Civil War Myths

More than 150 years after the end of the Civil War, scores of websites, articles, and organizations repeat claims that anywhere between 500 and 100,000 free and enslaved African Americans fought willingly as soldiers in the Confederate army. But as Kevin M. Levin argues in this carefully researched book, such claims would have shocked anyone who served in the army during the war itself. Levin explains that imprecise contemporary accounts, poorly understood primary-source material, and other misrepresentations helped fuel the rise of the black Confederate myth.

“Exceptional…This is a much-needed reframing of what catalyzes civil strife.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review What can Americans learn about our divided country today from the Civil War that divided us in the past? Connor Williams’s The Confederacy Myth answers that question with a...

Selected as one of the Best Books of 2016 by Bill Gates All too frequently, leadership is reduced to a simple dichotomy: the strong versus the weak. Yet, there are myriad ways to exercise effective political leadership-as well as different ways to fail. We blame our leaders for economic...

At the time of his death, Ulysses S. Grant was the most famous person in America, considered by most citizens to be equal in stature to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Yet today his monuments are rarely visited, his military reputation is overshadowed by that of Robert E. Lee, and his presidency is permanently mired at the bottom of historical rankings.

Join the acclaimed authors of the encyclopedia of conspiracy theories in exploring some of history''s great myths. In this provocative audio course, you’ll travel through time with history and medieval literature experts to learn why the truth about past events is so elusive. Your journey will...