The New York Times: Disunion; Modern Historians Revisit and Reconsider the Civil War from Lincoln's Election to the Emancipation Proclamation

In 2010, on the eve of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War the New York Times launched the Disunion blog to offer essays—with the "snap, crackle and pop of lively online writing"—addressing the Civil War from a variety of angles. Widmer (assistant to the president for special projects, Brown Univ.), with two Times staff editors, has selected over 100 of the blog's pieces, presenting them in chronological parallel with the war years covered. Here are essays by some notable academics (e.g., David W. Blight), but more are by independent scholars (for example, Amanda Foreman, Harold Holzer) and popular interpreters such as Ken Burns and Winston Groom. The topics range from traditional discussions of President Lincoln, the war's generals, and major battles to essays on African Americans in the war and studies of other marginalized groups including women, immigrants, and Native Americans.