Duane Damon

This is a great book for anyone who wants to see a different side of the Civil War. It does discuss the war, how it was started, and how it ended, but it mainly describes how the war affected civilians before, during, and after the fighting. Heroes are pointed out and given their due credit, be it women such as Clara Barton who worked as a nurse during the war and after, and eventually founded the American Red Cross. Even people who are not famous by historical standards are mentioned in this book. One such person mentioned is Sallie Robbins Broadhead, a woman who helped tend to soldiers after Gettysburg. A paragraph from her journal is in the book, giving great description to the aftermath of the battle. There are also great pictures that back up the text, giving life to the fortunes of war. This is a great book for students to read when studying the Civil War era because it gives great insight into what life was really like for everyone not on the battlefield. This book also makes for a great research project because it introduces inventions that were developed at this time, as well as advances in the fields of newspaper printing and photography. There's also a bit of economics thrown in there with the section "The Business of War". Here, the author delves into how some people made fortunes off of the war. Great cross-curriculum teaching!… (mer)