Leaders of the American Civil War: A Biographical and Historiographical Dictionary

Book Description

Covering both the great military leaders and the critical civilian leaders, this book provides an overview of their careers and a professional assessment of their accomplishments. Entries consider the leaders' character and prewar experiences, their contributions to the war effort, and the war's impact on the rest of their lives. The entries then look at how history has assessed these leaders, thus putting their longtime reputations on the line. The result is a thorough revision of some leaders' careers, a call for further study of others, and a reaffirmation of the accomplishments of the greatest leaders. Analyzing the leaders historiographically, the work shows how the leaders wanted to be remembered, how postwar memorists and biographers saw them, the verdict of early historians, and how the best modern historians have assessed their contributions. By including a variety of leaders from both civilian and military roles, the book provides a better understanding of the total war, and by relating their lives to their times, it provides a better understanding of historical revisionism and of why history has been so interested in Civil War lives.

Book Description

Monumental carved, winged altarpieces are the most ambitious artworks from the Middle Ages, incorporating the skills of painters, sculptors, and cabinetmakers. Those that are most notable for their artistic originality and masterly execution were produced in the southern German-speaking
regions, including Austria and South Tirol, in the last decades of the Late Gothic period (roughly 1460 to 1525). By that time altarpieces had evolved from low, fixed panels to large wooden structures with rich architectural ornamentation. Paintings of the saints often adorned the movable wings,
while carved reliefs or freestanding sculptures of scenes from the Gospels occupied the gilded, center shrine.
Rainer Kahsnitz offers a close examination of twenty-two of the most important surviving altarpieces, discussing the historical context in which they were made and analyzing how their pictorial programs reflect changing notions of piety. The sumptuous color illustrations capture the altarpieces
in all their possible arrangements. The stunning details of these pieces--riotous locks of hair, swirling fabric, and thickets of twisted vines--vividly demonstrate the consummate skill of the master artisans who created them.

Janelle Taylor: Three Complete Novels: Promise Me Forever; Follow the Wind; Kiss of the Night Wind

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Great read with terrific imagination!

Janelle Taylor: Three Complete Novels: Promise Me Forever; Follow the Wind; Kiss of the Night Wind
Janelle Taylor
Manufacturer: Wings
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0517100118
Release Date: 1993-09-01

Customer Reviews:

Great read with terrific imagination!.......2004-03-03

This book is actually 4 1/2 stars!

The three complete novels are great! My favorite is Kiss of the Night Wind, then Follow the Wind and then Promise me forever.

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Great Intro to a Great Writer

Flannery O'Connor: A Proper Scaring
Jill Pelaez Baumgaertner
Manufacturer: Cornerstone Press Chicago
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Unmasking the Devil: Dramas of Sin and Grace in the World of Flannery O'Connor (Gateway to Literature)

Flannery O'connor And The Christ-Haunted South

Understanding Flannery O'Connor (Understanding Contemporary American Literature)

Flannery O'Connor's Religious Imagination: A World With Everything Off Balance

A Wreck on the Road to Damascus: Innocence, Guilt and Conversion in Flannery O'Connor

ASIN: 0940895382

Customer Reviews:

Great Intro to a Great Writer.......2003-02-25

Several years ago I did extensive college-level work on the writings of Flannery O'Connor. I found two books particularly helpful in understanding the fullness of O'Connor's achievement, this book and Brian Ragen's "A Wreck on the Road to Damascus." Baumgaertner writes from a similar theological perspective, and though I do not believe she is a Roman Catholic as O'Connor was, she writes with understanding and sympathy for O'Connor's position. I bring up the religious issue only because any in-depth study of O'Connor must face the fact of her deep commitment to her beliefs.
The books is very readable, and though Jill Baumgaertner is a professor (at Wheaton College, Illinois) she takes pains to avoid the academic jargon that marrs much critical writing today. If what you want is a sympathetic insightful reading of O'Connor then there is no better book to start with. However, if what you want is "hip" academic jargon then read Kreyling's collection.

Sins of the Seventh Sister: A Novel Based on a True Story of the Gothic South

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Highest Praise for Mother and Son
An Unforgettable Book...
What a wind!
Manure in the Old Iron Horse
A Wild, Wonderful Yarn of West Virginia

Sins of the Seventh Sister: A Novel Based on a True Story of the Gothic South
Huston Curtiss
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: B000HEW0SE

Book Description

How many times have you thought, “this has got to be true—no one could make this up?” Well, in 1929, Huston Curtiss was seven years old, living with his beautiful, opinionated mother (whose image is on the cover of this book), and surrounded by their romantic, fiercely independent, and often certifiably insane relatives. Huston has never before written about that time—an era of racism and repression, a time when this country was still relatively young, an age of quirky individualism and almost frontier-style freedom that largely has ceased to exist. Fearful he would not be believed, on one hand, but desirous of the freedom to embellish, on the other, Curtiss chronicles that time in Sins of the Seventh Sister, a book he characterizes as “a novel based on a true story of the gothic South.”

It is his story and the story of the people of Elkins, West Virginia, a small town whose inhabitants included his mother, Billy-Pearl Curtiss, and her many sisters—all stunning blondes. Billy-Pearl would prove to be an irresistibly romantic figure in her son’s life. She was the seventh of eleven children, all girls to her father’s consternation. By the time of her arrival, her father felt he had been patient enough and insisted on calling her Billy; he taught her everything he had intended to impart to his firstborn son. She would grow up to be one of the most beautiful women in the county, but also one of the most opinionated and liberal. Her aim was so precise that she was barred from the local turkey shoot because none of the men had a chance against her. When a Klansman accused her of attempted homicide after she shot him through the shoulder to stop him from setting fire to the home of her black neighbors, she told the sheriff, “If I had meant to kill him, he’d be dead.” And with that defense, she was exonerated.

Curtiss Farm was large and the house had many rooms, which Billy-Pearl got in the habit of gathering people to fill, especially the downtrodden who had nowhere to go. In May 1929, Billy-Pearl brought home a boy from the local orphanage. Stanley was sixteen, the age at which the orphanage kicked children out, and Billy-Pearl, knowing his sad history, could not allow him to end up on the streets. Stanley had witnessed his father beat his mother to death in a drunken rage and had taken a straight razor and slit his father’s throat while he slept. A country judge had the boy castrated to control his aggressive ways. Not a boy, but not yet a man, Stanley was tall, willowy, and frightened as a colt upon his arrival at Curtiss Farm—not at all the playmate for whom Huston had hoped. But quickly a friendship developed between the two that would last a lifetime—a friendship that would survive murder, suicide, madness, and Stanley’s eventual transformation into Stella, a singer who would live her adult life as a glamorous woman.

Sins of the Seventh Sister is brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, as alive with flamboyant characters and wildly uncontained emotions as any book to come out of the South.

Customer Reviews:

Highest Praise for Mother and Son.......2007-07-15

Happened upon this fabulous book while browsing in a book store a couple of years ago. It became one of my all time favorites and I frequently recommend it to other avid readers. I was surprised that I had not yet submitted a review so when checking out this webpage today and hoping Mr. Curtiss had written another book, I decided to document my rating.

It is not necessary to review the story as many other reviewers have already done a fine job in that regard. If you are looking for and appreciate a book that will entertain, inform, and provide an unforgettable connection to a provocative time and place ( 20th century America ), do not hesitate to treat yourself.

An Unforgettable Book..........2006-07-26

This book has been sitting on my wish list for well over a year. The whole 'Story of the Gothic South' thing was holding me back. I was expecting something dark and disturbing. Instead I got what is now one one of my all-time favorite books.

Huston Curtiss was 7 years old in 1929, living on a farm in West Virginia with his beautiful do-gooder mother, and about 15 other people that his mother took in to live with them in their huge home. What I loved about this book was that it has it all. Murder, suicide, love, heartbreak, trans-gender, racial tensions, mistresses, and good 'ol southern charm.

The fact that this is a true story is amazing to me. This is Mr. Curtiss's story of his childhood...and you couldn't make this stuff up. What these people had to deal with in those days...no thank you. While most of the story takes place in 1929, he does take you further into the future, up to 1967, and explains what became of everyone, which I appreciated.

In the end, I can't recommend this book enough. It was funny, sad, tragic, heroic...everything you could possible get out of a book, you get out of this one. I'm so glad I finally got this off my wish list and read it...although I am dying to know what Stanley/Stella's real name is!

What a wind!.......2006-02-25

A set of tales and clever anecdotes woven together in a near-diary of an eight year old boy growing up on a farm in West Virginia. The unique perspective of a grown man telling the story of his strange childhood makes for an enticing read! Curtiss evokes such raw sentiment and child-like detachment in his tales, that the extraordinary and unusual characters and events are accepted with mirth and wonder -- as you turn the page for more... Highly recommended!

Manure in the Old Iron Horse.......2005-10-25

When I saw this book I was intrigued, as I had gone to college in Elkins. It sounded a lot like "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", but purported to be true -- how could I know so little of it?

The story IS intriguing. The end was weak -- everything was rushed, and tied up too neatly. But that is a minor flaw: for most of the book you are entranced with the story and the characters. A "good read".

For those of you who have been wondering about how much of the story is true, I can offer a couple of tidbits:

**There is indeed a statue of a senator in Elkins, affectionately referred to as "the iron horse". The senator was Henry G. [Gassaway] Davis, who was also President of the West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railway Company; he died in 1916, much earlier than in the novel.

**A college was indeed built on the senator's land: both Senator Davis and his son-in-law, Senator Stephen B. [Benton] Elkins donated property for the establishment of a college. The college, Davis & Elkins College, is associated with the Presbyterian Church, and was founded in 1904, again much earlier than in the novel [and before the death of Senator Davis or Senator Elkins (Senator Elkins died in 1911)]. The two properties, Halliehurst [named after Hallie Davis Elkins, daughter of Senator Davis & wife of senator Elkins] & Graceland [home of Senator Davis] remain focal points of the campus.

{As a humorous sidelight, in the late 60s, there were still aged residents of the area who swore that the James brothers weren't slain in Missouri, but hightailed it to West Virginia and assumed the new personae of Davis and Elkins.}

**There is an annual Mountain State Forest Festival held in Elkins since 1930, and is held on the college campus. Queen Sylvia is crowned [remember the Latin word for "forest" is "silva"].

But we're astray. Fiction, or exaggerated truth, this is a gripping read.

A Wild, Wonderful Yarn of West Virginia.......2005-07-26

Warped, wacky and wonderful are three perfect adjectives to describe this work of non-fiction fiction. Set in pre-depression-era Elkins, West Virginia, this fast-paced story is chock full of plot twists and turns that may or may not be true, which makes it that much more enticing. Some of the descriptions of the area are not geographically correct (I have relatives in Elkins and know the area well), but that's o.k. The eccentricity of the Curtiss family, as told in the voice of a wizened but still wide-eyed child (the author himself as seven-year-old "Huey") makes for an endearing narration. Love, family, absurdity, injustice, murder, mystery and comeuppance are just a few of the themes that abound throughout this masterful tale. I've loaned my copy of this book to at least ten friends, both male and female, young and old, and everyone handed it back with a wry grin and a "thanks!". Definately a must-read for anyone who enjoys southern fiction, or simply a good tall tale.

Average customer rating:

Memorable characters.
childhood memories
I loved every page!
Great, fast-moving, thought-provoking story
Hard to put down...

Where the Woodbine Twines: A Novel
Sherry Austin
Manufacturer: Overmountain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 157072315X

Book Description

A woman is confronted with an enigmatic figure from her past in this Southern Gothic thriller of unresolved friendship and unsettling memories. The coincidental sighting of someone resembling a long-lost childhood acquaintance sets off a flood of memories about their strange experience. She hopes she'll at last find the answer to the question that has stuck with her all the years since: Whatever became of the unforgettable Catherine Wiley? Set against the live-oak splendor of the South Carolina low country and the dark glamour of Myrtle Beach in the 1950s, this tale of nostalgia, fear, and hope twists like a leaf in the wind.

Customer Reviews:

Memorable characters........2007-06-12

Nan never forgets the troubled child she desperately tried to befriend. When eleven-year-old Catherine Wiley stumbles into Nan's thirteen-year-old life, an imprint is left forever. This chilling encounter even affects Nan's adult life! Nan is 'haunted' by Catherine's memory and yearns to know if she's still alive, and if so, what happened to the misunderstood girl. Until adulthood, Nan never learns of Catherine's tragic secret, explaining the young Wiley girl's odd behavior. Nan wonders if she had been told such a huge secret at a young age, would she have tried to help, or made Catherine's life more miserable?

Sherry Austin writes realistic characters with very human stories that will break your heart. This story also highlights how cruel childhood can be, especially for children who are 'different'. It was a pleasure to meet Sherry Austin at the Heritage Festival. She's a very talented writer and a 'down to earth' individual. I look forward to reading more of her books.

Chrissy K. McVay
Author of 'Souls of the North Wind'

childhood memories.......2006-07-18

Narrated by a 9-year-old girl in the deep south in the 1960s, this book is full of evocative mystery.

While the ending is weak and some bits require a bit of extra suspension of disbelief, the story holds together well, and you will love the realistic down-to-earth narration of the narrator who has critical thinking skills far beyond her years. This is a simple, fun, fast read which brilliantly melts southern folklore with the realities of growing up a military brat in the 1960s.

Readers will love the blend of pure fantasy with the realistic edge of childhood memories.

I loved every page!.......2006-07-05

This reads like a mystery. I couldn't put it down- either time I read it! I was looking for clues and trying to put together pieces that didn't connect until the end. The descriptions of the Myrtle Beach of the past are so powerful that i'm sure they will stir memories for many. The old pavilion comes alive with all its sights, tastes, and smells. And the whole thing is driven by interesting characters. The narrator who is trying to come to terms with her own life and make peace with her memories. The unlikeable Catherine Wiley who is bitter because she cannot be what the world insists that she be. Her poor old grandmother who is doing the best she can for Catherine. I could feel for them all because they are so human and so screwed up. I found myself getting sucked into their individual trials- Old Mr. Wiley said, "Life's a disease and death is the cure". Amen! And I kept thinking to myself, as I sypathized with young Catherine at the end, why do we have to be like this? Why are we cruel to people who are different? And the sad answer is clearly, that human nature is a cruel, ugly thing. The novel made me think of the misfits I remember from life and hope that they made it, that they found a place to fit in, or that there really is a place where it will all be better, where the woodbine twines.

Great, fast-moving, thought-provoking story.......2006-07-04

Sherry Austin is unparalled in her ability to write stories as multi-layered as baklava, that draw you into the Twilight Zone and evoke the atmosphere of a time and place. In the case of WHERE THE WOODBINE TWINES, that place is the eerie South Carolina low country and the strange carnival setting of Myrtle Beach's famous and now defunct Pavillion. Anyone who has ever felt different--and haven't we all at one time or another?--will find much to savor in this delicious, mysterious tale. It wasn't until I read her blog that I began to have an idea of what this strange story has to offer. You'll have not trouble getting into this novel. Get to page two where the words "she haunts me" appear, and you won't put it down until you're finished.

Hard to put down..........2006-06-08

Austin is a good writer and storyteller. She always weaves a tapestry of unforgettable characters and Where the Woodbine Twines is no exception. You will recall the names of Wanda, Nan and Catherine and the imagery she paints of them long after you finish the last page. Very enjoyable!

3 By 3: Masterworks of the Southern Gothic

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3 By 3: Masterworks of the Southern Gothic
Doris Betts
Manufacturer: Peachtree Pub Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0931948800

American Shelter, Housing Styles and their Evolution in America, including Earth Lodge 300, Tipi 1200, Spanish Cottage 1580, Jacobeam 1655, Southern Colonial 1675, Shaker 1830, Gothics, Queen Anne, 1880, Art Moderne 1935, Space 2000

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American Shelter, Housing Styles and their Evolution in America, including Earth Lodge 300, Tipi 1200, Spanish Cottage 1580, Jacobeam 1655, Southern Colonial 1675, Shaker 1830, Gothics, Queen Anne, 1880, Art Moderne 1935, Space 2000
Lester Walker
Manufacturer: Overlook Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WNXX18

Gothic politics in the Deep South: Stars of the new Confederacy

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Gothic politics in the Deep South: Stars of the new Confederacy
Robert Sherrill
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007EY7DU

Gothic Traditions and Narrative Techniques in the Fiction of Eudora Welty (Southern Literary Studies)

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Gothic Traditions and Narrative Techniques in the Fiction of Eudora Welty (Southern Literary Studies)
Ruth D. Weston
Manufacturer: Louisiana State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0807118974

Indo-European Perspectives (Journal of Social, Political and Economic Studies Monograph Series)

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Indo-European Perspectives (Journal of Social, Political and Economic Studies Monograph Series)

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Preface, Miles C. Beckwith: Greek verbs in -í A paradigmatic solution, Hope Dawson: Deviations from the Greek in the Gothic New Testament, George E. Dunkel: Vedic janapadás and Ionic 6á: with notes on Vedic drupadám and IE *pédom place and fetter, Joseph F. Eska: Remarks on linguistic structures in a Gaulish ritual text, Benjamin W. Fortson IV: Linguistic and cultural notes on Latin ... and related topics, John Harkness: Observations on appositions in Beowulf, Hans Henrich Hock: Vedic....: Subordinate, coordinate, or what?, Brian D. Joseph: Balkan insights into the syntax of ... in Indo-European, Carol F. Justus: Hittite and Indo-European gender, Ronald Kim: The distribution of the Old Irish infixed pronouns, Cowgills particle, and the syntactic evolution of Insular Celtic, Sara Kimball: Hittite kings and queens, Jared S. Klein: Homoioteleuton in the Rigveda, H. Craig Melchert: Hieroglyphic Luvian REL-ipa indeed, certainly, Edgar C. Polomé: Some thoughts about the Indo-European homeland, Charles Reiss: Towards an explanation of analogy, Don Ringe: Tocharian B and, Douglas P.A. Simms: A word for wild boar in Germanic, Italic, Balto-Slavic and Greek and its possible Semitic origins, Ann Taylor: The distribution of object clitics in Koiné Greek, Bert Vaux: Szemerényis Law and Stangs Law in non-linear phonology, Brent Vine: On full-grade *-ro- formations in Greek and Indo-European, Michael Weiss: Observations on the South Picene Inscription TE 1 (S. Omero).

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