Save $15 | Limited-Time Offer. Get the code »

alibris logo
Textbooks
Popular Subjects >AccountingAgricultureAnthropologyArchitectureArt HistoryAstronomyBiologyBusiness ManagementCalculusChemistryComputer ScienceCriminal JusticeEconomicsEducationEngineeringFinanceGeographyLiteratureMarketingMathematicsNursingPhilosophyPhysicsProgrammingPsychologyReligionSociologyStatisticsTheaterWeb DesigneBooks >Discover eBookseBooks FAQBusiness & EconomicsEducationMathematicsMedicalPsychologyScienceTextbook Buyback >Search For Your BooksBuyback StatusFAQsBack to School Savings >Search New TextbooksPromotionsBack To School GuideInternational Editions
Textbooks Home
Books
Books Subjects >Antiques & CollectiblesArchitectureArtBiblesBiographyBusiness & FinanceCareer & ProfessionalChildren's BooksComicsComputerCookbooksDictionaryDramaEncyclopediaEroticaFamily & RelationshipFantasyFictionGraphic NovelsHealth & FitnessHistoryHorrorHumorMapsMathematicsMemoirsMysteryPoetryReligionRomanceScienceScience FictionSelf HelpSports & RecreationTravelPopular Authors >Atwood, MargaretBoynton, SandraBrown, DanChild, LeeChristie, AgathaClancy, TomConnelly, MichaelDickens, CharlesEvanovich, JanetFitzgerald, F ScottFlynn, GillianFrench, TanaGladwell, MalcolmGrafton, SueGreen, JohnGreene, RobertGrisham, JohnKing, StephenKoontz, DeanLewis, C.S.Martin, George R.R.Meyer, JoyceMorrison, ToniMurakami, HarukiPalahniuk, ChuckPatterson, JamesPicoult, JodiPoe, Edgar AllanPratchett, TerryRowling, JKScarry, RichardSparks, NicholasTolkien, J R RVonnegut, Kurt, Jr.More Popular AuthorsRare Books >Find Rare BooksFirst Edition BooksAntiquarian BooksSigned BooksFind A SellerAbout BooksellingBook CollectingBook SpecialitiesBook ConditionBook RepairCustomer Favorites >Best-SellersNew ReleasesClassicsBargain BooksAdvanced Search >
Books Home
Music
Music Genres >AlternativeBluesChildren's MusicChristian & GospelComedyCountryElectronicFolkHip-HopJazzLatinMetalPopR&B & SoulRapReggaeRockSoundtrackClassical Music >Chamber MusicChoral MusicOperaOrchestral MusicSymphonyVocal MusicPopular Artists >ACDCAlabamaAriana GrandeBillie EilishBruno MarsBTSCardi BChicagoDrakeEaglesEd SheeranElton JohnElvis PresleyEminemGarth BrooksGeorge StraitJourneyJustin BieberKane BrownKaty PerryKidz BopLady GagaLauren DaigleMadonnaMetallicaMichael JacksonNFPink FloydPost MaloneQueenRadioheadRihannaSantanaTaylor SwiftMore Popular ArtistsAdvanced Search >
Music Home
Movies
Movie Genres >ActionAdventureAnimalsAnimeBiographyChildren'sComedyCrimeDocumentaryDramaFamilyFantasyHealth & FitnessHistoryHorrorMusicMusicalMysteryRomanceSci-fiSportThrillerTV ShowsWarWesternPopular Actors >& Directors Alfred HitchcockAmber HeardAnthony HopkinsAntonio BanderasBradley CooperChristian BaleChristopher NolanClint EastwoodDakota FanningDavid LynchDenzel WashingtonDwayne JohnsonEmma RobertsEmma WatsonGuillermo del ToroGuy RitchieHailee SteinfeldJames CameronJohnny DeppLeonardo DiCaprioMartin ScorseseMatt DamonMeryl StreepMorgan FreemanNicole KidmanQuentin TarantinoRobert De NiroRobert Downey Jr.Scarlett JohanssonSpike LeeStanley KubrickSteven SpielbergTim BurtonTom HanksView allCritically Acclaimed >Academy AwardsBest PictureBest ActressBest ActorGolden GlobesCannes Film FestivalPalme d'OrGrand PrixNew York Film CriticsFilm FestivalsAward WinnersAdvanced Search >
Movies Home
Bargains
99 Cent Books >Best-SellingBiographyBusinessCookingFamilyMysteryRomanceScience FictionTravelAll 99 Cent BooksFree Shipping >Items Eligible for Free ShippingFrequently Asked QuestionsDaily Coupons >Promo Coupon CodesDiscount Books >Best-SellingBiographyBusinessCookingFamilyMysteryRomanceScience FictionTravelAll Discount Books
Bargains Home
Explore
Seasonal Guide >Back to SchoolHoliday Gift GuideFall Gift GuideAdventure Gift GuideBusinessCommunity >CommunityDiscussionsReviewsSeller PostsAlibris Blog >Our RecommendationsBest OfSci-fi EssentialsYoung AdultsAuthor Personalities >Author PersonalitiesThe ScienceOur Partner
Explore Home
Blog

Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam - McPherson, James M

Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam

by

5 Customer Reviews

McPherson brilliantly weaves strands of diplomatic, political, and military history into a compact, swift-moving narrative that shows why America's bloodiest Civil War day was, indeed, a turning point in history. Illustrations.

+ Add to Wishlist
loading
  • Book Details
  • Seller
  •
Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam
2004, Oxford University Press, USA, Oxford, England

ISBN-13: 9780195173307

Revised edition

Trade paperback

Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam
2002, Oxford University Press, USA, Oxford, England

ISBN-13: 9780195135213

Hardcover

Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam
2002, Thorndike Press, Waterville, ME

ISBN-13: 9780786249091

Large type / large print

Hardcover

Browse related Subjects
+ Browse All Subjects
Filter Results
Shipping
Item Condition
Seller Rating
Other Options
Change Currency

All Editions of Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam

Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam

2004, Trade paperback

ISBN-13:

9780195173307

Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam

2002, Hardcover

ISBN-13:

9780195135213

Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam

2002, Hardcover

ISBN-13:

9780786249091

Books by James M McPherson

Related Books

Customer Reviews

Write a Review

CBruns

Dec 22, 2020

Not So Much on the Battle

Basically only one chapter talks about the battle of Antietam. It does read quick, covers the Peninsula Campaign and the making of the battle. The book does cover the the angle of British and French recognizing the Confederacy and the Emancipation Proclamation. Altogether it was a good book for referencing the time of the battle. Yes, I would suggest this to someone interested in learning the basic of the battle, it does not go into detail of it though.

Gissinglover

Sep 17, 2020

A New Birth Of Freedom And Its Cost

On September 17, 1862, the Army of the Potomac commanded by General George B. McClellan met the Army of Northern Virginia commanded by Robert E. Lee in the fields near Sharpsburg, Maryland. The result was the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history and a pivotal moment of the Civil War. The battle ended the Confederacy's first invasion of the North and gave President Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

In his short study, "Crossroads of Freedom" Professor McPherson weaves together many strands in discussing the significance of the battle. First, he places the battle against the backdrop of the prior military course of the war, both in the Eastern and the Western theaters. He points out how Union successes in the early part of 1862 were followed by serious defeats in the Seven Days Battle and Second Manassas with the tide of the war turning to the Confederacy. Although the South would again invade the North culminating in the Battle of Gettysburg, Antietam was a clear check to Southern momentum. It gave the Union the courage, will and political force to fight on.

Second, Professor McPherson emphasizes the role of the European powers -- England and France -- in the Civil War. These nations followed events in America closely and were economically at risk from the loss of Southern cotton for their textile mills. They likely would have recognized the Confederacy if the results of the first invasion of the North had favored the Confederacy.

Third, and probably most importantly to his theme, Professor McPherson discusses the role of Antietam in the changing character of the Civil War. President Lincoln was opposed to slavery, but his initial war aims did not include freeing the slaves. Rather he wished to hold the Union together. As the War continued, Lincoln became convinced of the necessity of issuing an Emancipation Proclamation but believed that he needed a military success to give the Proclamation force and credibility. The victory at Antietam, narrow as it was, and tremendous as was its human cost, gave him that opportunity.

Emancipation was indeed a new birth of freedom. It also, as Professor McPherson points out, changed the character of the War from one with the aim of trying to persuade the South to come back to a state of total War -- which changed the character of a culture and redefined the nature of freedom in the United States.

Professor McPherson's book is part of a series called "Pivotal Moments in American History" whose aim is "to encourage interest in problems of historical contingency." There was a great deal of chance involved in the Battle of Antietam, more so than in most military campaigns. (There were also military blunders on both sides.) During the course of the southern invasion the Union discovered by chance a copy of General Lee's "Special Order No. 179" which had been dropped in a field. Special Order No. 179 detailed Lee's disposition of his troops and gave General McClellan the opportunity to attack in series each detachment of Lee's divided army. This was crucial to the result at Antietam. But McClellan missed the opportunity to win a decisive victory and bring an end to the War. Human error and chance play a great role in human events. But Professor McPherson might have done well to refer to Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address and compared Lincoln's reflections on the role of providence with the blind chance that led to the Union finding of Special Order No. 179.

There is only a short description of the battle of Antietam itself. The focus of the study is putting the Battle in its historical and political context rather than in a detailed analysis of military moves. Nevertheless, I found Professor McPherson's description of the battle (as well as his descriptions of the Seven Days Battle and Second Manassas) easier to follow than more detailed studies I have read. Professor McPherson gives a good annotated bibliography which refers the reader interested in a military study of the battle to more detailed accounts.

This is an excellent study of the Battle of Antietam which places it well in the context of the Civil War and which encourages the reader to reflect on the meaning of the War and of the nature of American freedom.

Robin Friedman

Eugene

Jul 27, 2012

Antietam by J MacPherson2

MacPherson's is at his usual scholarly and readable best. Concisely but accurately told account; a useful addition to a Civil War library.

Vincent R

May 24, 2012

GOOD AUTHOR

All James' books are good reads. I enjoyed the large print as at the end of the day it is a big help.

Gerry M

Jul 21, 2011

crossroads to freedom

I found this very informative and will take it with me on my trip to the Antietam battlefield. The photo's could of been more clear but I assume this is because of the paper they were printed on.

See All 5 Reviews