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Bibliography of the American Civil War

The bibliography of the American Civil War comprises books that deal in large part with the American Civil War. There are over 60,000 books on the war, with more appearing each month.[1] Authors James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier stated in 2012, "No event in American history has been so thoroughly studied, not merely by historians, but by tens of thousands of other Americans who have made the war their hobby. Perhaps a hundred thousand books have been published about the Civil War."[2]

There is no complete bibliography to the war; the largest guide to books is more than 50 years old and lists over 6,000 of the most valuable titles as evaluated by three leading scholars.[3] Many specialized topics such as Abraham Lincoln,[4] women,[5] and medicine[6] have their own lengthy bibliographies. The books on major campaigns typically contain their own specialized guides to the sources and literature. The most comprehensive guide to the historiography annotates over a thousand major titles, with an emphasis on military topics.[7] The most recent guide to literary and non-military topics is A History of American Civil War Literature (2016) edited by Coleman Hutchison. It emphasizes cultural studies, memory, diaries, southern literary writings, and famous novelists.[8]

  1. ^ In 2001, Jonathan Sarna estimated that over 50,000 books had already appeared, with 1,500 more appearing annually. American Jewish History 89.3 (2001) 335–337.
  2. ^ James Lincoln Collier; Christopher Collier (2012). Slavery and the Coming of the Civil War: 1831–1861. Blackstone Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 978-1620645116.
  3. ^ Allan Nevins, Bell Irvin Wiley, and James I. Robertson, Civil War Books: A Critical Bibliography (2 vol, 1970)
  4. ^ Burkhimer, Michael. 100 Essential Lincoln Books (2003)
  5. ^ McDevitt, Theresa. Women and the American Civil War: An Annotated Bibliography (2003)
  6. ^ Freemon, Frank R. Microbes and Minie Balls (1993)
  7. ^ Woodworth, Steven; et al., eds. The American Civil War: A Handbook of Literature and Research (1996)
  8. ^ See online edition at Google.com

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