Crossroads of Freedom

Antietam

By: James M. McPherson

Narrated by: Nelson Runger

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times best-selling author James M. McPherson is America's leading Civil War historian. In this powerful book he reconstructs the gripping Battle of Antietam. Compared to the Normandy invasion in World War II, Antietam produced four times as many casualties. It remains the single bloodiest day in the history of American combat.

Through historical newspaper accounts and the personal letters of soldiers, the events leading up to the battle and the battle itself are stunningly recreated. You will enter the mind of Robert E. Lee as he makes the fateful decision to cross the Potomac River and take the offensive. You will feel the frustration of Abraham Lincoln as he struggles to convince George McClellan to fight. And you will stand side-by-side with foot soldiers as the peaceful Maryland countryside explodes into terrifying, unforgettable carnage. In vivid detail and with remarkable insight, McPherson makes a convincing case that Antietam was the "battle that changed the course of the Civil War."

The “Pivotal Moments in American History” series seeks to unite the old and the new history, combining the insights and techniques of recent historiography with the power of traditional narrative. Each title has a strong narrative arc with drama, irony, suspense, and – most importantly – great characters who embody the human dimension of historical events. The general editors of “Pivotal Moments” are not just historians; they are popular writers themselves, and, in two cases, Pulitzer Prize winners: David Hackett Fischer, James M. McPherson, and David Greenberg. We hope you like your American History served up with verve, wit, and an eye for the telling detail!

©2002 James M. McPherson (P)2002 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"McPherson convincingly establishes the Battle of Antietam as the [Civil War]'s pivotal moment militarily, politically, and morally." (Publishers Weekly)
"A fine study." (Library Journal)

Great way to help your kid with a project

Before this, I knew very little about the Civil War. I had no idea how close the North came to losing to the South. I must have slept through that portion of my schooling. My boy needed to do a project on the Civil War for his History class, and this book was a quick listen and learn about the war and this pivotal battle. I was able to listen to it while skiing down the slopes Up North, and come to his aid as he completed his project. The author, James MacPherson, is one of the most respected historians on the Civil War, and the information in this work is encyclopedic, but fascinating. The audiobook narrator kept it interesting and alive for me. No regrets at all.

Far beyond the scope of the battle

This excellent book is not a standard battle history of Antietam (called Sharpsburg by the South) -- it is an excellent summary of the war to that point, and why the battle was so important in shaping issues beyond the battlefield. It examines examining the changing moods of both North and South up to that point, their changing expectations, what they were willing to put up with in terms of sacrifice and casualties. There is no sense of inevitability to the North's eventual victory here; the war was at midpoint and at the time a strategic draw. And although Antietam was the single bloodiest day in American history, while not to be ignored, this is hardly its significance. As a Union victory, it gave Lincoln the political capital to finally issue the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves in the Southern states. This changed the war decisively, rendering it a battle for and against slavery that it hadn't explicitly been to that point. For this reason it also foreclosed the possibility of any European recognition of the South, which was quite eminent and perhaps the South's closest means of drawing the war to a close in its favor.

In addition to these strategic issues, McPherson is also quite good at drawing out several personalities involved in the battle. Lincoln's difficult balance in withholding his Emancipation Proclamation without some tangible Union success is explained thoroughly, some generals are described, various European reactions are explored -- but the character one remembers most is the ambivalent general of the Army of the Potomac, McClellan. It is an excellent study of failings and success in command, and failings and success in character.

A nice civil war read

If you are looking for a long and detailed analysis of the battle of Antietam then this is not the book. But I enjoyed the analysis of the early phases of the civil war and the crtical juncture Antietam was. The author does a nice job telling the story and even the ending provides yet another good summary of what happens after the battle.

Very well done presentation of an important subject. I learned a lot from this book.

I’ve bought more books on the civil war because of this book and my desire to learn all I can on this important subject.

In depth look at Antietam and its results

This book was a short, concise and in depth look at the Battle of Antietam and its results. The author, in a very scholarly way, discusses events beforehand, the actual Battle, and the subsequent results which end up being a major turning point in the Civil War.