SOCIAL SCIENCES

Smithsonian Civil War: Inside the National Collection

by Stephen G. Hyslop
Smithsonian. Nov. 2013. 388p. ed. by Neil Kagan & . photos. index. ISBN 9781588343895. $40. HIST
COPY ISBN
It's a very handsome volume, but let's consult the substance. Here are 150 more or less chronologically presented topics attached to more than 500 photographs of objects or images in the Smithsonian's collections. Some entries, e.g., number 18 on Lincoln's "Passage Through Baltimore," are tied to one print and are covered in one page. Others, e.g., number 26, "The Seamstress and the First Ladies," are multipaged, in that case showing numerous elite pieces that belonged to either Varina Davis or Mary Todd Lincoln. Each entry's text is suffixed with the initials of the contributing Smithsonian writer, with full names and positions on a list up front.
VERDICT Overall, contributors cover the Civil War years richly from numerous social, political, military, and material-culture angles. But this hybrid may not fully succeed in either part of its approach: as a picture book it doesn't accessibly outline for lay readers the basics of the war's progress and people. As deeper, descriptive history, it seems to send the message that its collections are above the intellectual discourse on the war and can simply stand on their own—no cited research beyond the Smithsonian required—a very old-fashioned notion. Still, this book sure is attractive, and when getting lay readers interested in history, those good looks count for a lot!
Reviewed by Margaret Heilbrun , Oct 01, 2013
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