The Civil War/ American Homer: A Narrative (Modern Library)

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a b Barr, Alwyn. “The Journal of Southern History.” The Journal of Southern History, vol. 41, no. 3, 1975, pp. 418–419. At nine minutes into the first episode, the film’s only historian with a doctorate, Barbara Fields—now recognized as one of the world’s foremost scholars on race and racism—unequivocally stated that slavery was the primary cause of the Civil War. The bloodiest time in our nation’s history, she argued, was about “humanity, human dignity, human freedom.”

Shelby Foote | Civil War, Confederate Army, Novelist | Britannica

a b c Timothy S. Huebner, Madeleine M. McGrady. "Shelby Foote, Memphis, and the Civil War in American Memory". 18 The Civil War: A Narrative, Petersburg to Savannah: War Is Cruelty–You Cannot Refine It. New York: Random House. 2005. ISBN 0-307-29030-1. I don’t mean to lay all or even most of the blame at Foote’s feet. However, his work has become immortal, and so it has great influence. The historian W.J. Cash observed that no one wants to believe their heroes fought and died for something “so crass and unbeautiful as the preservation of slavery.” When you read Foote, you can continue to maintain that illusion. This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( November 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Shelby Foote on William Faulkner, May 2, 2002, on American Writers: A Journey Through History, C-SPAN Mr. Foote answered his critics by saying: "My hope was that if I wrote well enough about what you would have seen with your own eyes, you yourself would see how those things, the politics and economics, entered in. I quite deliberately left those things out. My job was to put it all in perspective, to give it shape. Look at Flaubert: He didn't criticize Emma Bovary as a terrible woman; he didn't judge her; he just put down what happened." There's certainly nothing wrong with this trilogy's writing style. Foote goes into great detail and makes the time live and breathe. It is a classic history; if it were about half as long it would be better known, but it wouldn't go into the depth of detail that makes it unique. The final volume opens with the beginning of the two final, major confrontations of the war: Grant against Lee in Virginia, and Sherman pressing Johnston in north Georgia in 1864. The narrative describes the events and battles from Sherman's March to the Sea to Lincoln's assassination and the surrender of Lee at Appomattox.

The Civil War Trilogy Box Set by Shelby Foote: 9780679643708

The sins of omission in “The Civil War” unfortunately are not without consequence. Because so many Americans have had their basic understanding of the causes of secession, the realities of racial slavery, and the atrocities of the Confederacy profoundly shaped by this documentary, current day topics, from the Confederate Monument/flag debate to the push for reparations by American Descendants of Slaves, remain bitterly divisive, even though clear historical answers obviously exist. Foote worked for several weeks on an outline and decided that his plan couldn't be done to Cerf's specifications. He requested that the project be expanded to three volumes of 500,000 to 600,000 words each, and he estimated that the entire project would be done in nine years. [13]

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Foote professed to be a reluctant celebrity. When The Civil War was first broadcast, his telephone number was publicly listed and he received many phone calls from people who had seen him on television. Foote never unlisted his number, and the volume of calls increased each time the series re-aired. [13] Many Memphis natives were known to pay Foote a visit at his East Parkway residence in Midtown Memphis. Foote remained adamant that slavery was not the only cause of the Civil War, stating in 2001 that "no soldier on either side gave a damn about the slaves—they were fighting for other reasons entirely in their minds." [24] I hope in the future there are more documentary’s on the civil war. Would I watch a “academic scholar” drone on and on and on about his thoughts and perspectives; No. In 2003, Foote received the Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award. The Helmerich Award is presented annually by the Tulsa Library Trust.