. If so it's on a shelf in the sitting room of my summer home near Seattle. Right now I'm in Turkey dealing with Greek and Roman ruins in various parts of what became the Ottoman Empire. Your description sounds like a book my parents bought when I was in elementary school. My mother had a habit of buying sets of Time-Life Books, including their Civil War Series, which I liked well enough to spend part of a summer selling Time-Life Book subscriptions over the phone from a call center on the north end of Lake Union in Seattle when that portion of the lake was undergoing upscale urban renewal in the vicinity of Gas Works Park. The view from above the dock next to the yacht club was fantastic and quite enjoyable and set the stage for Google's purchase of that portion of the Fremont neighborhood about twenty years later. Unfortunately my sales skills weren't up to the Time-Life standard and they let me go after about three weeks. Straight commission is a tough row to hoe, especially when you're doing cold calls from a list of people who had previously subscribed to a set of Time-Life books. I chose the one volume American Heritage book over the Time-Life set when my father passed and it was time to divvy up his books among six siblings and a few nephews and nieces.
Very grateful not only to learn about this, but to learn from the commenters how big a thing it has been for so long for so many. I had no idea--and like Norm, I was 12 in 1960, so I have memories of Civil War memory as it stood back then. I'm especially interested in the evolution of national memory of emancipation, and what I see as the puzzlingly scanted awareness of the contributions of hundreds of thousands of slavery escapees to emancipation's Civil War political evolution. I'm already looking for a copy. Thanks.
(PS: Just the other day I posted something about the Army's 1956 film "Historic Fort Monroe" for TV—27 minutes, available today online. They did a nice job, including an inadvertent, delayed-effect job of spotlighting the importance of constructive revisionism. The film reaches back to 1609 on Point Comfort, the Virginia sand spit where two centuries of fortifications preceded Fort Monroe. But it contains not even a hint that British North American slavery began there in 1619 or that--thanks in the very first place to the initiative of three enterprising slavery escapees stealing across Hampton Roads harbor--U.S. slavery began to crumble there in 1861. 1956 and 1960 were a long time ago.)
When I saw the title of your price the first thing I thought of was this exact book! As it happens I finally read "Killer Angels" last month and was talking about ti with a CW re-enactor buddy* and mentioned that used the illustration of the battle in this book to follow along. He remembered it sparking his interest as a kid as well. It definitely had a long and wide influence.
*FWIW, he only does Union, mostly as a white officer in the USCTs.
For me, The American Heritage Picture History was the start of a lifetime interest in the Civil War. I must have been 9 or 10 when I remember reading it. But at some time that book disappeared from my private library. A year ago my sister, a longtime school librarian, passed away and I was sent some of the books she had. And there was a copy of the American Heritage volume. Just opening it and looking at those maps brought back memories of how important they were in getting an elementary school kid wanting to know more about that war. It is amazing to me the commonality of some of our experiences. I had the Marx Toys Battle of the Blue and the Gray. Catton's trilogy on the Army of the Potomac was a treasured birthday present, probably when I was 11 or 12. Great memories and always on the search for great new books on the Civil War. I hear there will soon be one coming out on Robert Gould Shaw. There is an empty space on my book shelf waiting for that one.
Thanks for sharing your personal story, George. You said: "It is amazing to me the commonality of some of our experiences." I couldn't agree more and I think it beautifully encapsulates one of the reasons I chose to focus on this particular book.
I agree with you Kevin, this is the most important Civil War book ever published. Back in the early part of this century, when I was reading more current Civil War literature, I can't say how many author's introductions cited this book as an early influence.
Almost as equally important was "The Golden Book of the Civil War," which was an adaptation for young people of the American Heritage book. It also included the birds-eye battlefield views which were engrossing to ten-year old me. My older brother and I read our copy until it fell apart.
The Marx Toys Civil War "Battle of the Blue and Gray" toy soldier playsets did a lot to fuel young people's interest in the Civil War during the centennial also.
And speaking of toy soldiers, our friend Mannie Gentile did a nice blog post about the "Golden Book of the Civil War."
http://toysoldiersforever.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-book-that-launched-thousand-careers.html
Hi Tom,
Thanks for sharing your own experience with the book and for including Mannie's post as well. I love the testimonials that he included.
I'm one of the Civil War buffs created by this book! Dad bought it when it came out (I was 7 in 1960; yes, I am that old) and I devoured it. Well, not much of the main text, but the illustrations and the MAPS! Our copy came in two volumes and a thin "chronology" document, which all fit into a slipcase. The slipcase died long ago, but I still have the books, as well as a (recently acquired) copy of the 1990s edition. I don't think I have ever read much of the main text. And, yes, I think it might well be considered the most important Civil War book ever.
Thanks for sharing, Jim. I've seen the two volumes advertised for sale and may have to get myself a copy. I appreciate the honesty re: the reading of the narrative. I wonder what percentage of people are in the same camp. This speaks to the power of the illustrations.
The artwork of the 7th NY Regiment parading and the battlefield KML includes strongly strike chords, but as I don't recall seeing the text on enslaved men serving army officers, perhaps I saw them in other sources.
(I was 12 years old in 1960. As KML says, then came the Civil Rights movement, the anti-war movement, the assassinations and murders, and for me, the one nearby. failed attempt: Arthur Bremer stalked George Wallace at my local shopping center just before shooting him up in the next county.)
I'm hardly close to an expert on your topic du jour, despite having tons of books and periodicals on the CW, antebellum, Reconstruction, 1619, and Harriet Tubman.
Personally, and probably because they are the latest I've studied, are Kent Masterson Brown's two books on Gettysburg's opposing generals, Ltc Harold Knudsen's and Cory Pfarr's books on Longstreet dissecting the lies of The Lost Cause, rooted in the same battle!
Then again, Gang ('Team' seems way too civil!) of Rivals by that Red Sox lady ought to count for something.
I'd recommend 'Our Man in Charleston' about the 10 years Robert Bunch, the hapless British consul there, spent if it were not so specialized. Now I realize, books on one battle are also overspecialized!
If I don't get my collection under control, the most important book I ever bought will be the last one I trip over. (Tubman was my wife's guiding star when she worked for Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, sister Marylander to Tubman, rescuing refugees from around the world's trouble spots).
Thanks for the recommendation, Norm. Kent Brown's Gettysburg books are definitely worth reading.
We did not have a copy of the book but my Mom’s best friend did. It was a coffee table book. I remember sitting in her living room ( 7 or 8 years old) deeply engrossed in the book while my mom and the other lady visited in the kitchen. I have no idea how many times I went through it cover to cover but several. Like others here it led me to Catton and a life long interest personally and professionally in the Civil War.
Thanks for sharing, Michael.
Maybe Gone With the Wind (book & movie) are more impactful, but I'm going to go with you on this one as less sensational but far deeper influence on us Civil War nerds.
Those maps, I think, made me the spatial learner I am. I could spend hours... and I'd love to do a modern museum element inspired by them. I love love love old school dioramas and these were basically the first for me.
I graduated from this to Catton's Army of the Potomac series and that snatched me so hard into history that I thanked him in my dissertation acknowledgements. (I still remember sitting late at night listening to the trains on what is essentially the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac railroad line rumble by while reading Catton's description of Herman Haupt hard at work on the 2nd Manassas campaign.)
There you go... that's how important this book is... it has me waxing nostalgic.
Was talking with a friend a couple of days ago about something you are well aware of... that much of what we metaphysically conceive of as "the Civil War" doesn't actually come from the war itself, but from how it was remembered through the lenses of things like Carlton McCarthy's deceptive memoir, or Bruce Catton's mid-century non-Lost Cause version, or reenacting, or ... the list is endless.
Good point re: GWTW and the Time-Life series. I would love to read a more critical analysis of Greenspan's maps, both in terms of how they attempt to make sense of the confusion of battle and their role is creating an entire industry of campaign/battle studies.
I'd add that for someone of my particular age and interests, the 28 volume Time Life series from the 1980s may be equally important.
I tend to agree, as it is the book that gave us so many other books from those who read it. Anecdotally, many of the historians on the Civil War Talk Radio podcast, including the host mention this book as foundational to their interest in the war. Without it, its lavish illustrations and beautiful maps, those who became enthused by the war that may never have.
You are absolutely right, Jerry.