This unique collection of writings by the celebrated author David Madden
provides a multitude of reflections on the Civil War and Reconstruction,
from nonfiction to fiction. Included are Madden's examination of key
works by historians James McPherson and Fletcher Pratt, the story of the
effort to simultaneously burn nine bridges by nine unionist guerrilla
bands in the most complicated and coordinated guerrilla tactic of the
war, and rediscoveries of both classic and contemporary works of Civil
War fiction from William Faulkner, Joseph Stanley Pennell, and more.
Alongside these essays are pieces from Madden's Civil War novel,
Sharpshooter, which illustrate the interconnectedness of fiction and
nonfiction. This meshing of iconoclastic and controversial pieces
includes varied perspectives on every aspect of the war and
reconstruction, from culture and civilian life to an imagining of
Abraham Lincoln's critique of how historians have recorded the war and
its aftermath. By exploring this web of perception, we can better
understand the war and, in turn, shed greater light on the present and
the future.