Difference between revisions of "The Best Historians and Books According to James McPherson"

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[[File: BattleCryFreedom.jpeg|thumbnail|left|275px|''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/019516895X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=019516895X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=bb691159be05abe1852f41d2bed7c494 Battle Cry Freedom]'']]
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In 2014, the New York Times published [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/books/review/james-m-mcpherson-by-the-book.html?_r=0 a brief interview] with noted Civil War historian James McPherson, The George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University.  McPherson is considered to be the dean of Civil War historians. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning book [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/019516895X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=019516895X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=bb691159be05abe1852f41d2bed7c494 Battle Cry of Freedom] which is the best overview of the Civil War.  In the interview, McPherson stated who he believes are America's top historians, the best book on the Civil War, military history, African American history, the book most responsible for shaping his career, and even the most overrated history book ever. It's a biggie.
  
In 2014, the New York Times published [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/books/review/james-m-mcpherson-by-the-book.html?_r=0 a brief interview] with noted Civil War historian James McPherson, The George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University.  He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning book Battle Cry of Freedom.  In the interview McPherson identified who he believes are America's top historians, the best book on the Civil War, military history, African American history, the book most responsible for shaping his career, and even most overrated history book ever. It's a biggie.
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All of the historians and books cited by McPherson are outstanding, but they are representative of his generation.  Not surprisingly, this was pointed out by several younger scholars. In many ways books are like music, people like the music of their formative years better than anything that came before it or after.  His choices are certainly understandable, but open to debate.
 
 
All of the historians and books cited by McPherson are outstanding, but they are representative of his generation.  Not surprisingly, this was pointed out by several younger scholars. Most of his preferences were predominantly from historians of either his generation of scholars.  In many ways books are like music, people like the music of their formative years better than anything that came before it or after.  His choices are certainly understandable, but open to debate.
 
  
 
In the interview, McPherson often referred to an author, but failed to specify which books he preferred. In a number of cases, we extrapolated some of the best books written by his favorite historians.  There are certainly other books from these authors that are also outstanding.
 
In the interview, McPherson often referred to an author, but failed to specify which books he preferred. In a number of cases, we extrapolated some of the best books written by his favorite historians.  There are certainly other books from these authors that are also outstanding.
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Here were his answers:
 
Here were his answers:
  
Last Great Book He Read:
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===Last Great Book He Read===
 
 
 
James Oakes, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393347753/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393347753&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1f6775aaac416dc77a1ed57300fd119f Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865]
 
James Oakes, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393347753/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393347753&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1f6775aaac416dc77a1ed57300fd119f Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865]
  
Best Books on the Civil War:
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===Best Books on the Civil War===
 
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[[File: Inhuman_Bondage.jpeg|thumbnail|275px|[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195339444/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195339444&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=065dffdb06bd5774d918d2a61f00cddd ''Inhuman Bondage'']]]
Allan Nevins: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VZZO3M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000VZZO3M&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6ef4167b8ee4cc21d3c75d2b33882c75 Eight Volume Set on the Civil War]
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Allan Nevins, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VZZO3M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000VZZO3M&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6ef4167b8ee4cc21d3c75d2b33882c75 Eight Volume Set on the Civil War]
 
 
Best Historians Writing Today:
 
  
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===Best Historians Writing Today===
 
Bernard Bailyn, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674443020/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0674443020&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=67f56d2729096f3e91b2e721446833e8 The Ideological Origins in the American Revolution]
 
Bernard Bailyn, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674443020/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0674443020&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=67f56d2729096f3e91b2e721446833e8 The Ideological Origins in the American Revolution]
  
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Gordon Wood, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679736883/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0679736883&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4a13f0aff063a128cd955e543ef6de9b The Radicalism of the American Revolution]
 
Gordon Wood, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679736883/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0679736883&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4a13f0aff063a128cd955e543ef6de9b The Radicalism of the American Revolution]
  
Eric Foner, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393244075/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393244075&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=64535fc33a5e01427eaba9f0b184e82a
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Eric Foner, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393244075/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393244075&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=64535fc33a5e01427eaba9f0b184e82a Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad]
  
 
David McCullough, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476728755/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1476728755&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1691fa23ea717d97a18fc78f4f66f4dc The Wright Brothers]
 
David McCullough, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476728755/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1476728755&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1691fa23ea717d97a18fc78f4f66f4dc The Wright Brothers]
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David Hackett Fischer, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/019518159X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=019518159X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=95672295ab64ef0b4f91c6bce8d597d2 Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)]
 
David Hackett Fischer, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/019518159X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=019518159X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=95672295ab64ef0b4f91c6bce8d597d2 Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)]
  
Favorite Biography of Civil War figure:
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===Favorite Biography of Civil War figure===
 
 
 
Jean Edward Smith, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684849275/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0684849275&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6902338f4051eb0bf989387598ecc37b Grant]
 
Jean Edward Smith, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684849275/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0684849275&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6902338f4051eb0bf989387598ecc37b Grant]
  
Best Military Histories:
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===Best Military Histories===
 
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John Keegan, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375700455/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375700455&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=abeec345f209ab3821f9b6d1f761855a The First World War]
John Keegan, The Face of Battle
 
 
 
Craig Symonds, Lincoln and His Admirals: Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy, and the Civil War, Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings, Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles That Shaped American History, The Civil War at Sea (Reflections on the Civil War Era)
 
 
 
Stephen W. Sears, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville
 
 
 
Gordon C. Rhea, Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26-June 3, 1864, The Battle of the Wilderness May 5-6, 1864
 
 
 
Gary W. Gallagher, The Union War, The Confederate War
 
 
 
Joseph T. Glatthaar, Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers, Partners in command : The relationships between leaders in the Civil War
 
 
 
Rick Atkinson, An Army at Dawn: The War in Africa, 1942-1943, The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944, The Guns Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945
 
 
 
Best African American History Books:
 
 
 
John Hope Franklin, From Slavery to Freedom
 
 
 
Ira Berlin, Generations of Captivity : History of African-american Slaves (03 Edition), Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America
 
  
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Craig Symonds, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195312112/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195312112&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a13f60ba49ad59f0dcd243ca008d75d7 Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History]
  
Most Important for His Career:
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Stephen W. Sears, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039587744X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=039587744X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6893374e795d46edb3fa605f0812961a Chancellorsville]
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[[File:The_Confederate_War.jpg|thumbnail|275px|''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674160568/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0674160568&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=ec1f1a1a27fa5cf7f30395e3ffde923a The Confederate War]'']]
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Gordon C. Rhea, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807118737/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0807118737&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4dd5c6be8ae7e6b39e277d75437750e5 The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5--6, 1864]
  
C. Vann Woodward, Origins of the New South, 1877-1913
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Gary W. Gallagher, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674160568/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0674160568&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=ec1f1a1a27fa5cf7f30395e3ffde923a The Confederate War]
  
Book Every President Should Read:
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Joseph T. Glatthaar, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807125601/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0807125601&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=86bee3742d517160a30b6cab925954b0 Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers]
  
Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism
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Rick Atkinson, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250037816/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1250037816&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=075630bb00a0ac3b803191138958e17d The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (The Liberation Trilogy)]
  
Most Overrated History Book:
+
===Best African American History Books===
 +
John Hope Franklin, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195084519/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195084519&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5ba126243a4002a0b5a13d6cea8c6954 Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation]
  
Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Penguin Classics)
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Ira Berlin, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674002113/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0674002113&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a994972d596b92c51765024ae7766f91 Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America]
  
Books on His Nightstand:
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===Most Important Book for His Career===
 +
[[File: Alexander_Hamilton.jpeg|thumbnail|200px|''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143034758/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143034758&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1966c356d5dc8895f516f9212fd47f9d Alexander Hamilton]'']]
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C. Vann Woodward, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807100390/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0807100390&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6e17c1eb0e4acb6ce5c6567e02b26d1d Origins of the New South, 1877-1913]
  
Ron Chernow, Washington: A Life
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===Book Every President Should Read===
 +
Doris Kearns Goodwin, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/141654786X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=141654786X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=85296cabd0c31f8aeb41ad092f981218 The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism]
  
Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
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===Most Overrated History Book===
 +
Edward Gibbon, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140437649/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0140437649&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=69a097cd2f08e2594eed01d52f9ba3b4 The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Penguin Classics)]
  
His Next Book:
+
===Books on His Nightstand===
 +
Ron Chernow, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143119966/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143119966&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=af07747ddf58eba0c6507908db1ac37d Washington: A Life]
  
Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton
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Daniel James Brown, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143125478/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143125478&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5bbec7d420a77d7bd80742648e998272 The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics]
  
 +
===His Next Book===
 +
Ron Chernow, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143034758/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143034758&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1966c356d5dc8895f516f9212fd47f9d Alexander Hamilton]
 +
[[Category:Booklists]] [[Category:United States History]] [[Category:Civil War]][[Category:History Booklists]] [[Category:African American History]] [[Category:Expert Booklists]]
 +
{{Contributors}}
 +
<div class="portal" style="width:85%;">
 +
==Related DailyHistory.org Articles==
 +
*[[Thomas Jefferson, the Founding Fathers and Christianity: Interview with Sam Haselby]]
 +
*[[Social History of American Medicine Top Ten Booklist]]
 +
*[[Gilded Age/Progressive Era History Top Ten Booklist]]
 +
*[[Hodges' Scout: Interview with Len Travers]]
 +
*[[Engineering Victory during the Civil War: Interview with Thomas F. Army, Jr.]]
 +
</div>
 
{{Mediawiki:US History}}
 
{{Mediawiki:US History}}

Latest revision as of 21:51, 20 December 2017

In 2014, the New York Times published a brief interview with noted Civil War historian James McPherson, The George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University. McPherson is considered to be the dean of Civil War historians. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning book Battle Cry of Freedom which is the best overview of the Civil War. In the interview, McPherson stated who he believes are America's top historians, the best book on the Civil War, military history, African American history, the book most responsible for shaping his career, and even the most overrated history book ever. It's a biggie.

All of the historians and books cited by McPherson are outstanding, but they are representative of his generation. Not surprisingly, this was pointed out by several younger scholars. In many ways books are like music, people like the music of their formative years better than anything that came before it or after. His choices are certainly understandable, but open to debate.

In the interview, McPherson often referred to an author, but failed to specify which books he preferred. In a number of cases, we extrapolated some of the best books written by his favorite historians. There are certainly other books from these authors that are also outstanding.

Here were his answers:

Last Great Book He Read

James Oakes, Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in the United States, 1861-1865

Best Books on the Civil War

Allan Nevins, Eight Volume Set on the Civil War

Best Historians Writing Today

Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins in the American Revolution

David Brion Davis, Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World

Gordon Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution

Eric Foner, Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad

David McCullough, The Wright Brothers

David Hackett Fischer, Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)

Favorite Biography of Civil War figure

Jean Edward Smith, Grant

Best Military Histories

John Keegan, The First World War

Craig Symonds, Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History

Stephen W. Sears, Chancellorsville

Gordon C. Rhea, The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5--6, 1864

Gary W. Gallagher, The Confederate War

Joseph T. Glatthaar, Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers

Rick Atkinson, The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (The Liberation Trilogy)

Best African American History Books

John Hope Franklin, Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation

Ira Berlin, Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America

Most Important Book for His Career

C. Vann Woodward, Origins of the New South, 1877-1913

Book Every President Should Read

Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism

Most Overrated History Book

Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Penguin Classics)

Books on His Nightstand

Ron Chernow, Washington: A Life

Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

His Next Book

Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton Admin