Touched by Fire: A National Historical Society Photographic Portrait of the Civil War

I bought this book for someone who is very involved in Civil War reenactment. He Loves it!

This is one of the better collections, between two covers, of Civil War photographs I have come across and own. There are well over 1000 black and white photographs in this rather thick and heavy volume, each being well annotated and described. The quality of the vast majority of these pictures is of excellent quality. The overall theme is of course military in nature, although there are quite a number of works featuring civilian homes, business, farms and such. Many of the photographs themselves were taken by some of the greats, Gardner, O'Sullivan, Edwards, Petty, Russell and Brady, but the unknown photographer and the assistants of these men are well represented. I have looked at and examined many works from this era over the years, but found many photographs in this book that simply have never been published before. The book is broken down into various categories such as Around the War, The Embattled Continent, The Men in the Ranks, Ships and Seamen, Johnny Reb, Billy Yank, The Men who Led, and many, many others. I was particularly interested in the section dealing with ships and seamen. I am not particularly interested in Naval Warfare, but some of these pictures are absolutely fascinating and this book contains quite a large collection. Another aspect I found most helpful was the photographs in the actual uniforms of the warriors, both sides being represented. These actual pictures are so much more accurate, interesting and telling than many of the renditions by modern artists. So often the difference in "ideal" and "reality" is quite striking. As a collector of the artifacts of this particular war, I found this to be most helpful. This work also includes numerous articles addressing various aspects of the war. Each of these short essays and informative background pieces are quite well done and contain much interesting information. While I am normally not a big fan of "coffee table books," I see no other format that could handle the data presented here. Most of the photographs are large enough for even old eyes like mine to see. The other aspect of this work I enjoyed, is that there is just enough questionable information that could be somewhat challenged, to keep the most diehard Civil War nit-picker in complete bliss. Now the questionable information found here is indeed questionable itself, and as to weather it is correct or incorrect is, for the most part, in they eye of the beholder. It is in the nature of Civil War Buffs to be so though, so this is fine. All in all, this is a wonderful addition to any library concerning this event in our nation's history and I do highly recommend it. I like to leave through this one ever so often as with each reading I find something that I had previously missed.

This book is a remarkable collection of Civil War images. They're striking, disgusting, personal, posed, spontaneous, beautiful, ugly, brutal, profound, fascinating or plain old interesting, extraordinary, run of the mill, boring, and with all of them this collection gives you an amazing glimpse of life. It's a smorgasbord of pictures, from people, to landscapes, to architecture, to machinery of war; the death and destruction, or the grandiosity and pomp, this has it all, and much more. Even if you're a Civil War buff, you probably won't have seen most of these photographs. I believe there are about 1,000+ in this, and it's immensity and diversity bombards you with a continual, ongoing, and very varied glimpse into that time and that life (A note though, the focus of the book is 95% military, with very few photographs of civilians. They are in there, but usually in a military setting.) It doesn't take long to get through, I've managed in half an hour, and I've read it dozens of times now. The images pull you back, as there is always something to discover or appreciate or wonder at hidden inside the photo.William Davis' commentary is pretty and emotional and light. He doesn't write a history lesson here, the photos take care of that, but enough to put things in perspective.It's been said (over and over and over) that an image can speak a thousand words, and although it's a well worn cliche, it's one of the truest of cliches. I find that photographs, Civil War included, help me to have a greater understanding of the world, of history, because they almost reach in and suspend a moment for all time, and within that moment are cross-sections of existence. They can teach you as well, better in certain ways, as any lesson or research book or whatnot. "Touched By Fire" is no exception, and is one of the best Civil War books I own for it's sheer size and power and grand capturing of life during the Civil War.

If Civil War photographs are as fascinating to you as to me, this topically arranged volume has hundreds of examples for your perusal, many never seen before. The short essays range in quality from the well crafted to the pedantic, depending on their author's creativity. The captions also vary widely. Some reflect the critical eye of William Frassanito, the "photographic consultant," while others add little to the image and occasionally distract from it.

In very few words, this book should be in the libraries of any serious reader of the civil war. The short stories coupled with the enomorous number of photographs is very comprehensive and educational. Great for readers of all ages. Jim Nichol