Monday 28 March 2011 Fresh look at the Civil War

PBS will repeat the acclaimed series from Ken Burns, 'The Civil War,' April 3 - 7. Mr. Burns also wrote the Foreword to the well-reviewed Discovering the Civil War, published by GILES.

From the Boston Globe, March 27, 2011:
"One hundred fifty years ago next month, Confederate militiamen opened fire on Fort Sumter, in South Carolina, in the first battle of what was to become the Civil War. It was to be fought in 10,000 places, costing the lives of more Americans than any other war. The process of understanding what took place, of wrestling with its implications, has continued, unbroken, since that April 12, 1861 bombardment began.

Bruce Bustard, Senior Curator, National Archives and Records Administration, who also contributed an essay to the book, says:

“The enduring appeal of Discovering the Civil War will come from is its reliance on National Archives records. The Archives holds what is probably the largest collection of original Civil War documents in the world. Many of these are landmarks, even icons, but millions of others are unknown or known only to scholars. This book - like the exhibit it was based on - invites readers to reexamine the war unfiltered, through the documents themselves. The large size reproductions are not only visually striking, they allow readers to carefully examine the evidence from the war. For the book, the authors were able to take some of our favorite document discoveries from the exhibit - a list of Union substitutes or the military service records of a man who served in both armies - and explore the stories they tell in detail. The sesquicentennial is a wonderful opportunity for Americans to reconsider what many regard as a familiar story. I hope the book takes a fresh look at the war through little-known stories, seldom-seen documents, and unusual perspectives.”