About:
Civil War Curiosities: Strange Stories, Oddities, Events, and Coincidences by Webb Garrison collects a bunch of true, yet very unusual stories that happened during the American Civil War. Mr. Garrison spent his career in academia and has written over 55 books.
- 288 pages
- Publisher : Thomas Nelson
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 155853315X
My rating for Civil War Curiosities — 4
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Thoughts:
A fascinating book, choke full of information in short, informative segments. “Strange New Weapons” was the segment that sold me on this book, but the battlefield recount of individuals not being able to hear kept me reading.
Many books about the American Civil War focus on the political, or military events which shaped the war, and maybe even the country. All battles, major and minor, have been described in nauseating detail, and many are reenacted faithfully to this day. Many officers, as well as grunts, have staunchly recorded their first-hand accounts, and for that many are grateful.
Throughout Civil War Curiosities by Webb Garrison focuses on the unknown, or certainly obscure, aspects of the war. It is sprinkled with enthralling antidotes that any American Civil War buff would be fascinated to learn. The author states in the introduction that his criteria of inclusion were “interest, novelty, and brevity” and by that measure, he has succeeded.
The book does not have much substance, it’s a mostly short introduction to topics one might want to learn about. For example, the “Strange New Weapons” section simply has short paragraphs about new technologies. Guns, cannons, and bayonets were invented or improved, during the war, but certainly never made any impact on the outcome.
Because the sections, and subsections, are so short, there’s no need to read this book in one shot. There certainly isn’t a narrative to follow. One can simply look through the pages and read whatever section catches their fancy. I read the whole thing, from front to back, however. There’s a no good, or bad way to go through books such as these.
This aberrant book is a wonderful addition to any civil war library and a fascinating read for any trivia master. The author compiled a lot of known and unknown facts about the men and women who fought and lived through this trying time in American history.
Buy Civil War Curiosities from Amazon.com*
More Books by Webb Garrison*
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I bought this book
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