Tennessee Books

This collection of essays is a revelation. From the fractured loyalties of mountain people to speculation about and examination of the mountains' manpower's effect on the war's outcome to the manufactured identity of Appalchia that grew out of the war's aftermath, this book begins to shed light on a long-dark aspect of Civil War history and a long-neglected part of the country.

Anyone who has done research on the Civil War approaches veteran's memoirs with a degree of caution. Memoirs are always self serving to some extent and often take too much advantage of hindsight. This work is remarkably free of such justifications. Rather it is the honest work of a soldier coming to terms with his war experiences. Philip Stephenson was a mere boy from St. Louis, age 15, when he followed his brother, Hammett, to Memphis to join the Confederat army. Hammett enlisted in the 13th Ark. and the underage Philip tagged along. He served as something of a mascot to his brother's company until he enlisted in the 5th Co. Washington Artillery. Until then he seemed to be free to come and go. Stephenson was present at or near most of the actions of the Army of Tennessee. He relates what he observed in great detail particularly in the last year of the war. Through his memoirs we see what he saw on the march, on the field and in camp. His descriptions of various Arkansans from officers to enlisted men offer rare insights to the boys which can be found in no other place. His observations on the men of the 13th Ark. are somewhat condescending, but he says, "All of them made as fine fighting material as the world could produce." The first one-third of his text covers the years 61-63. The greatest part of his memoirs discuss affairs that took place from 64 to the end of the war. From the Atlanta campaign until the war ends, his writing seems much more personal, more expressive of his emotions at the time. This coincides with the period when he served in the 5th Co. of the Washington Artillery and marked the first period of the war that he was not under his older brother's wing. From the moment Sherman attacked the Rebs at Dalton in early May until the Battle of Jonesboro on Sept. 1st, the men were in constant danger. Stephenson notes the horrors of trench warfare and the stress that it put on the men. The pressure became too great for some and he describes some of those who cracked. One member of his battery horrified the other members by taking his bayonet and jabbing out the eys of a dead yankee. Another deliberately walked between the lines to relieve himself as everyone watched in disbelief and the man was killed by a sharpshooter. Clearly this campaign had pushed many of the men to the breaking point. Perhaps no other participant has been as effective and honest in telling this story. Stephenson's account of the Battle of Franklin is very moving. His unit had been guarding a bridge some 30 miles away from Franklin and by forced march had arrived on the field between 9 o'clock at night just as the battle was dying down. Stephenson's one thought was the welfare of his brother and friends in the 13th Ark and he went among the wounded crying out "Where's Govan's Brigade." He finds his 3 best friends badly wounded and there on the battlefield they break into tears to find each other still alive. If there had been any thought of winning the war, it ended there. After Franklin, surviving would replace winning as the ultimate goal. Stephenson's memoirs are very personal. Through them we see how one survivor deals with his memories of both the best times and the worst times of his life.

This very interesting book is a part of the PostCard History Series. It consists of 128 pages, which have an average of two old and very interesting post cards on every page. Some of these post cards are nearly 100 years old, and it would be nearly impossible for the average person to locate and assemble such a marvelous collection of postcards on Clarksville, Tennessee on their own.

The book is conveniently divided into 10 Sections: (1) Early and Rare Postcards, (2) Tobacco and Other Commerce, (3) Churches and Schools, (4) People and Residences, (5) Rivers and Railroads, (6) Government and Community Life, (7) Dunbar Cave and Swan Lake, (8) Hotels and Motels, (9) Fort Campbell and Surrounding Communities, and (10) Novelty and Miscellaneous Views.

Anyone who has ever visited or lived in Clarksville, or the surrounding area, will find this book interesting. Post card collectors will love it. I especially enjoyed the section on Dunbar Cave.

It seems that most authors on the finer spirits tend to take an antiseptic view of their work. They may simply chronicle the historical background of some of the largest distilleries and review the high-end labels. But Mr. Murray writes with a distinctive passion about his favorite of all spirits (his admission on a radio talk show in Scotland). If you enjoy bourbon but have been afraid to plunk down the cash for a high-priced bottle, check out this book and then go for it! You won't be disappointed.

If you've ever wondered what it was like to be a soldier in the Civil War, get this book. I recommend it whether your sympathies are Union or Confederate, whether you are new to studying the War or a lifelong buff. Sam Watkins tells the reader of all the excitement, tedium, bravery, fear, humor, and horror of a soldier's life in wartime. He is an excellent storyteller, with a style on a par with Mark Twain. I only regret that he wrote 20 years after the War, and his memory was better in recalling some events than others. But he recalls more than enough to give a complete picture. He was, of course, a staunch Confederate, but does not dwell much on politics. He judges senior officers on their individual merits as he saw them, and his opinions of them run the gamut from near worship of his regimental commander to contempt for Braxton Bragg. The book is a valuable soldier's-eye history of the Army of Tennessee, and portions of it are the only surviving first-hand accounts of the events recounted. The details of daily Army life will be of particular interest to re-enactors.

I remember working at the Newport Plain Talk when Edward E. "Eddie" Walker, III could submit his articles and have the photos scanned to accompany the stories. It was great to get the first read and see the photographs from the past. His column probably the one reason people subscribed to the paper.

Eddie spent countless hours his articles and I would say over all he has spent years in the research that went in book. He was a talented history teacher and a fantastic writer on the history of East Tennessee in general.

Should someone be researching the history of Cocke County, TN. or genealogy of family in eastern Tennessee - This Book Should Be a Must Read.

YOU WILL NEED ALL BLUE RIDGE BOOKS AS MORE PATTERNS ARE BEING NAMED. THIS ONE WAS GREAT FOR MY USE AND NOW I AM DISPURSING MY COLLECTION AND NO LONGER NEED IT SO I WILL SELL IT.

I have been searching for good resources regarding the architectural style known as collegiate gothic. This book provides a good, broad look at the development of this style at one college, Rhodes (previously Southwestern). The book gives a thorough review of the planning and acquisition of the current campus. It continues through the various stages of building that have occurred up to present times. The key figures of each of the periods of construction are highlighted. Discussion is non-technical, but does not omit key aspects of the process (I speak as an architect).

If you are interested in how a campus can--sometimes tenuously--maintain one style throughout its life, this may provide insight. If you love beautiful buildings that are well photographed, this book could grace your coffee table.

Patrick Kavanagh is a great poet, rather uneven in the quality of his work, but with some unforgettable poems. He combines modern idiom with words and images from his Irish farm upbringing and uses flexible structures in designing his poems. His 'free verse' has much greater control than the average slop "all out of shape from toe to top" (Yeats, of course) that modern poets find so attractive, but he is not a writer of traditional styles. This is a nice selection, though not all his best work. Take a look at 'Epic' or 'The Hospital' or selections from 'The Great Hunger'. Kavanagh has a striking voice, brilliant, original, alive. His old fashioned power to please, his artistry with rhythms, cadences and rhymes works well with his varied themes.
Tom Stack's comments are useful, particularly if one is previously unfamiliar with Mr Kavanagh's work.

I cannot say enough good things about this book! As a living history interpreter I am always researching the daily lives of women in order to make my presentations as accurate as possible. This book not only gave me insight as to what colonial women were reading, but also where they were getting their books and how these books fit into their education. Some readers may be disappointed to find that this book deals with upper class women. However, one must keep in mind the high illiteracy rate of lower classes and the expense of books in the colonial period.

This book is a treasure chest of diary and period book excerpts that will hold your attention and keep you turning page after page until the late hours! Five stars and thumbs up!