Thursday, March 3, 2011

Non-fiction: Curiosities of the Civil War



From the back:

You'll discover:

  • The first setting president to be exposed to enemy fire.
  • What badgers, pigeons, and bear cubs had in common during the war.
  • Which of Stonewall Jackson's limbs received its own proper burial.
  • The turtle-shaped ship designed to douse its opponents with boiling water.
  • Which Confederate general was responsible for introducing camels to the Southwest.

My review:

The first thing I must admit is the Civil War has never been one of my favorite times in history. However, this book intrigued me from the moment I read the title. From the title I imagined it would be interesting stories about the war. I was correct, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Curiosities of the Civil War. The book is full of human interest stories about the Civil War.

There were plenty of times I was laughing as I was reading the book. The chapters I enjoyed the most were “Famous – Or Soon to Be.” This chapter read like a who's who in the Civil War. It was fascinating to read the rest of the story behind these people. Another chapter, I enjoyed was “The Names were Changed,” which was people who had changed their names. Many of these were foreign born soldiers who sought to Anglicanize their names.


I would recommend Curiosities of the Civil War to anyone who enjoys history or is a Civil War buff.


**Disclaimer**

I received this book free of charge from BookSneeze, in exchange for my honest opinion. Views expressed are mine, and I am receiving no compensation, nor was I required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.


5 comments:

Laura Frantz said...

This looks like a winner, Michelle. I'm adding it to my list. I think we're going to see a resurgence of Civil War era fiction. Let me know if you read the Carl Bacon release. I'm going to try to get in on Kindle. Bless you!

Michelle said...

It was very interesting. It's over 500 pages long. What I really liked, is that it's not just about the battles. I'm definitely not a military historian, which is why I think Civil War history has never been one of my favorites.

If the library gets the Karl Bacon book, I'll definitely check it out.

Kav said...

Did you read this book cover to cover or did you pick it up and read about different topics over time?

I'm afraid that all I know about the Civil War is from reading fiction and the occasional movie. This sounds like a great reference book though.

Michelle said...

Kav, I definitely did not read it cover to cover. I flipped through it, and found the parts that looked interesting to me.

I don't know too much about the Civil War either. It was a very good read, I thought.

Tales of Whimsy said...

Wow. This sounds really really good! I need to learn more about the civil war. Great find.