Library's review
Amanda Foreman has written a magnificent history of the role played by Britain (and less intensely, other European countries such as France) in the American Civil War. It's an aspect of American history not often touched on in more general histories of the Civil War era, making Foreman's book an
It is only a small exaggeration to say that Britain's crucial role was to play no role at all. The British government, both in London and in the consulate in Washington, D.C., worked very hard indeed to maintain its neutrality. It had to work so hard because both North and South were desperate to claim the support of the former mother country. Confederate leaders were sure that the Union blockade keeping Southern cotton from reaching British textile mills would create an economic crisis that would force Britain to declare its support for the Confederacy.
On the other side, President Lincoln and his cabinet were sure that Britain's abhorrence of slavery would lead it to declare its support for the Union cause. Such confidence was shaken when they realized that few in Britain believed that the war was being fought to abolish slavery — a belief upheld by the reluctance of Lincoln first to enact and then to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. An overzealous naval blockade that repeatedly entangled British merchant ships in its web did little to garner Union support either in the halls of Parliament or the streets of Britain.
Although the official British position remained studiously neutral throughout the conflict, Foreman also undertakes to explore the lives of a number of British citizens who took it upon themselves to come to the United States to fight, some for the Union but many more for the Confederacy. Many of these individual soldiers found themselves taking on rather more than they bargained for in their "grand adventure", and British diplomats were often helpless to extract them from their misadventures.
A World on Fire is painstakingly researched and well written in a style accessible to more than an academic audience. Make no mistake, it is a tome of epic proportions — more than 1,000 pages. In reading, I couldn't help feeling that the book could have been significantly shortened without detriment to its main thesis by abbreviating or eliminating some of the detailed shot-by-shot battle recreations. There is a plethora of Civil War books that delve exhaustively into military strategy; the extent to which Foreman does the same seems superfluous to the main thread of the story.
Despite that minor quibble, I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in either the Civil War era or the history of British-American relations. Foreman's scholarship seems impeccable, and her narrative is engaging and thoughtful.
Show More
essential addition to any Civil War or American history library.It is only a small exaggeration to say that Britain's crucial role was to play no role at all. The British government, both in London and in the consulate in Washington, D.C., worked very hard indeed to maintain its neutrality. It had to work so hard because both North and South were desperate to claim the support of the former mother country. Confederate leaders were sure that the Union blockade keeping Southern cotton from reaching British textile mills would create an economic crisis that would force Britain to declare its support for the Confederacy.
On the other side, President Lincoln and his cabinet were sure that Britain's abhorrence of slavery would lead it to declare its support for the Union cause. Such confidence was shaken when they realized that few in Britain believed that the war was being fought to abolish slavery — a belief upheld by the reluctance of Lincoln first to enact and then to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. An overzealous naval blockade that repeatedly entangled British merchant ships in its web did little to garner Union support either in the halls of Parliament or the streets of Britain.
Although the official British position remained studiously neutral throughout the conflict, Foreman also undertakes to explore the lives of a number of British citizens who took it upon themselves to come to the United States to fight, some for the Union but many more for the Confederacy. Many of these individual soldiers found themselves taking on rather more than they bargained for in their "grand adventure", and British diplomats were often helpless to extract them from their misadventures.
A World on Fire is painstakingly researched and well written in a style accessible to more than an academic audience. Make no mistake, it is a tome of epic proportions — more than 1,000 pages. In reading, I couldn't help feeling that the book could have been significantly shortened without detriment to its main thesis by abbreviating or eliminating some of the detailed shot-by-shot battle recreations. There is a plethora of Civil War books that delve exhaustively into military strategy; the extent to which Foreman does the same seems superfluous to the main thread of the story.
Despite that minor quibble, I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in either the Civil War era or the history of British-American relations. Foreman's scholarship seems impeccable, and her narrative is engaging and thoughtful.
Show Less
Collection
Description
Presents a history of the role of British citizens in the American Civil War that offers insight into the interdependencies of both nations and how the Union worked to block diplomatic relations between England and the Confederacy.
Media reviews
Foreman is excellent on tactics, less good on strategy. She stays at ground level, close to the combatants, which means that the war – best understood from a detached vertical distance – remains a muddle. I ended her long book unsure of why it was fought; I also ended it wondering whether the
Show More
tangled mess of individual stories, like the simultaneous plots of a Victorian novel, had reached any definite conclusion. I then remembered a visit a while ago to Richmond, Virginia, where, near the state capitol, I came upon a battalion of troops in Confederate uniforms camped out for a battle re-enactment that, complete with blood-curdling rebel yells, was due to take an entire weekend. The civil war did not end in 1865. It rages on, fought not along the Mason-Dixon Line but between red and blue states, or between the patriotic heartland and the effete, expendable east and west coasts. Show Less
Awards
National Book Critics Circle Award (Finalist — Nonfiction — 2011)
The Economist Best Books (2010.6)
Fletcher Pratt Award (2011)
PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize (Shortlist — 2011)
Lionel Gelber Prize (Shortlist — 2012)
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2011)
Language
Original publication date
2010-11