Books about War era from Amazon.com

Now featuring a new Afterword by the author, this handy paperback edition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom is without question the definitive one-volume history of the Civil War. James McPherson's fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomattox. Packed with drama and analytical insight, the book vividly recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the Civil War including the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. From there it moves into a masterful chronicle of the war itself--the battles, the strategic maneuvering by each side, the politics, and the personalities. Particularly notable are McPherson's new views on such matters as the slavery expansion issue in the 1850s, the origins of the Republican Party, the causes of secession, internal dissent and anti-war opposition in the North and the South, and the reasons for the Union's victory. The book's title refers to the sentiments that informed both the Northern and Southern views of the conflict. The South seceded in the name of that freedom of self-determination and self-government for which their fathers had fought in 1776, while the North stood fast in defense of the Union founded by those fathers as the bulwark of American liberty. Eventually, the North had to grapple with the underlying cause of the war, slavery, and adopt a policy of emancipation as a second war aim. This "new birth of freedom," as Lincoln called it, constitutes the proudest legacy of America's bloodiest conflict. This authoritative volume makes sense of that vast and confusing "second American Revolution" we call the Civil War, a war that transformed a nation and expanded our heritage of liberty..
Price: $10.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In Founding Mothers, Cokie Roberts paid homage to the heroic women whose patriotism and sacrifice helped create a new nation. Now the number one New York Times bestselling author and renowned political commentator—praised in USA Today as a "custodian of time-honored values"—continues the story of early America's influential women with Ladies of Liberty. In her "delightfully intimate and confiding" style (Publishers Weekly), Roberts presents a colorful blend of biographical portraits and behind-the-scenes vignettes chronicling women's public roles and private responsibilities.

Recounted with the insight and humor of an expert storyteller and drawing on personal correspondence, private journals, and other primary sources—many of them previously unpublished—Roberts brings to life the extraordinary accomplishments of women who laid the groundwork for a better society. Almost every quotation here is written by a woman, to a woman, or about a woman. From first ladies to freethinkers, educators to explorers, this exceptional group includes Abigail Adams, Margaret Bayard Smith, Martha Jefferson, Dolley Madison, Elizabeth Monroe, Louisa Catherine Adams, Eliza Hamilton, Theodosia Burr, Rebecca Gratz, Louisa Livingston, Rosalie Calvert, Sacajawea, and others. In a much-needed addition to the shelves of Founding Father literature, Roberts sheds new light on the generation of heroines, reformers, and visionaries who helped shape our nation, giving these ladies of liberty the recognition they so greatly deserve.

.
Price: $6.71 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Acclaimed historian Joseph J. Ellis brings his unparalleled talents to this riveting account of the early years of the Republic

The last quarter of the eighteenth century remains the most politically creative era in American history, when a dedicated group of men undertook a bold experiment in political ideals. It was a time of both triumphs and tragedies—all of which contributed to the shaping of our burgeoning nation. Ellis casts an incisive eye on the gradual pace of the American Revolution and the contributions of such luminaries as Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, and brilliantly analyzes the failures of the founders to adequately solve the problems of slavery and the treatment of Native Americans. With accessible prose and stunning eloquence, Ellis delineates in American Creation an era of flawed greatness, at a time when understanding our origins is more important than ever..
Price: $6.62 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Ranging from finely honed legal argument to dry and sometimes savage humor to private correspondence and political rhetoric of unsurpassed grandeur, the writings collected in this volume are at once the literary testament of the greatest writer ever to occupy the White House and a documentary history of America in Abraham Lincoln's time. They record Lincoln's campaigns for public office; the evolution of his stand against slavery; his pyrotechnic debates with Stephen Douglas; his conduct of the Civil War; and the great public utterances of his presidency, including the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.

For the first time, the authoritative editions of works by major American novelists, poets, scholars, and essayists collected in the hardcover volumes of The Library of America are being published singly in a series of handsome paperback books. A distinguished writer has contributed an introduction for each volume, which also includes a chronology of the author's life and career, an essay on the text, and notes..
Price: $10.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

.
Price: $17.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This handsomely illustrated volume commemorates Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday and gives rare insight into the President who shook the world—and whose words and example endure today in nations from Siberia to Mexico to Pakistan. This is the official book of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) in Springfield, Illinois that has welcomed more than one million visitors since its 2005 opening.

Using the exhibition halls as a launching point, this book offers stories, anecdotes, and never-before-seen images and artifacts from the museum’s vault. It positions Lincoln as a man of his century, a time ripe with Industrial Revolution, travel and culture, abolition, and war. Worldwide events figure into the story: Britain’s emergence as a democracy, Russia’s freeing of the serfs, Japan’s opening to foreign trade, Germany’s unity under Bismarck.

Every page reflects the humor, integrity, and unique style of leadership that made Abe Lincoln a legend. Quote boxes reveal his sayings; cartoons give a glimpse of him from domestic and foreign shores; sidebars highlight archaeological discoveries, such as the store where young Lincoln held his first job. Personal incidents tell of his special relationship with son Willy; his love for his wife; and the reverence he has inspired in such luminaries as Tolstoy, Gandhi, and Thatcher. With multiple promotional venues and copies displayed in both the Lincoln Store and the new store at Gettysburg, this book will become a centerpiece for state and national Lincoln Bicentennial celebrations..
Price: $21.94 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Lincoln measured the promise--and cost--of American freedom in lucid and extraordinarily moving prose. Here in this two volume set ("Speeches and Writings 1859-1865" and "Speeches and Writings 1832-1858"), are all the significant works, including the complete Lincoln-Douglas debates, dozens of speeches, hundreds of personal and political letters, communications to generals in the field, presidential messages and proclamations, poems, and private reflections on democracy, slavery, and the meaning of the Civil War's immense suffering..
Price: $18.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]