Amanda Foreman

Britian's crucial role in the American Civil War

A world on fire

Jeni Enjaian

I expected a whole lot more out of this book that I received. Upon reading the description of the book I was intrigued. This seemed to be a new take on the American Civil War, something that has been discussed nearly to death. Unfortunatley, Ms. Foreman did not deliver.
The issues with this book are substantial and numerous. 
First, the distinctions between the segments (part I, II and etc) are paper only. The tone and/or cast of characters barely shifts or in the case of the characters, continues the same head-spinning revolution discussed in my second point. 
Second, Foreman includes far too many characters. Yes, many American citizens interacted with British citizens and vice versa during the time of the American Civil War but that does not mean that all such interactions should be documented. If the title of your book has the subtitle "Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War," the fate of miscellaneous British citizens who choose to enlist in either the Confederate or Federal armies plays no part in that crucial war. Yes, mention that it happened but do not devote multiple pages to that man's motivation and outcome.
Third, Foreman did not master the balance between military and political narrative. The transition between political machinations and battle maneuvers leaves much to be desired.
Fourth, the summary epilogue better highlighted "Britain's Crucial Role" than the six hundred pages of text that came before. While I appreciated the epilogue, I would have appreciated such a narrative to have pervaded the rest of the work.
I can say one positive thing about Foreman's work. She does not lack for first and second hand sources.(This is the only reason that I gave the book three stars instead of two.) I can be reasonably assured that the information contained within the book is accurate if not fatally flawed as described above.

A world on fire Britian's crucial role in the American Civil War

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