Great Maps of the Civil War: Pivotal Battles and Campaigns Featuring 32 Removable Maps (Museum in a Book) by William J. Miller

A beautiful book. Recommended for map lovers and hard-core Civil War buffs.

Published by Rutledge Hill Press (Thomas Nelson) in 2004.

48 pages 

Thomas Nelson's Rutledge Hill Press publishing division has created a lovely book that tells a simple narrative of the Civil War focusing on the importance of maps in the war and the men who made them.

The cover of the book is designed to look like a leather bound canvas portfolio, much like a mapmaker's sketchbook of the era. The text of the book is beautifully printed on high quality paper. I appreciated the fact that the publishers included lots of pictures of everyday soldiers - not just the same old posed shots of the generals and politicians.

Lincoln and McClellan after Antietam

There are 32 removable maps included as well. The removable maps are stored in between the pages. The publisher has printed on only one side of the thick paper pages and then glued the blank sides together on the edges to make an envelope of sorts between the pages. The maps are securely stored so there is no chance of accidentally losing a map.

I would not recommend this book as an introduction to the topic of the Civil War since it does precious little to introduce the issues that caused the war or Reconstruction. However, it is an attractive volume that would be welcome in the collection of any Civil War buff.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Great Maps of the Civil War.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on January 10, 2008.