With the help of a cast of thousands, including Hyslop (Contest for California: From Spanish Colonization to the American Conquest, 2012, etc.), Kagan--former publisher of Time-Life Books and editor of other Civil War titles (Great Battles of the Civil War, 2002, etc.)--has assembled a striking collection of images with some equally clear words to accompany them. The selections range from the expected to the surprising. Among the former are entries on Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, John Brown, Frederick Douglass, Clara Barton, George B. McClellan, J.E.B. Stuart and William T. Sherman--and, of course, Abraham and Mary Lincoln. But surprises appear almost everywhere. The pottery of slave David Drake, plaster casts of Lincoln's hands and face (from 1860), messages scratched inside Lincoln's watch, the various uniforms worn throughout the conflict, various surgical devices, a recipe (sort of) for hardtack, musical instruments, a lithograph of prisoners playing baseball, a violin carried by a soldier, images of early plans for winged aircraft, the chairs and tables used at Appomattox, the coffee cup Lincoln drank from the night of his assassination, the hoods worn by those convicted of and hanged for Lincoln's murder, stunning photos of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman--these are among the many delights that await readers. Most grim are the devices and inventions whose functions were to maim and kill: firearms, mortars, the Bowie knife, the accouterments of slavery. There are also plenty of images of the wounded, the dying and the dead. With each turn of the page, there are countless grisly reminders of the things human beings are capable of doing to one another: enslavement, murder, riot, combat, bombing, and on and on. For the 150th anniversary of the war, 150 lushly illustrated thematic essays about both the objects the various Smithsonian sites hold and the people associated with them.

With the help of a cast of thousands, including Hyslop (Contest for California: From Spanish Colonization to the American Conquest, 2012, etc.), Kagan--former publisher of Time-Life Books and editor of other Civil War titles (Great Battles of the Civil War, 2002, etc.)--has assembled a striking collection of images with some equally clear words to accompany them. The selections range from the expected to the surprising. Among the former are entries on Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, John Brown, Frederick Douglass, Clara Barton, George B. McClellan, J.E.B. Stuart and William T. Sherman--and, of course, Abraham and Mary Lincoln. But surprises appear almost everywhere. The pottery of slave David Drake, plaster casts of Lincoln's hands and face (from 1860), messages scratched inside Lincoln's watch, the various uniforms worn throughout the conflict, various surgical devices, a recipe (sort of) for hardtack, musical instruments, a lithograph of prisoners playing baseball, a violin carried by a soldier, images of early plans for winged aircraft, the chairs and tables used at Appomattox, the coffee cup Lincoln drank from the night of his assassination, the hoods worn by those convicted of and hanged for Lincoln's murder, stunning photos of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman--these are among the many delights that await readers. Most grim are the devices and inventions whose functions were to maim and kill: firearms, mortars, the Bowie knife, the accouterments of slavery. There are also plenty of images of the wounded, the dying and the dead. With each turn of the page, there are countless grisly reminders of the things human beings are capable of doing to one another: enslavement, murder, riot, combat, bombing, and on and on. For the 150th anniversary of the war, 150 lushly illustrated thematic essays about both the objects the various Smithsonian sites hold and the people associated with them.

Gr 9 Up-This attractive book uses artifacts and objects from the vast Smithsonian collection as the foundation for its history of the Civil War. Its 150 entries focus on important aspects of the antebellum and Civil War period, including slavery, sectionalism, the outbreak of war, battles and weapons, life on the battlefield and home fronts, Lincoln's assassination, and the war's end. Entries, which are arranged in roughly chronological order, each offer a single-page discussion of a topic and explanation of its significance. They are illustrated by one or more period or full-color photo(s) of an artifact or object that symbolizes or reflects the topic, ranging from Confederate money to the hoods used during the executions of the conspirators in Lincoln's assassination. While some of the artifacts and images have been used in other publications, many have not been published before, and as a group, they provide a comprehensive overview of the Civil War and its impact. They also show readers how physical objects can contribute to an understanding and appreciation of history. This is a beautiful and well-written book, but it assumes some reader familiarity with the Civil War, and it doesn't provide enough background information, in-depth coverage, or analysis to be very helpful to most teen researchers. It is similar in coverage and format to illustrated histories such as William J. Miller and Brian C. Pohanka's An Illustrated History of the Civil War (Time-Life, 2000) and is better suited as a browsing item for Civil War buffs or an adult audience. Mary Mueller, Rolla Public Schools, MO