Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know about the Civil War (The Steven and Janice Brose Lectures in the Civil War Era) - Tapa dura

In-depth, analytical, and thought-provoking. . . . An important, must read for students of the Civil War.--Journal of American History Gallagher's analysis of the ways artists and Hollywood film writers have shaped the changing perceptions of the Civil War and its legacy is thought provoking.--Courier A thoughtful, well-researched, and well-illustrated study that helps readers learn how their understanding of the Civil War has been shaped.--The Journal of America's Military Past A highly edifying and entertaining look at how popular culture has advanced the primary interpretive traditions by which Americans have sought to ascribe meaning to the Civil War. It reveals that despite the passing of the Civil War generation so long ago, the participants who endured that bloody conflict still define, for better or worse, how we comprehend the past.--Louisiana History Highly recommended.--Choice Fuses Civil War military and cultural history in a particularly readable and entertaining manner." --Canadian Journal of History Gallagher, one of our finest historians of the Civil War, brings an abundance of sharp insights to this thoughtful analysis. By drawing attention to four principal traditions of interpretation in cinema and art, he demonstrates how popular culture both reflects and shapes our understanding of the war's meaning.--American Historical Review Innovative in its approach, provocative in its arguments, and fundamentally interesting, but, most significantly . . . will drive further discussion of Civil War memory through popular culture.--West Virginia History A highly informative, well-illustrated, and wonderfully entertaining book.--The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society This seemingly specialized book in fact has broad appeal.--Centre Daily Times A useful entry in the burgeoning literature that deals with the way in which the Civil War is remembered by Americans.--Southwestern Historical Quarterly A solidly researched and intriguing exploration of the influence of popular culture on public understanding of the war. Anyone interested in the Civil War and the impact of media on historical understanding will find Gallagher's latest book rewarding on many levels.--Civil War Times A fascinating, informative book. . . . Highly recommended to students and enthusiasts of the Civil War and for those interested in an examination of misinformation in movies and art.--NewsOK.com A welcome addition to the burgeoning literature on the Civil War in popular culture, and it makes for a breezy and edifying read for the scholar and layperson alike.--North Carolina Historical Review [A] highly entertaining analysis of how the Civil War has been treated in popular culture.--The Boston Globe Provides insight into how the war is viewed in contemporary American culture. . . . The four interpretive frameworks Gallagher uses for his analysis are instructive for understanding the dominant trends in art and film.--Southern Historian Written with Gallagher's customary clarity and vigor, salted with sardonic humor, and laced with expressions of concern about the darker side of Lost Cause adherents' admiration of Nathan Bedford Forrest and contempt for Abraham Lincoln.--Virginia Magazine A short and very readable book that should appeal to anyone with more than a passing interest in the Civil War.--On Point [Gallagher's] books are always packed with relevant information and are a joy to read. This work is no different.--H-Net Gallagher has established himself as a one-man Civil War cottage industry. . . . Surveys this landscape with proficiency. . . . Infused with a deep sense of authority that has its satisfactions.--Civil War History Crisp, focused, and thoughtful.--Georgia Historical Quarterly An intelligent, readable account of how we look at the American Civil War. . . . Five stars.-- James Durney, independent Book Reviewer [Gallagher's] witty, handsomely illustrated book underscores Hollywood's ability to shape perceptions of historical events. Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten is a major contribution to Civil War memory scholarship. It reminds us how past traditions and present concerns shape understandings of the conflict, perhaps as Warren mused, the very essence of American history.--BookPage

This title includes versions of history we learn at the movies. More than 60,000 books have been published on the Civil War. Most Americans, though, get their ideas about the war - why it was fought, what was won, what was lost - not from books but from movies, television, and other popular media. In an engaging and accessible survey, renowned Civil War historian Gary Gallagher guides readers through the stories told in recent film and art, showing how they have both reflected and influenced the political, social, and racial currents of their times.Gallagher argues that popular understandings of the war have been shaped by four traditions that arose in the nineteenth century and continue to the present: the Lost Cause, in which Confederates are seen as having waged an admirable struggle against hopeless odds; the Union Cause, which frames the war as an effort to maintain a viable republic in the face of secessionist actions; the Emancipation Cause, in which the war is viewed as a struggle to liberate 4 million slaves and eliminate a cancerous influence on American society; and the Reconciliation Cause, which represents attempts by northern and southern whites to extol ""American"" virtues and mute the role of African Americans. Gallagher traces an arc of cinematic interpretation from one once dominated by the Lost Cause to one now celebrating Emancipation and, to a lesser degree, Reconciliation. In contrast, the market for art among contemporary Civil War enthusiasts reflects an overwhelming Lost Cause bent. Neither film not art provides sympathetic representations of the Union Cause, which, Gallagher argues, carried the most weight in the Civil War era.This lively investigation into what popular entertainment teaches us and what it reflects about us will prompt readers to consider how we form opinions on current matters of debate, such as the use of the military, the freedom to dissent, and the flying of the Confederate flag.