(Part 2) Best american civil war biographies according to redditors

One. The Drama of a Gifted Child by Alice Miller

Two. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Three. The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone De Beauvoir

Four. The Plague by Albert Camus

Five. Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

Six. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Seven. The Atheist Muslim by Ali Rizvi

Eight. A World of Three Zeros by Muhammad Yunus

edit: numbers didn’t show

Clandestines is good, although its nonfiction: http://www.akpress.org/2006/items/clandestines

days and nights of love and war (not to be confused with the crimething book) is good as well, also nonfiction: http://www.amazon.com/Days-Nights-Love-Eduardo-Galeano/dp/1583670238

Homage to catalonia (spanish civil war by george orwell): http://www.amazon.com/Homage-Catalonia-George-Orwell/dp/0156421178

hmm, sorry, can't think of any 'fiction' off the top of my head though. If i do think of any i'll message you.

This really depends on what aspects of the Civil War you are looking to learn about. If you're just looking for a general overview of the entire war it's hard to go wrong with James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom. If you're looking for a shorter read I would recommend Bruce Catton's single volume history called The Civil War. These are common recommendations, but for good reason.

If you're interested in specific battles or topics, let me know and I may be able to recommend something.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

>by 1860, there were more millionaires (slaveholders all) living in the lower Mississippi Valley than anywhere else in the United States. In the same year, the nearly 4 million American slaves were worth some $3.5 billion, making them the largest single financial asset in the entire U.S. economy, worth more than all manufacturing and railroads combined.

-Source

Interesting the quote is denounced because it was assumed the letter was a fraud without providing any evidence. It references a book but searching through the publication for key words yields not a single hit in regards to this. The question to ask is what would John Nicolay have to gain by creating this supposed "fraudulent work" of Lincoln in 1860? I can't say for sure but I have learned over the past few years not to trust Snopes any more.

I can't believe no one has said The Civil War narrated by Shelby Foote. This is the best documentary of the Civil War.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniatures_game

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6213970-the-ascent-of-george-washington

http://www.amazon.com/War-As-I-Knew-It/dp/0395735297/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1QZEA8YP04DW3WJEW5RY

The bashing on officers is just what I do and yes the whole thing with Hannibal is speculation on my part.

Bad Men: Guantanamo Bay And The Secret Prisons

I believe that this is correct, at least thats what Make Me a Map of the Valley: The Civil War Journal of Stonewall Jackson's Topographer.

They are. His first sentence was that secession isn't reactionary, when in fact the secessions of 1860-1861 were reactionaries.

The great irony is of course, is that in trying to defend their way of life and their institutions, they destroyed them. While I don't buy all of those arguments I think many of them ring true. http://www.amazon.com/The-Confederacy-as-Revolutionary-Experience/dp/0872497801/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381347304&sr=8-1&keywords=the+confederacy+as+a+revolutionary+experience

EDIT: I will also say is full of crap when he says that the conservative planters were not fans of secession, considering they planned it all. Just a quick look shows that all major Confederate officials were slaveholders along with all those who were "fire eaters", the men who planned secession. I would love to see this mans sources because they are some pretty wild claims.

I don't think it matters. Read anything you find interesting or entertaining. The last two books I finished were this and this - neither of them particularly dense but both of them made me just a little bit more educated and you can't beat that. I'm also drudging through ASOIAF (is that right?) book 4. :)

I've got three books that would be pretty good. If you only read one, I would suggest the last one that I've listed. It focuses on US history after WWII. Not gonna lie, but most people in the US don't seem to care about much from events earlier than, oh, Desert Storm. This will give you a good idea of what has lead up to things more recent.

First is "That's Not in My American History Book" http://www.amazon.com/Thats-Not-American-History-Book/dp/158979107X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406744669&sr=8-1&keywords=thats+not+in+my+history+book

Second is "Lies my Teachers Told Me"
http://www.amazon.com/Lies-My-Teacher-Told-Everything/dp/0743296281/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1406744669&sr=8-2&keywords=thats+not+in+my+history+book

Lastly: American Dreams: The United States Since 1945
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143119559/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bonus books:
American Revolution:
http://www.amazon.com/The-American-Revolution-History-Chronicles/dp/0812970411/ref=pd_sim_b_14?ie=UTF8&refRID=1QADK50FADAGE3XG7JGE
Civil War:
http://www.amazon.com/Civil-War-Curiosities-Oddities-Coincidences/dp/155853315X/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406745439&sr=1-6&keywords=US+Civil+War+books


Edit: This is a monster looking book, but it is visual as well. (Okay it is a monster book) but it touches on nearly everything. I've used it as a reference multiple times during college and Kurin is fairly spot on with his assessments.

http://www.amazon.com/Smithsonians-History-America-101-Objects/dp/1594205299/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406745533&sr=1-1&keywords=a+smithsonian+book+of+history

War Journey: Diary of a Tamil Tiger https://www.amazon.in/dp/0143417363/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_qwR4DbW1ZFPGP