Death and The Civil War

Death And The Civil War During the Sesquicentennial
Without a doubt, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust put the Civil War on the bestseller lists again. Published in 2008, Faust's work illuminated for many a new view of Ken Burns' Civil War 1990 series. Popular culture treats the American Civil War differently than scholars, buffs and reenactors treat the war. For popular culture the market place is a battlefield; products vie for mass attention and sales. Now during the 150th sesquicentennial of 1862, the public will likely take a glance at the Civil War. Ric Burns' Death and the Civil War will premiere on Tuesday September 18th on public broadcasting television. Based upon Faust's bestselling non-fiction work, Death and the Civil War is a sobering reminder that the Civil War was a landscape turned red by 750,000+ deaths in four years.

At 120 minutes, Burns' pace is deliberate and provocative. The opening segment is jarring. A few moments before his death, a Mississippi...

Nothing Civil About It
I had gone to bed & woke thirsty. Grabbing a glass of milk I sat down & turned on the tv only long enough to finish my drink. I saw first the portion describing the movement of the Southern women to reclaim & honor their dead. It progressed more & more into such sadness & despair I could not watch it to the end. The subject matter holds no allegience to North or South...only to the grave.

I've followed Ken Burns long enough to know it will be articulate...hauntingly detailed...& very accurate. I have no doubts it will join the ranks of great American History documentaries particularly in this genre. It will become a valuable addition to my personal library so I can view it again...& again.

Profound and moving
D&TCW is a profound and moving piece of work. In many ways, the style seems similar to the rightfully famous Ken Burns series, "The Civil War" from the 1990s (another must-see classic). Haunting in presentation and heart-wrenching in substance, this documentary goes very far beyond the existential questions of perceptions of death, society's relationship with death, and the ways in which the Civil War turned these values/beliefs upside down. It is a testimony to the depths of humanity (and, sometimes, the lack thereof) of individuals as well as of society.

There's really nothing I can write that will adequatly convey the impact of this documentary. This is a must-see for every American.

Recommneded in the strongest possible terms.

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