Reviews for April 1865 : the month that saved America

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A history of the last days of the Civil War. Many Civil War histories have attempted to explore the key roles military and civilian leaders played in preventing the combat from deteriorating into a protracted, low-intensity guerrilla conflict, but the war has been such an important part of our national consciousness for so long that it is hard to think of it in terms of particular actions undertaken by individual human beings. Winik ( On the Brink , 1996) here tries to recapture the uncertain drama of the Civil War?s waning days. He begins by reflecting on the tenuous nature of the bond between the early American states, offering evidence that many of the founding fathers did not believe that the republic could survive if it grew to encompass too large a geographic area. From this premise he quickly moves forward in time, tracing the development of the divisive issues of states? rights and slavery, which eventually threw the Union?s likelihood of survival into question. Winik offers detailed portraits of Grant and Lee and vivid descriptions of the battles by which the Union forces finally cornered the Confederate general. He also presents an engaging account of Lincoln?s assassination, reminding readers that John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators were, in fact, attempting to pull off a coup d?etat?and that attempts were made against the lives of Vice President Johnson and Secretary of State Seward the same evening. This narrative approach offers a better insight into the events than standard academic historiography, especially for the armchair historian or the military buff who is more interested in people and events rather than interpretations. Serves both as an engaging Civil War history and an object lesson in unanimity, goodwill, and civic duty. (photos and maps)


Publishers Weekly
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Though the primary focus of this book is the last month of the Civil War, it opens in the 18th century with a view of Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Winik (whose previous book, On the Brink, was an account of the Reagan administration and the end of the Cold War) offers not just a study of four weeks of war, but a panoramic assessment of America and its contradictions. The opening Jeffersonian question is: does the good of the country take precedence over that of the individual states? The question of civil union or civil war is the central question of this new work. Winik goes on to describe how a series of events that occurred during a matter of weeks in April 1865 (the fall of Richmond; Lee's graceful surrender to Grant at Appomattox, and Grant's equally distinguished handling of his foe; Lincoln's assassination), none of them inevitable, would solve Jefferson's riddle: while a loose federation of states entered the war, what emerged from war and Reconstruction was a much stronger nation; the Union had decisively triumphed over the wishes of individual states. Winik's sense of the dramatic and his vivid writing bring a fitting flourish to his thesis that April 1865 marked a turning point in American history: "So, after April 1865, when the blood had clotted and dried, when the cadavers had been removed and the graves filled in, what America was asking for, at war's end, was in fact something quite unique: a special exemption from the cruel edicts of history." Winik's ability to see the big picture in the close-up (and vice versa), and to compose riveting narrative, is masterful. This book is a triumph. (Apr. 4) Forecast: Popular history at its best, this book should appeal widely to readers beyond the usual Civil War crowd. Strong endorsements from a group of noted historians, including James M. McPherson and Douglas Brinkley, along with a 10-city author tour, should also help both review coverage and sales. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved


Library Journal
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April 1865 saw the evacuation of the Confederate capital at Richmond, the surrender of the Confederacy's two major remaining field armies, and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. These events (and more) are brought to life in Winik's (public affairs, Univ. of Maryland; On the Brink) provocative narrative of the end of the Civil War. All of the major characters, from Lincoln and Ulysses Grant to Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, are here, as are numerous other figures. Sometimes the prose is a little too breezy and breathless, and there are the occasional (minor) factual slips that will cause the veteran reader of Civil War narratives to wince. Nevertheless, it is Winik's willingness to embrace contingency, to ponder alternatives, and to raise thoughtful questions about what did (and did not) happen that raise this account above the typical and increasingly tiresome renditions of the conflict's climax. Recommended for public and academic libraries. Brooks D. Simpson, Arizona State Univ., Tempe (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

In April 1865 the Civil War appeared to be ending with a whimper rather than a bang. The Army of the Tennessee had been destroyed as an effective force, Sherman was ravaging the Carolinas, and Lee's soldiers were surviving on handfuls of parched corn. In fact, the war did end without a final paroxysm of violence, but there was nothing inevitable about that conclusion. After a career in government, Winik is currently a senior scholar at the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs. He has written a provocative account of the closing weeks of America's greatest national trial. Winik sheds light on the apparently serious Confederate plans to wage a prolonged guerrilla war. He suggests that the assassination of Lincoln could have triggered a coup in the North, and his insights into the on-again, off-again "peace" negotiations are incisive. Scholars and Civil War buffs may disagree with some of his assertions, but this fast moving, well-written chronicle will highlight obscure aspects of the war and stimulate further controversy. --Jay Freeman

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