Take them for what they are worth. Note: A few of these are from 2004.
Best Civil War Blog: Dimitri Rotov’s “Civil War Bookshelf“: The first and still the most thought provoking. That said, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the blogs on my list and have learned a great deal. Thanks guys!
Best Overall Civil War Military History: Earl J. Hess, Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War (University of North Carolina Press, 2005).
Best Overall Non-Military: John M. Coski, The Confederate Battle Flag (Harvard University Press, 2005).
Best Biography: Ethan S. Rafuse, McClellan’s War (University of Indiana Press, 2005).
Best Regimental History: Mark H. Dunkelman, Brothers One and All: Esprit de Corps in a Civil War Regiment (Louisiana State University Press, 2004).
Best Confederate Study: Peter S. Carmichael, The Last Generation: Young Virginians in Peace, War, and Reunion (University of North Carolina Press, 2005).
Best Union Study: Oh my, this year’s reading was a little off balance.
Best Slavery Study: Melvin P. Ely’s Israel on the Appomattox (Knopf, 2004).
Best Memory Study: W. Fitzhugh Brundage, The Southern Past: A Clash of Race and Memory (Harvard University Press, 2005).
Best Edited Collection: Peter Wallenstein and Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Virginia’s Civil War (University of Virginia Press, 2005).
Best Social History: Amy M. Taylor, The Divided Family in Civil War America (Univesity of North Carolina Press, 2005).
Best Myth Buster: Bruce Levine, Confederate Emancipation: Southern Plans to Free and Arm Slaves During the Civil War (Oxford University Press, 2005).
Best Gettysburg Book: Margaret Creighton, The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg’s Forgotten History (Basic Books, 2004).
Best Study of Black Soldiers: Donald R. Shaffer, After the Glory: The Struggles of Black Civil War Veterans (University of Kansas Press, 2004).
I could have easily picked another set of books whose quality is just as impressive as the above list. This is a good sign that the field continues to attract talented and imaginative historians. Congratulations to the winners; prizes are in the mail.
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