Land on Demand in the News

Indirectly. Click titles for links.

1

The Won Cause: Black and White Comradeship in the Grand Army of the Republic, a book by Barbara Gannon, is an Honorable Mention for the 2012 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize.

Two books co-won this award for 2012, and Barb’s book nabbed the sole honorable mention. From what I hear (from the author and others), this award is given for books that achieve the pinnacle of Civil War scholarship—and a ton of scholarly Civil War books are printed each year. This is quite the honor, and the book is indeed an amazing piece of research. If I’m remembering right, I think I copyedited, proofed, and indexed this one. Barb’s sister, the czarina, and I all used to work together, and I thank Mary for the reference.

Amazon book description: 

In the years after the Civil War, black and white Union soldiers who survived the horrific struggle joined the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)—the Union army’s largest veterans’ organization. In this thoroughly researched and groundbreaking study, Barbara Gannon chronicles black and white veterans’ efforts to create and sustain the nation’s first interracial organization. 

According to the conventional view, the freedoms and interests of African American veterans were not defended by white Union veterans after the war, despite the shared tradition of sacrifice among both black and white soldiers. In The Won Cause, however, Gannon challenges this scholarship, arguing that although black veterans still suffered under the contemporary racial mores, the GAR honored its black members in many instances and ascribed them a greater equality than previous studies have shown. Using evidence of integrated posts and veterans’ thoughts on their comradeship and the cause, Gannon reveals that white veterans embraced black veterans because their membership in the GAR demonstrated that their wartime suffering created a transcendent bond—comradeship—that overcame even the most pernicious social barrier—race-based separation. By upholding a more inclusive memory of a war fought for liberty as well as union, the GAR’s “Won Cause” challenged the Lost Cause version of Civil War memory.

2

Excellent New York Times book review of Queen Elizabeth in the Garden: A Story of Love, Rivalry, and Spectacular Gardens.

Great news for a small publisher. BlueBridge Books produces timeless volumes that are meticulously fashioned. I proofread this one. And it’s especially sweet as the Washington Post unnecessarily hammered another excellent BlueBridge book a few years ago.

Amazon book description:

Taking a fresh and original approach to the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth I, this book tells the incredible story of her great passion for gardens, and how the two most powerful men in England during her reign fought a decade-long duel for their queen’s affections by creating lavish gardens for her. It chronicles how, in their quest to woo the queen and outdo each other, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and William Cecil, Baron of Burghley, competed for Elizabeth’s favor by laying out innovative and extravagant pleasure grounds at their palaces for when she came to visit. As she played one off against the other, they created gorgeous palaces and landscapes that amazed the world. The book also describes how others in England and abroad followed Dudley’s and Cecil’s leads and how the queen’s love of plants made gardeners of courtiers, statesmen, and soldiers. This meticulously researched account reveals how Elizabeth’s enthusiasm for horticulture changed the world, encouraging gardeners and designers to create landscapes inspired by the spirit of the Elizabethan garden.

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A fine week for the LoD client base. Keep up the good work, folks.