The Civil War

 Book 88 of my 2026 Reading Challenge

read from August 30 - October 5

The Civil War: A Visual History

published 2026

3 stars

I rated this one neutrally because the reasons I didn't enjoy it as much were also the reasons the book worked as well as it did.  For example, it's a heavy oversized book which made it cumbersome to hold and also prevented me from taking it with me for those moments I can steal to read while I'm out.  But it being oversized kept it from feeling dense and overwhelming and made a big difference in the visuals so I agree with the decision.  It also took me so long to read because of these circumstances (and honestly, the only reason I finished as "quickly" as I did is because I set page goals the final week to be able to return it to the library).

One thing I noticed and absolutely loved when comparing it to other books with many sidebars, graphs, etc. is that this book required no flipping back and forth.  The extra things on the pages related to that page and were contained to that page; it sounds so simple but trust me, this is rare!  So I was able to turn a page, look at all the extras, and then continue with the text of the book.

For a book that says it's a visual history there was way more text than I expected.  While there were new viewpoints and first-hand accounts the more standard information seemed surface level and I don't think the book would've suffered with less of it.

Personal note: while I'm glad Lee made mistakes and lost the battle, if someone writing a book about me 150+ years later said, "[Lee's] judgement may have been impaired - he was tired and suffering from diarrhea...", I would come back and haunt them.  That's a joke; it's important to be factual but at the same time...saying he was shitting so much he couldn't think straight seems like an extra dig.

Fact I learned: there was a man who served as vice president under two different presidents.  His name was John C. Calhoun and he served with President John Quincy Adams and President Andrew Jackson.

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Ways This Book Met my 2026 Reading Goals:

- 88th book read in 2026 (my goal is 100)