Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the Civil War - Softcover

Sheinkin, Steve

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1596435194 ISBN 13: 9781596435193

Publisher: Square Fish, 2009

Synopsis

Two Miserable Presidents Taking a closer look at 1860s America, Sheinkin unravels the complicated string of events that had led to The Civil War. It is a time and a war that had threatened America's very existence, revealed in the surprising true stories of the soldiers and statesmen who had battled it out. Illustrations, . Full description

About this title

Review:

Booklist
Chatty and accessible, this book does double duty: it introduces Civil War history for readers who don't know much about it and supplies browsable commentary for those familiar with the big picture. Although Sheinkin apologizes for the dull textbooks he used to write in an author's note, his experiences give him the authority to tell the history from the inside, and he supports his material with an extensive array of source notes. His background also gives him a store of lively, interesting anecdotes, which appear here. Beginning with a look at the role cotton played in the history, his fast-paced narrative is broken into short, tersely titled vignettes ("Brother against brother?" "The bloody road to Richmond"). There's no in-depth analysis, but that doesn't equate with simplistic. The horrors of slavery and battlefield slaughter are clear, as are achievements of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, John Brown, and many more... -- Hazel Rochman

Chatty and accessible, this book does double duty: it introduces Civil War history for readers who don't know much about it and supplies browsable commentary for those familiar with the big picture. Although Sheinkin apologizes for the dull textbooks he used to write in an author's note, his experiences give him the authority to tell the history from the inside, and he supports his material with an extensive array of source notes. His background also gives him a store of lively, interesting anecdotes, which appear here. Beginning with a look at the role cotton played in the history, his fast-paced narrative is broken into short, tersely titled vignettes ("Brother against brother?" "The bloody road to Richmond"). There's no in-depth analysis, but that doesn't equate with simplistic. The horrors of slavery and battlefield slaughter are clear, as are achievements of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, John Brown, and many more...--Hazel Rochman "Booklist "

About the Author:

Steve Sheinkin is the award-winning author of several fascinating books on American history, including The Notorious Benedict Arnold, which won the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for nonfiction. His recent book Bomb was a Newbery Honor Book, National Book Award finalist, and winner of the Sibert Award as well as the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. He lives in Saratoga Springs, NY.

About this edition

• Publisher: Square Fish
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1596435194
• ISBN 13: 9781596435193
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 244
• Illustrator: Robinson Tim