The Civil War: The complete text of the bestselling narrative history of the Civil War--based on the celebrated PBS television series

Geoffrey C. Ward · Kenneth Burns

Feb 2009 · Sold by Vintage

About this ebook

Based on the celebrated PBS television series about the men and women who lived through the cataclysmic trial of our nationhood—the complete text of the magisterial illustrated work of history that The New York Times hailed as "a treasure for the eye and mind."

"The Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things.... It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads: the suffering, the enormous tragedy of the whole thing." —Shelby Foote, from The Civil War

Now Geoffrey Ward's magisterial work of history is available in a text-only edition that interweaves the author's narrative with the voices of the men and women who lived through the cataclysmic trial of our nationhood: not just Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Robert E. Lee, but genteel Southern ladies and escaped slaves, cavalry officers and common foot soldiers who fought in Yankee blue and Rebel gray.

The Civil War also includes essays by our most distinguished historians of the era: Don E. Fehrenbacher, on the war's origins; Barbara J. Fields, on the freeing of the slaves; Shelby Foote, on the war's soldiers and commanders; James M. McPherson, on the political dimensions of the struggle; and C. Vann Woodward, assessing the America that emerged from the war's ashes.

Ratings and reviews

I loved the Ken Burns series and this book is not only a wonderful companion to the show but stands on its own as a great read. It is full of interesting history, stories and personal testimonies to one of the most compelling episodes in american history. This is a great book.

Although derived from the famed PBS series, this volume is in no way "derivative." It adds essential understanding of the the Civil War and consists of fine, pellucid prose.

About the author

Geoffrey C. Ward is the author Before the Trumpet: The Young Franklin Roosevelt and A First-Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for biography. A former editor of American Heritage, Ward has also written a number of documentary films for public television, including The Civil War, Huey Long, The West, and Thomas Hart Benton (all with Florentine Films). He is a frequent contributor to Audubon, MHQ, Smithsonian, and other magazines.

Ken Burns, founder of Florentine Films, is one of the most celebrated documentary filmmakers working today.  He has produced and directed a number of award-winning films, including Huey Long, Brooklyn Bridge, The Statue of Liberty, The Shakers, The Congress, and Thomas Hart Benton. He was a producer, director, cinematographer, and co-writer of the PBS series The Civil War.

Ric Burns is a producer and writer of The Civil War and was educated at Columbia and Cambridge universities.  He is currently producing and directing a documentary history of Coney Island.