Antietam: The Photographic Legacy of America's Bloodiest Day

As they say "A picture is worth a thousand words." This book goes even further than that - a photo is just a photo - an "interpreted" photo, however, is priceless. There are many books about America's bloodiest day - many are informative, many of those are somewhat dry reading. This book does a real good job of mixing photos with the facts and providing detailed descriptions and interpretation of the events that occured and the people involved on that infamous day. The author has true insight - both into photography and about history.

Heartbreaking in its starkness and immediacy, this is a collection of photographs that changed American conceptions of war by bringing death and destruction into their homes. Even after more than a century of war images, these photos retain their power.

This book is to be read each time you visit the battle site. There is much honor in the author's efforts.

If you have only one book on Antietam on your shelf, this might be the one to have. Frassanito explodes old myths, brings the farmers residing on the battlefield alive, and painstakingly dissects photos that seem routine. His greatest flair is bringing out the details, such as identifying the hardtack lid grave markers of the freshly dead, but unknown soldiers, and weaving a story around the single picture. Brilliant book, enjoyable for anyone with even a passing interest in the Civil War.