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In 2014, the New York Times published [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/books/review/james-m-mcpherson-by-the-book.html?_r=0 a brief interview] with noted Civil War historian James McPherson, The George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University. McPherson is considered to be the dean of Civil War historians. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning book [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/019516895X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=019516895X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=bb691159be05abe1852f41d2bed7c494 Battle Cry of Freedom] which is the best overview of the Civil War. In the interview , McPherson identified stated who he believes are America's top historians, the best book on the Civil War, military history, African American history, the book most responsible for shaping his career, and even the most overrated history book ever. It's a biggie.
All of the historians and books cited by McPherson are outstanding, but they are representative of his generation. Not surprisingly, this was pointed out by several younger scholars. Most of his preferences were predominantly from historians of either his generation of scholars. In many ways books are like music, people like the music of their formative years better than anything that came before it or after. His choices are certainly understandable, but open to debate.
Best Books on the Civil War:
Allan Nevins: , [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VZZO3M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000VZZO3M&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6ef4167b8ee4cc21d3c75d2b33882c75 Eight Volume Set on the Civil War]
Best Historians Writing Today:
Gordon Wood, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679736883/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0679736883&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4a13f0aff063a128cd955e543ef6de9b The Radicalism of the American Revolution]
Eric Foner, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393244075/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393244075&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=64535fc33a5e01427eaba9f0b184e82aGateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad]
David McCullough, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476728755/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1476728755&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1691fa23ea717d97a18fc78f4f66f4dc The Wright Brothers]
Best Military Histories:
John Keegan, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375700455/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375700455&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=abeec345f209ab3821f9b6d1f761855a The Face of BattleFirst World War]
Craig Symonds, Lincoln and His Admirals[https: Abraham Lincoln, the U//www.Samazon. Navy, and the Civil War, Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the Dcom/gp/product/0195312112/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195312112&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-Day Landings, 20&linkId=a13f60ba49ad59f0dcd243ca008d75d7 Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles That that Shaped American History, The Civil War at Sea (Reflections on the Civil War Era)]
Stephen W. Sears, Gettysburg, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039587744X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=039587744X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6893374e795d46edb3fa605f0812961a Chancellorsville]
Gordon C. Rhea, Cold Harbor[https: Grant and Lee, May 26//www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807118737/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0807118737&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-June 3, 1864, 20&linkId=4dd5c6be8ae7e6b39e277d75437750e5 The Battle of the Wilderness , May 5--6, 1864]
Gary W. Gallagher, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0253222664/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0253222664&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=bfc9171b392c44695a045e5661ad8293 The Union War, The Confederate Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil WarHistory]
Joseph T. Glatthaar, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807125601/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0807125601&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=86bee3742d517160a30b6cab925954b0 Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers, Partners in command : The relationships between leaders in the Civil War]
Rick Atkinson, An Army at Dawn[https: The War in Africa, 1942//www.amazon.com/gp/product/1250037816/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1250037816&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-1943, The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944, 20&linkId=075630bb00a0ac3b803191138958e17d The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945(The Liberation Trilogy)]
Best African American History Books:
John Hope Franklin, From Slavery to Freedom[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195084519/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0195084519&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5ba126243a4002a0b5a13d6cea8c6954 Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation]
Ira Berlin, Generations of Captivity : History of African-american Slaves (03 Edition), Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America
Most Important for His Career:
C. Vann Woodward, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807100390/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0807100390&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6e17c1eb0e4acb6ce5c6567e02b26d1d Origins of the New South, 1877-1913]
Book Every President Should Read:
Doris Kearns Goodwin, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/141654786X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=141654786X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=85296cabd0c31f8aeb41ad092f981218 The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism]
Most Overrated History Book:
Edward Gibbon, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140437649/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0140437649&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=69a097cd2f08e2594eed01d52f9ba3b4 The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Penguin Classics)]
Books on His Nightstand:
Ron Chernow, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143119966/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143119966&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=af07747ddf58eba0c6507908db1ac37d Washington: A Life]
Daniel James Brown, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143125478/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143125478&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5bbec7d420a77d7bd80742648e998272 The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics]
His Next Book:
Ron Chernow, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143034758/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143034758&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1966c356d5dc8895f516f9212fd47f9d Alexander Hamilton]
{{Mediawiki:US History}}
