Just in case some of you out there are thinking about what to get me for Christmas, please do not buy me Jay Wertz’s, The Civil War Experience: 1861-1865. Here is a positive review from Amazon:
Overall, I found this to be a very good book. I am a Civil War fanatic, with over 1600 volumes in my collection, but I’m glad to have this addition to my library. The reading level is fine for teens and advanced pre-teens, as well as adults. This would make an excellent gift for anyone who likes the Civil War. The attachments and inserts are what makes this book so appealing to me. I would have rated it 5 stars, except there is a disappointing mistake with one of the attachments. One of the attachments is labeled as a map of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, but when I unfolded the large map, I found it to be a map of northern Georgia! I hope that all of the copies of this book do not have the same error, but I imagine they do, as there are no other fold-out map attachments in the book.
The book is essentially a tour of Civil War battlefields narrated by Jeff Shaara. Doesn’t that fact alone quality this as fiction? In addition the book includes reproductions of letters and other historical documents. I guess the idea is that the reader will be able to empathize more easily with the past. Needless to say, Amazon notes that others who bought this title also bought, The Civil War: Strange and Fascinating Facts by Burke Davis and The Civil War Trivia and Fact Book by Web Garrison. What a surprise. There are plenty of good books out there by people who have spent a great deal of time researching and writing. Think before you lay down your hard earned money.
Mr. Wertz, — Thank you for pointing out my error. I only wish you had noticed it earlier. Good luck with your book.
You are incorrect in tying Jeff Shaara’s battlefield guide in with “The Civil War Experience:1861-1865.” There is no relationship. That is a title from a different publisher. It is true as the Amazon.com reader stated, the printer inserted the wrong map in one of the 2-page spreads, a Sherman campaign map of NW Georgia that was deleted do to space. Future editions will contain the correct Hotchkiss map. You are entitled to your opinion of my work, but get your facts straight.
JW