James M. McPherson

Aquesta magnífica biografia curta de Lincoln ofereix un retrat revelador d’un dels gegants de la història dels Estats Units d‘Amèrica.

La Batalla de Antietam, librada el 17 de septiembre de 1862, fue el día más sangriento de la historia de Norteamérica, toda vez que murieron en ella más de 6000 soldados: cuatro veces el número de los que perecieron el Dia D y dos veces el de victimas mortales de los ataques terroristas del 11 de septiembre. En Encrucijada de la libertad el mas eminente historiador de la guerra civil norteamericana, James M.McPherson, hace una descripcion magistral de esta batalla fundamental, los acontecimientos que desembocaron en ella y sus consecuencias.

From Pulitzer Prize-winner James M. McPherson comes a brilliant and passionate examination of nationalism in todays world, and its effects on the stability of the worlds countries, big and small.Since the end of the Cold War, nationalism has re-emerged as one of the most powerful forces in the modern world. Students of nationalism have analyzed two principal categories of this phenomenon. Ethnic nationalism is more familiar and easier to define; it broke up Yugoslavia into four mutually hostile ethnic nations. It split Czechoslovakia into two nations. It threatens to do the same to Canada. In contrast, civic nationalism defines national identity not by presumed descent from an ancient bloodline with its own language, culture and genetic purity but by citizenship in a national state and loyalty to its political institutions.James M. McPherson focuses on the American Civil War and Quebecs bid for separation from Canada as case studies in the contest between these two strains of nationalism, and offers both implicit and explicit comparisons to modern counterparts.Is Blood Thicker Than Water? will finally give us the perspective to look at this phenomenon clearly and objectively.

In this classic study, Pulitzer Prize-winning author James M. McPherson deftly narrates the experience of blacks--former slaves and soldiers, preachers, visionaries, doctors, intellectuals, and common people--during the Civil War. Drawing on contemporary journalism, speeches, books, and letters, he presents an eclectic chronicle of their fears and hopes as well as their essential contributions to their own freedom. Through the words of these extraordinary participants, both Northern and Southern, McPherson captures African-American responses to emancipation, the shifting attitudes toward Lincoln and the life of black soldiers in the Union army. Above all, we are allowed to witness the dreams of a disenfranchised people eager to embrace the rights and the equality offered to them, finally, as citizens.

James M. McPherson, the Pulitzer Prizewinning author of Battle Cry of Freedom, and arguably the finest Civil War historian in the world, walks us through the site of the bloodiest and perhaps most consequential battle ever fought by Americans: the Battle of Gettysburg. The events that occurred at Gettysburg are etched into our collective memory, as they served to change the course of the Civil War and with it the course of history. More than any other place in the United States, Gettysburg is indeed hallowed ground. Its no surprise that it is one of the nations most visited sites (nearly two million annual visitors), attracting tourists, military buffs, and students of American history. McPherson, who has led countless tours of Gettysburg over the years, makes stops at Seminary Ridge, the Peach Orchard, Cemetery Hill, and Little Round Top, among other key locations. He reflects on the meaning of the battle, describes the events of those terrible three days in July 1863, and places the struggle in the greater context of American and world history. Along the way, he intersperses stories of his own encounters with the place over several decades, as well as debunking several popular myths about the battle itself. What brought those 165,000 soldiers75,000 Confederate, 90,000 Unionto Gettysburg? Why did they lock themselves in such a death grip across these once bucolic fields until 11,000 of them were killed or mortally wounded, another 29,000 were wounded and survived, and about 10,000 were missingmostly captured? What was accomplished by all of this carnage? Join James M. McPherson on a walk across this hallowed ground as he be encompasses the depth of meaning and historical impact of a place that helped define the nations character.[I]n a larger sense, we can not dedicatewe can not consecratewe can not hallowthis ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our power to add or detract. President Abraham Lincoln

¿Por qué la batalla de Antietam fue la más trascendental de las victorias de la Unión? ¿En qué momento los esclavos fueron los protagonistas en la lucha por la reunificación del país? ¿Qué papel desempeño la escasez de algodon durante este conflicto? ¿Y que influencia ejercio la prensa a medida que se sucedian los combates?El historiador James M. McPherson responde a estas preguntas a traves de la cronica de un enfrentamiento encarnizado en el que los giros propios de la guerra adquieren toda su dimension. Partiendo de los acontecimientos que desembocaron en la batalla que se libro entre el arroyo de Antietam y el rio Potomac el 17 de septiembre de 1862, el autor retrata vividamente tanto el alto mando del ejercito nordista y los errores estrategicos de los bandos enfrentados como las decisiones del presidente Lincoln, la politica exterior de los sudistas y los altibajos de la opinion publica, pasando por el relato de como la victoria militar en Antietam permitio proclamar la emancipacion de los esclavos y cambio por completo el caracter de la guerra.Aunando la descripcion de la realidad belica y politica, asi como el testimonio de los combatientes y los periodicos de la epoca, este libro nos muestra la evolucion ideologica de sus principales protagonistas y el alcance moral de un conflicto que, casi 160 años despues, sigue avivando el debate a partir de temas como el racismo.

From the Pulitzer Prizewinning author of Battle Cry of Freedom, a powerful new reckoning with Jefferson Davis as military commander of the ConfederacyThe best concise book we have on the subject McPherson is our most distinguished scholar of the Civil War era. The New York Times Book Review History has not been kind to Jefferson Davis. Many Americans of his own time and in later generations considered him an incompetent leader, not to mention a traitor. Not so, argues James M. McPherson. In Embattled Rebel, McPherson shows us that Davis might have been on the wrong side of history, but that it is too easy to diminish him because of his causes failure. Gravely ill throughout much of the Civil War, Davis nevertheless shaped and articulated the principal policy of the Confederacythe quest for independent nationhoodwith clarity and force. He exercised a tenacious hands-on influence in the shaping of military strategy, and his close relationship with Robert E. Lee was one of the most effective military-civilian partnerships in history.Lucid and concise, Embattled Rebel presents a fresh perspective on the Civil War as seen from the desk of the Souths commander in chief.

"James M. McPhersons Tried by War is a perfect primer . . . for anyone who wishes to understand the evolution of the presidents role as commander in chief. Few historians write as well as McPherson, and none evoke the sound of battle with greater clarity." The New York Times Book ReviewThe Pulitzer Prizewinning author reveals how Lincoln won the Civil War and invented the role of commander in chief as we know it As we celebrate the bicentennial of Lincolns birth, this study by preeminent, bestselling Civil War historian James M. McPherson provides a rare, fresh take on one of the most enigmatic figures in American history. Tried by War offers a revelatory (and timely) portrait of leadership during the greatest crisis our nation has ever endured. Suspenseful and inspiring, this is the story of how Lincoln, with almost no previous military experience before entering the White House, assumed the powers associated with the role of commander in chief, and through his strategic insight and will to fight changed the course of the war and saved the Union.

Un libro sobre la batalla más decisiva en la proclamación de la libertad de los esclavos.¿Por qué la batalla de Antietam fue la más trascendental de las victorias de la Unión? ¿En qué momento los esclavos fueron los protagonistas en la lucha por la reunificacion del pais? ¿Que papel desempeño la escasez de algodon durante este conflicto? ¿Y que influencia ejercio la prensa a medida que se sucedian los combates?El historiador James M. McPherson responde a estas preguntas a traves de la cronica de un enfrentamiento encarnizado en el que los giros propios de la guerra adquieren toda su dimension. Partiendo de los acontecimientos que desembocaron en la batalla que se libro entre el arroyo de Antietam y el rio Potomac el 17 de septiembre de 1862, el autor retrata vividamente tanto el alto mando del ejercito nordista y los errores estrategicos de los bandos enfrentados como las decisiones del presidente Lincoln, la politica exterior de los sudistas y los altibajos de la opinion publica, pasando por el relato de como la victoria militar en Antietam permitio proclamar la emancipacion de los esclavos y cambio por completo el caracter de la guerra.Aunando la descripcion de la realidad belica y politica, asi como el testimonio de los combatientes y los periodicos de la epoca, este libro nos muestra la evolucion ideologica de sus principales protagonistas y el alcance moral de un conflicto que, casi 160 años despues, sigue avivando el debate a partir de temas como el racismo.