This is the story of Johnny Reb and Billy Yank - soldiers who recorded their experiences and emotions in a great outpouring of letter-writing at the time of the American Civil War. Robertson draws upon hundreds of rare and obscure sources to produce a moving chronicle of the horrors of civil war.
#869676 in Books 1997-07Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.50 x 7.00 x 1.50l; #File Name: 1567310133754 pages
Review
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Marvelous book on the history of GreeceBy NickI've always been fascinated by ancient Greece; and have enjoyed reading about it throughout the years. But they were all just bits and pieces of a much larger and complex story. Will and Ariel Durant's second volume of The Story of Civilization series picks up where it left right off. The book itself is highly readable; and it takes a real genius to take this history and summarize it in such a way that it's easy to read. It's not a beach book; but it's almost like having a brilliant professor tell you stories about interesting figures from our past without the burden of a test for a grade. In a way; it's like a historical version of a David Attenborough series.There's no doubt that reading a 700 page book and the 10;000 page series is a tough endeavor to undergo; but once you get started; you're sucked in and enjoy the stories of historical figures and the average person. You learn about the literature; the architecture; and the battles. And you learned how Greece died a slow; self-inflicted death; and makes you wonder if all societies; including ours; follow the same pattern.At $13 a book; this series is much more valuable than any other out there for the Kindle. I just wish I had discovered The Story of Civilization years ago; and that I could remember more of what I have read. And most of all; I wish I could have met the Durants to thank them for this gift to historians and history lovers.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Great book on a great civilizationBy Al SinghWhat can explain the extraordinary cultural achievements of ancient Greece? Durant doesn't attempt an explanation; but he gives the Greek achievement its rightful due. Yet a major theme in this book is that every Greece has a Macedon: that when a society becomes culturally advanced; it also becomes weak; decadent; and ripe for barbarian conquest. In the first book in this series Durant observed that civilization must keep its powder dry; this could serve as the theme of this work as well. But while Greece itself succumbed first to Macedon and then to Rome; the Greek contribution to civilization has lasted to this day; and Greek culture to our eyes appears more modern than anything that came after it until the Renaissance. The fate of Athens provides a cautionary lesson that democracy is not infallible and cannot alone be the salvation of a nation. The book ends; as apparently all books on ancient Greece end; with a chapter called "The Coming of Rome." The end of a great age.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Recommend this Greek history volumeBy Honest CitizenI have been listening to the informative history from Will Durant and am pleased with it. I recommend this history of Greek civilization. The history is sprinkled with various and sundry commentaries of Durant; and the untrained mind might not catch it. As with other historians; Durant makes some analogies that are appropriate and others that are not. He is somewhat condescending to Plutarch and other ancient historians and seems to forget that we all stand on the shoulders of giants. Then again; ego sometimes gets the best of us.
