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American Civil War

The Essential Reference Guide
by Roberta Wiener
American Civil War: The Essential Reference Guide. ABC-CLIO. 2011. 312p. ed. by James R. Arnold and Roberta Wiener. illus. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781598849059. $85. Online: ABC-CLIO eBook Collection REF
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This run-of-the-mill rundown of major players (politicians, generals), significant battles (Antietam, Gettysburg, Shiloh), and other important aspects of the war in general includes representative entries on industry, medicine, and railroads. While supplementary materials such as primary-source documents, a chronology, and thematic essays add value, these would be better positioned in the main text, and in general the book just doesn't provide enough material. Its 90 articles are spread out over 223 pages that measure a mere 7" x 10". There is no introductory material, so it is unclear what prompted the decision to produce yet another Civil War reference work when so many other—and better—sources are available. Even more perplexing is that this publisher produced in 2000 what is considered the gold standard in the field, David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler's Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History. With 1600-plus articles, more and better illustrations, five appendixes, and other bonus material, that five-volume work (later to reappear in one massive volume published by Norton) is tops but unfortunately out of print. BOTTOM LINE Libraries that can find a copy should consider the Heidlers' work, which is the last word in American Civil War reference, instead of this title.—Michael Bemis, Minnesota Dept. of Corrections Lib., Oak Park Heights
Gr 9 Up—Libraries that need single-volume Civil War ready reference or report material will appreciate this work. It combines opening essays featuring analysis of the war's causes, consequences, and historical controversies; 100 encyclopedia entries; a selection of primary-source readings; and a highly detailed time line. The clearly written analytical essays place aspects of the war into context, and authors discuss opposing viewpoints and competing historical theories, but blame slavery and its defenders for the conflict. The entries in the main body of the encyclopedia run from one to six pages in length and include short further-reading lists. Some explore broad topics such as slavery, medicine, and Union and Confederate economies and war strategies, but most discuss military and civilian leaders and battles. The primary-source readings include laws, speeches, and private letters that reflect contemporaneous public opinion and official reactions to the war. Black-and-white battle maps and period photographs and cartoons, with brief identification captions, supplement the text. Indexing is thorough. Although the single-volume format limits coverage and topics are generally standard for Civil War references, this book has a higher reading level and more advanced analysis than Grolier's multivolume The Civil War (2004) and is a good choice for secondary collections.—Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO
Reviewed by Mary Mueller , Oct 01, 2011
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