The American Civil War

November 15, 1996
This is the third bibliography of Civil War books to be published this year, and it is the most comprehensive. Woodworth is a history professor at Toccoa Falls College, Georgia, and the author of several books and articles on the war. This massive work has 47 contributors, all distinguished scholars on the period. Some of the well-known contributors are John Marszalek, Mark Grimsley, Mark Neely, and Stephen Wise. The 47 bibliographic essays are divided into 11 subject areas (e.g., "General Secondary Sources," "Illustrative Materials," "International Relations," "Leaders, Strategy and Tactics," "The Home Front"). There is good representation of both social and military issues. Most essays range from 10 to 20 pages in length, including a bibliography at the end of the essay with full bibliographic citations. This book is intended to guide both the neophyte and the experienced Civil War scholar. The essays show trends and changes in historical interpretations and sometimes even mention areas in need of further research. A random examination of several essays shows most of the items were published since 1970. The essays cite 3,960 books, articles, dissertations, and such media as videos, television, and recordings. For example, the essay on musical and narrative recordings surveys approximately 955 titles. A random comparison of the bibliographies of 10 essays found very little duplication of titles. A large appendix provides information on 516 publishers and dealers of Civil War literature, with address and telephone number and occasionally fax and toll-free telephone number and e-mail address. The volume concludes with author, title, and subject indexes."Guide to Civil War Books" by Barbuto ["RBB" Mr 15 96] includes 320 current books and has outstanding annotations. "The Civil War in Books" by Eicher ["RBB" O 15 96] lists 1,100 historical and current books with critical annotations. In comparison, Woodworth's "American Civil War" has more entries and includes journal articles and media such as videos and recordings. It is current and extensive in its coverage. Academic, public, and Civil War collections should consider this excellent reference source for their collections. ((Reviewed November 15, 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)