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DRAWN WITH THE SWORD: REFLECTIONS ON THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
by James McPherson (Oxford University Press, 258 pages, $25.00). McPherson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom, here addresses many of the most enduring questions about the Civil War–including whether Northern or Southern aggression began the conflict–and offers memorable depictions of some of the great leaders on both sides of the struggle. In his final chapter, McPherson argues that professional historians have abandoned narrative history in favor of scholarly books that focus on minor historical details of interest only to other academics, thus leaving the historical education of the public in the hands of those producing film and television programs on the subject.