5 comments about The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem.

1. John Coski's significant achievement: he has managed to bring a historian's neutral perspective to an otherwise highly-charged controversy. He begins with the flag's initial design (it was an alternative design for the first Confederate national flag, actually proposed by the design committee's chair, William Porcher Miles) and with its use in battle (adopted in late 1861 at the urging of General Beauregard who observed that the national flag resembled the Union's flag too closely, causing confusion on the battlefield). Coski then lays the groundwork for the flag's initial post-war significance as a memorial marker and a historical honor among Confederate heritage groups. With superbly-documented detail, he traces the flag's use by the (second) Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, by southerners in the US Armed forces during the Second World War, by "Dixiecrats" in the 1948 presidential campaign, by southern college students starting in the late 1940s, by those caught up in the "flag craze" of 1951, by pro-segregationist/anti-civil rights activists in the 1950s, and through the frictions of the past 50 years.
   
   He shows how the flag "became an aggressively racist symbol only after World War II and the Civil Rights movement", and explores with great sensitivity how the flag has two conflicting but potentially overlapping meanings for its users: one, as a symbol of the Confederacy-a historical icon, and second, as a symbol for a major (alleged) principle underlying the Confederacy, the racism that justified slavery. Whether advanced simply as "a symbol of our heritage" by proud Southerners, or as an assertion of a "redneck" political/cultural position, the confusion over these meanings fans the flames of the "flag wars" that still rage in our American public discourse.
   
   The text reflects intensive research and provides superb footnotes. It was delightful to see an article from NAVA's scholarly journal Raven (which I edit) cited in the text, quoting author Rosalind Urbach Ross describing the Confederate Battle Flag as "the second American flag", and to read the excellent treatment of the Georgia state flag adopted in 2003 (for which NAVA member Ed Jackson won the Vexillonnaire Award for his role in its design, and during which the Georgia General Assembly members referred to NAVA's flag-design guidebook Good Flag, Bad Flag).
   
   In a fascinating irony, the Southern hereditary organizations, Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) and United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), have long fought to restrict the use of Confederate flags to events and sites directly tied to Civil War heritage (such as cemeteries and monuments), decrying its misuse by "slack-jawed teenagers": this has put them in the difficult position of defending the flag itself against attacks (for example, supporting the right to wear the flag on a T-shirt), yet advocating for its more-limited use (for example, opposing the wearing of the flag on a T-shirt).
   
   The author serves as historian and library director at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia. His evenhanded approach demonstrates a triumph of professionalism over regionalism, and results in a solid and informative treatment of an important contemporary issue in flag usage.
   
   Edward B. Kaye
   Editor, Raven, A Journal of Vexillology
   North American Vexillological Association



2. This gives a detailed history of the confederate flag(s) and its use for a variety of purposes in its long history. It truly means many things to many people--history and heritage and in equal measure oppression and ostracism. Both are right. The author does not take sides but allows each side to understand how others' perceeptions are shaped. Superb



3. The confederate battle flag is "an enigma wrapped in a riddle"
   to historians. Was it:
   a. A southern symbol of brave warriors fighting and dying to
   protect their southland against the federal government; preserve
   states right and slavery?
   b. A pernicious symbol of racism and hatred of African-Americans?
   c. A historical flag from American history that deserves a place in museums and sites but has no place flying over the
   state house in such states as Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and
   South Carolina.
   d. A divisive and ugly symbol of segregation which needs to be
   furled since it assaults our African-American citizens.
   e. A symbol of such far right groups as the KKK and Citizens
   Councils which needs to be folded and put in history's attic
   The fine historian John Coski from the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Va. shows us in this scholarly, detailed and objective look at the confederate battleflag and the other flags of the Confederate States of America that this
   flag is and has been all of the above. The Confederate Flag will:
   a. Always be a part of the American scene-love it or hate it.
   b. Ambiguous in its meaning to different people who remember
   their ancestors who fought for Dixie or remember the bad old days of chattel slavery.
   c. He looks at heritage groups such as the Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans as well as
   black groups which oppose the flag.
   As the ancestor of men who died for the Confederacy and were buried in confederate draped splendor I can clearly see both
   sides of the issue. Unfortunately I conclude that the flag is a
   symbol of racism and opppression and should be used only in a
   historical context to remember the Confederate soldiers' brave
   sacrifice. US Grant once said of the Confederacy, "Never did so
   many good men die for so bad a cause (the perpetuation of slavery)."
   Not everyone will agree with my personal view but this is a
   book which should be read by all interested Americans black or
   white or yellow or brown. We need to work together as Americans
   free of prejudice and hatred to maximize our many freedoms.
   Coski has done an excellent job of research; he understands
   the flag flap controversies with expertise.



4. An excellent attempt at surveying the whole complex and vexed history of a flag that could potentially be a legitimate symbol of regional identity for the 21st century South, but which carries so much historic baggage that the likelihood of its successful transformation into a symbol of both black and white Southerners is slight. It is also highly unlikely that any of Coski's excellent research will change anyone's mind. He has some good recommendations for commonsensical approaches to the flag, though, and it would be nice if the book succeeded in encouraging flag enthusiasts to consider all the levels of meaning the flag has, instead of tuning out the more negative meanings, and encouraging flag opponents to ASK people why they display the flag, instead of just assuming the worst. It's all about communication, folks.
   
   One of the things I particularly like about the book is that Coski gives due attention to the use of the flag as rowdy-boy kitsch, a use that is not racially charged (or not much) and which often gets lost in the noise when the pro- and anti-flag groups are having at it.



5. Not a bad read if you want more truthful information to correct some things you have been taught wrong. Read it with an open mind and youll learn a thing or two you might not have already known.

5 comments about The Robert E. Lee Family Cooking and Housekeeping Book.

1. Anyone who is interested in knowing more about the personal side of Gen. Robert E. Lee and the people who stood behind him and allowed him to become great (his family) will enjoy this insight into their everyday lives and the heritage the author (Lee's great-granddaughter) has had to live up to throughout her life.

   I would strongly recommend this.




2. This book is a great one for providing us a glimpse into life over 100 years ago. It is hard to imagine what a woman had to do back then to create the genteel life. Every household had to be self-sufficient, as this remarkable volume shows, making its own foodstuff, soap and cleansers. I loved this book and have shared it with good friends.



3. I'm seventh cousin to U.S. Grant but have always had tremendous respect for, and interest in, the family of General Robert E. Lee. Altho we know that General Lee was a man of impecable morals and a champion of valor and honor, less has been known of his immediate family. Anne Carter Zimmer's book gives us a window in time into the life of the family of her great grandparents and a look at 19th century housekeeping. I grew up in Ohio before moving South and some of Mary Lee's household hints were utilized by my grandmother and mother. This is a fantastic book, warm, humorous, informative and with photos and shetches enough to make one sense that they might have felt at home in the Lee household.
   
   Please, Anne, let us hear from you in the future. I'd very much like to know more about your singular family!



4. I learned more about the personalities in the Washington and Lee families and the history of food. It was really enjoyable.



5. The author, a descendant of the Lee family, has turned a family manuscript cookbook into a really useful book. The history is well researched and the recipes are thoroughly tested and worked out for the "modern" kitchen. For each recipe, the author discusses the recipe, and how it was interpreted. A model of what can be done with a manuscript cookbook by smart, hardworking women.
   
   If you want a comprehensive introduction to the American table, or at least the upper class Southern table, the combination of Martha Washington's Cookery Booke (edited by Karen Hess; the title is misleading, the ms is much older), and Mary Randolph's "The Virginia Housewife" cover the 16th-17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

2 comments about Battle Flags of Texans in the Confederacy.

1. This is a very good book for anyone interested in Confederate flag. Many good illustrations and good history provided for each flag. It provides much information on Confederate Texas flags that have not been given much press. I strongly recommend this book.



2. This book was very informative and well written. The descriptions and pictures add to the A plus rating delegated to this inspirational piece of historical work. I'd recommend the book to any serious student of the Civil War era.

2 comments about Flags of the Union, The: An Illustrated History (Flags of the Civil War).

1. I own both this book and the matching one on the Confederacy. Both of these books are incredibly informative and very interesting. The pictures in this book give you a prespective on life that the people lived in the 1860's. If you have an interest in the Civil War I highly reccommend this book and the matching one on the Confederacy.



2. Mr. Cannon has produced an excellent compilation of the flags used by the North during the US Civil War. I highly recommend it as a history and geography teacher. As an author myself I appreciate the style of presentation he uses in this book. I also recommend his companion book, "Flags of the Confederacy".

5 comments about Flags of the Confederacy, The: An Illustrated History (Flags of the Civil War).

1. I own both this book and the matching one of the Union. Both of these books belong in any Civil War hhistorians collection. Not only is this a good book for those who have found a new interset in the Civil War, but a well informed historian will ejoy this book too. The photos of the armaments, uniforms and flags will complete any book collection on the Civil War. This and the matching Union books are must buys.



2. Devereaux D. Cannon is an expert on vexillology (the study of flags). This book offers a history, profiles, design specs and an overview of the various flags (national flags, battle flags and naval ensigns) that were utilized by the Confederacy. The book features several pages with glossy photos of the various flags of the Confederacy. It features even the little known flags. Cannon's book has inspired flag maker's to revive the old flags in addition to the 3 national flags, the battle flag and the naval ensign. This book is must have for flag gurus, Civil War buffs and southern partisans.



3. Mr. Cannon has produced an excellent compilation of the flags used by the South during the US Civil War. I highly recommend it as a history and geography teacher. As an author myself I appreciate the style of presentation he uses in this book. I also recommend his companion book, "Flags of the Union".



4. I really liked this book it helped my with alot of questions I had thank you



5. The Appendix contains a reproduction of the original Bonnie Blue Flag sheet music (not merely some "lyric sheet") which contains the line "Fighting for our liberty, with treasure, blood and toil" as opposed to the "fighting for our property" version. Also detailed is pre-Confederate history of the Bonnie Blue Flag which I found particularly helpful in my studies of Florida area history. A fine sourcebook for those interested in the wide variety and development of flags during the War of Southern Independence.

5 comments about Tracing Your Civil War Ancestor.

1. My father purchased a Civil War era pistol engraved with the name of the owner and his regiment. He turned to me and my years of genealogical research experience to help him find information on the gun's owner. I was at a loss because I had avoided the maze of military research, not knowing the how's and where's. Well, not any more! Bertram Groene's "Tracing Your Civil War Ancestor" answered years of questions I've had in a clear, concise and very readable book. Not only do I now know where to find information for my father, but I can delve into the military background of my Civil War ancestors and my Revolutionary War ancestors. Anyone who served in innumerable wars can be found using Groene's book. A must have for your library because you're bound to have a vet.



2. There are thousands of volumes of information about the U.S. Civil War. There are even entire libraries specializing on the subject. So where do you begin?

   Groene provides an excellent launching point by describing the most significant U.S. Civil War references, and he suggests not only where to search but how.

   He goes into considerable detail on how to use the 128-volume Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion (OR) reference, and it 31-volume naval counterpart (ORN). He also suggests resources for regimental histories that will help you trace the histories of higher-ranking officers and get information covering everything from the regiment's mustering to the disbanding of its survivors.

   There's a large section in the book devoted to identifying U.S. Civil War equipment and researching the backgrounds of its owners. Groene shares his own research experiences regarding how a name on a sword or pistol has often lead to the discovery of an interesting chain of events.

   This book is ideal whether you are a genealogist, a U.S. Civil War historian or a weapons collector.




3. Packed full of information if your serious about your Civil War Ancestors this is the book to get. I found it very helpful on how to obtain information on my ancestors, most of them confederates!!! I would reccomend this book very highly.



4. This book will be invaluable to any genealogist, even the very experienced. Groene tells you where to begin, where to write, where to go, and what to look for. Includes instructions to identify and verify Civil War-era weapons and accoutrements for interested collectors.



5. This book sets out resources, ideas, and materials which could prove to be useful in identifying Civil War-era ancestors. It helped me quite a bit, although I was lucky enough to find other resources not identified in this book. Without this book the job would have been, at the very least, far more time-consuming and difficult.
   
   A little thin, but most of what you'll need is here.

2 comments about Civil War Research Guide: A Guide for Researching Your Civil War Ancestor.

1. This is a common sense and practical way to learn the ins and outs of finding out information on an ancestor who may have served in the Civil War. It's well written and informative, providing a step-by-step approach to gathering that information. People are always interested in finding out what their ancestor may have done in the war. This guide gives you the advice on how to gather that information, but also ways to expand your knowledge base, by pursuing information on their regiment, division, or corps. A great little book!



2. Good guide for research of a civil war person in your family. Has topics and special interest things that a person can look up and check out. A good place to start if you are not completely sure of your research for your family member during this time period. Also if you are simply interested in that time period it is a good read for you. You may find all sorts of things that you may have overlooked.

2 comments about The Civil War in Missouri, Day by Day, 1861 to 1865.

1. I'm a huge fan of Missouri history and Civil War history and love this book. I haven't completely finished reading it yet...but it seems well researched and detailed. A must have for the Missouri history or Civil War in Missouri researcher.



2. My interest in the Civil War and study of it primarily relates to the events in and around Missouri between 1855 and 1865. I have dozens of books on the Civil War and this is one of my favorites. I initially read it cover to cover, and since that time have often returned to it to read specific 'days/dates' to research references made in other Civil War readings. If you're interested in the details of Civil War in Missouri, this book is a must have. I own several of the Bartel's civil war books and all are well worth the money for those interested in reading about more than the conventional treatises that focus on the 'big/major' battles and actions taking place in the East and Southern states.

1 comments about Gettysburg in 3D: A Look Back in Time: With Built-in Stereoscope Viewer - Your Glasses to the Past!.

1. All of the books in this series are great. As a stereocard maker and enthusiast, I was excited about the release of these books.
   Good points: Excellent price! Excellent construction with the fold out viewer in the cover and excellent graphics giving it an 'antique' feel. Some very rare views are presented that would cost a fortune to purchase. The descriptions originally printed on the card's verso are reproduced here on the preceding page to each image so that they can be viewed and read all at once... And, did I mention the excellent price?
   Weak points: Some cards which already suffered from poor image quality are made 'grainy' by the halftone printing. A few of the images are not in 3D. A few images have the left and right images reversed. While the original cards may have been this way, the least they could have done was correct them or note the error in the descriptions.
   Still, these few and minor weaknesses do not detract from the overall quality of the books. Nothing can really describe seeing historical moments and people in 3D.These books should be in classrooms. I look forward to the next 2 releases in the series.

5 comments about The Great Plains.

1. In the mid-1930s, this book won the Loubat Prize as the best work published over a five year period. In 1950, a national panel of historians selected The Great Plains as the most significant historical work by a living author. This book continues to receive attention as reflected in the bibliographies of current books dealing with aspects of the American West.

   In 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner's essay "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," outlined his Frontier Theory. Turner asserted that the frontier was the decisive factor in creating an American nation distinct from other nations; that the frontier created dominant traits of individualism, freedom, materialism, originality, et. al. Turner called the frontier a "safety valve" of abundant resources which shopuld be exploited for the benefit of the national good. Turner's theory foresaw progress from the simple to the complex.

   Webb's "The Great Plains" modifies Turner's theory by pointing out the steady progression of settlement westward from the timbered and well watered Atlantic Coast to the edge of the Great Plains; the 98th Meridian, an "institutional fault line." Webb contended the great plains were neglected until all lands that were timbered and well watered were taken; that pioneers "jumped" across to the Pacific Slope where they could also employ long-standing techniques that had been successful in the East.

   Not until the post Civil War era were pioneers able to settle the great plains (characteristics: a level surface, an absence of timber, and a deficiency of rainfall), and then only by drastically altering or changing their previous frontier techniques. According to Webb, westerners on the great plains became progressive because they relied upon change in order to overcome their harsh environment. The pioneer used what was given him and the results astonished the world.

   Great plains pioneers had to build houses without timber, burn fires without wood, carve furrows in soil so matted and tough an ordinary wood or iron plow would snag in the sod or skitter across its surface like a stick over ice, draw water from an arid or semi-arid land, and grow crops that could exist with little water. Webb contends adaptation and innovation in the development and use of new or existing products and techniques allowed the hardy pioneers to conquer their environment. In essence, often reverting from the complex to the simple - "geographic reality."

   This book is interesting and easily read. Webb's research ranges from the Indians, Spaniards, Americans, cattle, and water - encompassing the esoteric and the simple. For example, he delves into the Land Law of the West, in all its complexity (written by Webb 68 years ago) and the parallel and distinct differences in sign language used by deaf mutes and the plains Indians.

   Webb's scholarly research is reflected in the extensive bibliography that follows each chapter. The index is useful and annotated to identify areas of relationship when warranted.

   The accolades given this book over the years is well deserved. Webb's innovative study is fascinating and expands the reader's knowledge of the great plains as it contains a wealth of information on the history of the region. Webb's later book "The Great Frontier" was also influential and controversial. Both books are the hallmark of Walter Prescott Webb's long and distinguished career.




2. So many people use the cliche "this is the best book I've ever read" when critiquing it. I mean it. This book, 70 years old this year, is a brilliant historical work. Webb calls the 98th meridian an "institutional fault line" that required alteration or abandonment of all the laws and implements used in pioneering east of the line. Webb offers the windmill, the six-shooter, and barbed wire as three examples of inventive genius that allowed pioneers to settle on the Great Plains. Webb cites Eastern land laws, as well as the old English common law, as impractical when used on the Plains. Interestingly, Webb states that the West was lawless in part because settlers had to disobey these impractical land laws in order to survive on the Plains. Webb examines the Great Plains from a multitude of angles to substantiate his thesis. He successfully defends it, and in the process creates a work that is of great interest to people from many walks of life.



3. We traveled across Wyoming, down the Colorado-Nebraska border, crossed the narrow panhandle of Oklahoma, and continued southward through the high plains to Amarillo and Lubbock. It was long day. Temperatures reached 106 degrees. Our return from Wyoming to east Texas is never easy.
   
   The great plains are awesome, stretching forever in all directions. Barb wire fences, lonely windmills, widely scattered cattle, and some isolated ranch and farm houses are among the few landmarks. How did the early pioneers react to this vast barrier extending from Mexico to Canada?
   
   Walter Prescott Webb's acclaimed history, The Great Plains, is a fascinating examination of how our extensive plains shaped American history. For more than two hundred years settlers had pushed westward, largely along navigable rivers, and tamed a wilderness with the axe, the plow, and the rifle. But in the mid-1800s this westward movement encountered a new world, a vast expanse lacking forest, navigable rivers, and adequate rainfall. The lessons of the past few centuries proved irrelevant in this new, formidable wilderness.
   
   Webb argues that the Spanish (and later the Mexicans) failure to colonize the area that is now western United States was due to their inability to defeat the plains Indians, especially the Apaches and Comanches in Texas. Travel from San Antonio to Santa Fe was not easy; the route was southward deep into Mexico to Durango and then back west and northward to Santa Fe. The direct route westward across the plains was Indian country.
   
   As the American settlers ventured onto the plains after the Civil War, they were aided by an explosion of innovations, especially the Samuel Colt revolver (tipped the balance away from the Indians), the barb wire fence (made fencing possible), and the self-operating windmill (made water available). And the railroads made freight and livestock transportation possible between the sparsely populated great plains and the populated, industrialized eastern states.
   
   Webb describes in exciting detail the short, remarkable period of the cowboys, the cattle drives, and the cattle barons. Indelibly engraved on the American psyche, this period was already history by 1930 as Webb offered his insightful thoughts on the settlement of our mid-continent.
   
   I can think of only one other history of the American West that compares with this remarkable work, and that is that great book by Ray Allen Billington, Westward Expansion. Before your next travel across our endless plains, I encourage you to read Walter Prescott Webb's fascinating history of The Great Plains.



4. I've lived most of my 57 years on the plains, but enough elsewhere to understand specific differences; yet this book, written in 1931, taught me an abundance of information which I'd never known but which helped me empathize with the backdrop of my ancestors, and the competitive cultures on the plains. How the East failed to understand the implications of the plains topographical and climatic distinctives abounds yet today. So much senseless and ill-fitted government policy was applied to the plains, yet this book prophetically enables us to comprehen why past and present issues continue to be mishandled, water, foremost of these. It's unfortunate that wise water management has not progressed since his time in the same way that dryland farming practices have.
   
   'How we got here' is what Webb will tell you in the most insightful fashion. I reread many paragraphs, not because I didn't understand them, but because his language was packed with so much meaning, not a superfluous word one, I wanted to savor it again.



5. Couldn't put the book down. Excellent author who carries the story along with gusto. Full of references and detail about all aspects of the Great Plains. A book for everyone no matter that their interest might not have included the great plains.