Monday, February 04, 2008

CWL---H-CivWar Review Both Praises and Damns McPherson's Scourge

For Greg Urwin's review of This Might Scourge of War by James M. McPherson go to:
http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=H-CivWar&month=0802&week=a&msg=3vuyo630ZkbMd1iwSVLJbw&user=&pw=

CWL: Gregory Urwin's review both praises and damns McPherson's collection of essays. Urwin describes them as 'crumbs brushed from the master's table' which is 'an exercise in recyling' published for 'the hordes of enthusiasts who turned McPherson into a one-man industry and do not want to consider the central role that race and racism played in America's most murderous conflict'. Yet, Urwin also states that several essays within the collection argue' that slavery operated as the main cause of the Civil War' and provides an intriguing description of 'antebellum slave flight and resistance'. Futhermore, McPherson addresses 'whether John Brown was a freedom fighter or terrorist'. So, is This Scourge narrative crumbs for the masses who are blind to racism? Maybe Urwin should find a few readers and talk to them.

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