The World's Most Expensive Book?

Not what you might think... check it out here.

Time for a Celebratory Cigar

I'm thrilled to announce that the final draft of my new work has been completed. As I've mentioned before, its working title is "Old Slow Town:" A Social, Political and Military History of Detroit during the Civil War. I turned the manuscript in to Detroit's very own Wayne State University Press earlier this week which means the peer review process now begins. If all goes as hoped, we should be looking at a Spring 2013 pub. date.

This was quite a challenging book as the various social and political issues heavily present in Civil War-era Detroit, i.e. draft resistance, race relations and labor unrest, all required a significant amount of analysis and study. Such home front issues were simply not pertinent in my past works. Plus, it was quite interesting to learn how concerns over street violence coupled with the fear of Confederate raids from Canada affected the local military authorities.

By the way, the caption to this August, 1863 Harpers Weekly draft cartoon is "Don't you see the point?" Indeed.

The Army of the Pacific, 1860-1866

I'm a total novice when it comes to Civil War operations in the far west and as part of my recent interest I came across The Army of the Pacific: Its Operations in California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, plains region, Mexico, etc. 1860-1866 by Aurora Hunt (1881-1965) and published by the venerable Arthur H. Clark Co. in 1951. Readers may recall that I first wrote of this fine press when I posted on The Organization and Administration of the Union Army back in January 2011.

According to one online writer, “the name ‘Army of the Pacific’ described both Union volunteer units recruited to stay in the Pacific coast states and territories, guarding them from natives and supposed Confederate incursions, and the mix of Regular and volunteer Union units known as the ‘California Column’ sent off to deal with Confederate regulars and irregulars in Arizona and New Mexico. Although they did fight the westernmost land battle in the Civil War (at Pichacho Pass in Arizona) against a few Confederate scouts, by the time they got to New Mexico the Confederates under General Sibley had been turned back at Glorieta Pass and retreated all the way to Texas, and the Californians were put on garrison duty, had occasional Indian encounters, and engaged in minor persecution of Mormons. The ones left behind didn’t have much excitement either, with a few miscellaneous skirmishes against various tribes and now and then the arrest of some real or imaginary Confederate agents.”

The Arthur H. Clark Company published this book as the first volume in their distinguished Frontier Military series. As for the author, her study was based largely on primary sources, including information obtained directly from the soldiers' descendants and rare territorial newspapers. Though the book may at one time have been considered the standard work, it now appears to be a bit dated though still quite useful. Other criticisms (Nevins) include that at 400+ pages, it was far longer than it needed to be. Nevertheless, as it was published by the Arthur Clark Company, it has maintained a high level of desirability among first edition collectors.

Like all Clark books, the work was published in dark blue cloth covers with gold gilt lettering on the spine and top edges of the sheets. The paper was a heavy, cream-colored stock with deckled edges, just what you would expect from a fine press. This one also featured 17 sepia plates and a fold-out map. I do not believe there was a dust jacket per se with this book though one bookseller reported to me that the book came in a plain white jacket with a hole cut in the front for the book’s front panel lettering to show through. As you can see here, fine first editions are not that common, with most of those available being ex-library. One bookseller reports that 1023 copies were printed.

In more recent years, the book was reissued by Stackpole and is readily available.

Last Train From Atlanta

It's been way too long since my last post. I've been in a controlled frenzy over the past month attempting to wrap up my manuscript on the history of Detroit during the Civil War. After working on this project for just over four years, I expect to be able to send it off to the publisher no later than mid-November. From there, the peer review process will begin.

I did however, take some time out last night to speak to the good folks at the Monroe Civil War Roundtable in SE Michigan. They had a nice selection of used books for sale and from the offerings I picked up a gently used first edition of this post's featured book.

Last Train From Atlanta was written by Adolph A. Hoehling and first published in 1958 by Thomas Yoseloff. Throughout the Civil War centennial and for years after, it was an extremely popular book with the general public and was considered one of the better popular history books from its day that dealt with the Atlanta campaign. Allen Nevins noted in his Civil War bibliography that one of its better features was how it portrayed the effects of the fighting on Atlanta's citizens. In addition, Steven Woodworth cited this book in his The American Civil War: A Handbook of Literature and Research as a solid treatment that focused on Southern civilians dealing with the siege. The author's technique was to present to the reader a day by day reconstruction of the events as they occurred and the impact they had on the city's populace, as seen through the eyes of Atlanta's residents. A testament to its popularity is that it was given the Bonanza Books reprint teatment in the 1970's with those copies being most prevalent today.

First editions are bound in black cloth with silver lettering on the spine. There is no statement of printing on the copyright page though the copyright year must say 1958. As offered here, there was apparently a special limited edition, signed by the author. Despite its age, it is not a difficult book to find in first edition status nor is it an expensive title though, of course, condition is the key. That is especialy the case with this book as, due to its popularity back in the day, most copies one comes across will probably have been heavily read.

Special Fall Book Sale!!

I'm hoping to clear out some shelf space so I've decided to offer some package deals on my own books. This offer will run until I generate the needed space!

Deal #1: Buy He Hath Loosed the Fateful Lightning and Glory Was Not Their Companion at the combined price of $50 (10% off retail) and get a trade copy of Give My Love to All Our Folks for FREE!

Deal #2: Buy Orlando M. Poe: Civil War General and Great Lakes Engineer at $50 (23% off retail) and get a trade copy of Give My Love to All Our Folks for FREE!

Give My Love to All Our Folks: The Civil War and Post-War Letters of Clinton DeWitt Staring and Charles E. Staring was my homage to fine press books and the old school idea of bookmaking as art. See picture at left and here for full details. I partnered with Deep Wood Press of Mancelona, Michigan on this one to create a slender volume of previously unpublished Civil War letters in a very limited edition of only 100 copies. That edition comprised 74 signed and numbered "trade" copies, as well as 26 signed and lettered copies bound in quarter leather and slipcase.

Poe Bio Now Available as Kindle ebook.

Kent State University Press, the publisher for my biography of Union engineer Orlando M. Poe, has informed me that the book is now available as a Kindle ebook in addition to its original hardcover format. The price will be $16.49.

This is the first time one of my books has been published in this format, so I'm looking for any feedback from fellow authors or publishers as to how your works have done to date as an ebook, as well as any promotional advice. Many thanks.

Life in the North During the Civil War: A Source History

I came across this interesting title the other day while doing some research for my current book project. Published in 1966 by the University of New Mexico Press, Life in the North During the Civil War: A Source History is described as “a living record of ideological discord in the North” from Secession to Reconstruction.” Its focus is to present important primary source documents, almost in total, nestled in between the authors’ contextual commentary.

Authors George Winston Smith and Charles Judah have arranged their work in a thematic manner, writing on numerous issues that held sway on the Northern home front during the conflict. Chapters such as “Citizens as Soldiers,” “The Voice of Politics,” “The Negro’s Place,” as well as ones pertaining to the economy, social stresses, amongst others, are all presented utilizing letters, speeches, newspaper articles, diary entries, et al as the primary focus. The authors’ commentary is then woven in between each document to add valuable context and background. In so doing, the authors succinctly explore the roles played by Northern politicians, freedmen, businessmen, soldiers, and economists. (See Eicher, The Civil War in Books, #1001) Further adding to the work are plenty of period woodcuts and editorial “cartoons” that complement each chapter’s particular topic.

It is an attractive 400-page work measuring 6x9” and bound in full avocado green cloth. First editions are so stated on the copyright page (there probably were no additional printings). While the book is not uncommon in the secondary market, finding a nice copy that is not ex-library is more challenging, which is usually the case with university press titles.