American Civil War: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection

Gr 8 Up—U. S. Civil War aficionados will delight in this well-researched and well-organized encyclopedia. The text is broad and comprehensive, covering topics such as military officers, battles, states, statesmen, spies, authors, philosophers, inventions, and veterans' organizations. Each entry is signed and is followed by multiple cross references and further readings. The two-columns-per-page format is nicely arranged with a comfortable font and margins. Bold-faced headings carry birth and death dates of each subject (one exception noted) and the dates of battles. Black-and-white photos and lithographs accompany many entries, and several pieces include maps or charts. An appendix in volume five lists military honors, and volume six contains 172 primary-source documents (such as Frederick Douglass's "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" and John C. Frémont's "Proclamation Freeing Slaves of Missouri") that are not often found together. Give this set very serious consideration.—Eldon Younce, Anthony Public Library, KS