Sabbatical

I once read somewhere that blogging can become like an addictive drug. Not only thinking of things to post about, but also commenting at others sites and then of course, checking back to see if anyone responded and so on and so forth. Speaking solely for myself, I’d have to concur with that observation.

I had no idea what to expect when I started this blog fifteen months and close to 200 posts ago. At the time, and still for that matter, it was nothing more than a lite diversion; a means of sharing an enjoyable book collecting hobby with others of like mind, and perhaps a way to release the frustrated teacher in me. I’d say it’s been successful. The bibliographic research involved with this blog has certainly helped me learn more about various Civil War books, hit counts have steadily increased, and feedback has been positive.

But there’s been a downside, relatively speaking. It has seriously taken away from the time I could have been working on more serious stuff, like my next book for instance. For me anyway, blogging has started to give the illusion of productivity; whereas in the past I may have viewed my writing day as successful if I hammered out several pages of book-related narrative, I now measured it instead by blogging. As for my avocations, this became an unplanned reversal of priorities. After factoring in the day job and family obligations, I’ve come to realize that I can do one reasonably well but not both.

In order to refocus, I’m going to go cold turkey with this blog for the time being. My O.M. Poe biography has been in Kent State’s hands for awhile, which should have allowed me to make some headway on my next project. For the better part of the past year however, that book-length work on Detroit in the Civil War has languished while I’ve been a-bloggin’. I want to dive back into that book in the hope that it might be ready for the ACW sesquicentennial.

So for the time being, this blog is going on sabbatical. I’ll leave it up for those bibliophiles who might use it as a reference tool and I’ll certainly respond to anyone kind enough to write. Adios.

Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command

Douglas S. Freeman's Lee's Lieutenants is a cornerstone work for any Civil War library. This three-volume set was initially published during the WWII years (1942-45) by Charles Scribners Sons and according to Harwell's In Tall Cotton, "stands in its own right as one of the great works of military history." Praise is generally universal, though Freeman's tone occasionally becomes that of the Southern apologist. Nevins described it as "the ablest descriptive and evaluative study of the leading generals in Lee's army; massively documented, movingly written, highly authoritative, and faintly smug."

First edition copies seem plentiful, but like any books of this vintage, condition can be problematic. Look for the Scribner "A" on the copyright page to denote first edition status. Choice copies in jacket will obviously command premium prices. The pictured set, available here, features a rare Freeman signature and is available for a cool $5000.

The set has also recently been given the Easton Press leatherbound, gilt-edge treatment.

Upcoming Civil War Auction

For those interested in such things, Heritage Auction Galleries will be conducting their "2008 November Signature Civil War Auction" in Gettysburg, PA. on November 20-21. The entire 954-lot catalogue is online here. It looks to have only one book so far, but many artifacts and paper emphemera.

George S. MacManus Co.

I'm back from a several day business trip to the Philadelphia area which included a side trip to Gettysburg on the front end and a visit to the absolutely amazing George S. MacManus Co. (est. 1937) bookstore at the very back end. In between, it was a non-stop Phillies Phever feeding frenzy. Since Tampa Bay was the American League rep, which is where my Detroit Tigers are stationed, and since I lived in Florida for most of my life, well, you can imagine who I was silently rooting for. Needless to say, I laid low in the sports bar on Wednesday night.

The trip to the MacManus shop was simply breathtaking. Never in my life have I seen such quantity and quality of rare Civil War books within the walls of one shop. As is mentioned in their current Civil War catalogue, MacManus acquired a significant portion of the inventory of the famous Chapel Hill Rare Books when its owner, Douglas O'Dell, passed away last year. Much of that stock has now been incorporated into their own offerings. 19th-century regimentals in pristine condition filled an entire bookcase. Multiple copies of scarce and rare Neale titles, some in jacket. Fine first editions from the 1940's and 1950's, all in crisp dust jackets. I could go on and on. I ended up digging deep into my pocket to buy a beautiful first edition 2-volume set of The Long Arm of Lee in the original slipcase. It was the only one of the four first edition sets in stock that had the slipcase.

I make it to Philly about three times a year for business purposes. This shop will be a standard stop going forward. Civil War bibliophiles visiting the City of Brotherly Love should do likewise. But be forewarned - this store can be dangerous to the thickness of one's wallet! :-)

McCain and Obama Share Their Favorite Books

From The Christian Science Monitor 10/29/2008 -

"It’s not the first question they generally toss out to presidential candidates, but Katie Couric finally got around to it and asked John McCain and Barack Obama to name their favorite books.

Their choices are illuminating – and yet at the same time completely unsurprising.

Both candidates stuck with American classics, although of different generations. McCain says his favorite book is Ernest Hemingway’s 1940 Spanish civil war novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Barack Obama’s favorite is Toni Morrison’s 1977 novel “Song of Solomon.”

The appeal of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” for McCain is easy to understand. Robert Jordan, the protagonist, is an American fighting on the side of the Republicans in Spain. The mission he is sent on, to blow up a bridge, is a doomed one, but Jordan’s greatest fear is being captured and tortured by the enemy. The horrors of war and the intense camaraderie of wartime are major themes throughout the book. Interestingly, there are also occasional discussions of politics and even (at least once) taxes.

“But are there not many fascists in your country?” one of the Republican fighters asks Jordan. “There are many who do not know they are fascists but will find it out when the time comes,” he replies.

Obama’s attraction to “Song of Solomon” is equally easy to understand. The book is the life story of an African-American man named Macon “Milkman” Dead III, set during the 1950s and ’60s.

The narrative weaves together the points of view of various members of Milkman’s family. It touches on themes of identity, family relationships, the rootlessness of African-Americans who live in northern cities, and the effects of slavery. Part of Milkman’s quest is his search for connection to a community. “It was a good feeling to come into a strange town and find a stranger who knew your people,” he thinks at one point. “All his life he’d heard the tremor in the word: ‘I live here, but my people . . .’ or: ‘She acts like she ain’t got no people,’ or: ‘Do any of your people like there?’ But he hadn’t known what it meant: links.”

Two very different books – chosen by men with two very different world views."

My Visit to the Gettysburg VC

Much ink has been spilled over the past several months regarding the new Gettysburg Visitors Center and whether or not it has lived up to what different folks feel it should be. Based on what I’ve read, most of the commentary has been negative, especially in the pages of Civil War News with much of the opinion being that there is too much focus on slavery and “context” and not enough space devoted to the displaying of the artifact-rich Rosensteel Collection.

I have also weighed in on the slavery and context issues but not having seen the new VC, I based my general observations on those battlefields and museums I have visited, along with some of the commentary from the NPS. So needless to say, I was ready to give the Gettysburg VC a stern once-over when I had the opportunity to visit it this past Monday. I admit that I had visions of political correctness run amok and was already preparing for a scathing review.

Well, it’s not going to happen. Color me suitably impressed with what I saw and let me tell you why. First off, I’m not a ballistics or weapons guy. I don’t know the differences between revolver A and B or the nuances of one sword manufacturer versus another. Therefore, the half-dozen or so glass cases of various weaponry were more than adequate for me.

I should point out that the one-fee-for-everything including admission is now in effect. I paid $7.50 for admittance to the museum, Cyclorama painting, and the 22-minute film entitled “New Birth of Freedom.” I found that film to be an excellent introduction. Yes, it starts off by discussing slavery and how it shaped the war, yet by my watch, over half the film was still devoted to the battle of Gettysburg. The museum, by the way, is officially named the “Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War.” Like the film, it delves into the causes of the war as well as the war as a whole, nevertheless much of the museum is still devoted to the battle.

As for the bookstore/gift shop, there were far more books than I was expecting. Every major Gettysburg book I could think of from the past ten years or so was in stock, including the major offerings from authors such as Sears, Pfanz, Reardon, Wert, Wittenberg-Petruzzi, etc. Not only Gettysburg-oriented, but plenty of other battles, Union bios, Confederate bios, and every social aspect of the war including women, slavery, memoirs, etc. In addition, I was surprised to see quite a few long OP titles from Kessinger Publishers, which specializes in print-on-demand reprints of much older titles.

Regarding the debate as to how the VC was sold compared to what it is, well, I am simply not well-versed enough on those past promises to offer an educated opinion.

As for demographics, I’d say the mix of visitors was pretty evenly split between male and female, with average age definitely 40+, though there were several charter tours of high school/college age kids. I did not see any persons of color anywhere in the Visitors Center or during my audio tour of the battlefield. As I've written before, African-Americans as a group may simply have little interest in the American Civil War, regardless of how much "context" the NPS throws at the issue.

All in all, I was quite impressed with the new VC. Ample room, ample parking, good interpretation with plenty of focus on the core topic but just the right amount of context to aid the novice.

Off to the Gettysburg VC

I'm heading to southeast Pennsylvania for a several-day business trip, however I'm also leaving a day earlier than necessary so that I can take a side trip to Gettysburg. My intent is to do a thorough visit to the new Gettysburg Visitors Center and see first-hand what all the hubbub is about. I'll post my comments mid-week.