Don Troiani's Civil War

Although he has been painting the War Between the States since 1980, Don Troiani's Civil War is the first book to collect this historical artist's work in one volume. Troiani is at his best in the battle paintings--his attention to detail and insistence on historical accuracy help him capture the valor and confusion of combat--but the book includes more bucolic depictions of camp life, as well. Brian Pohanka's accompanying text illuminates the stories behind the paintings. For example, he describes a famous episode from Second Manassas where Confederate soldiers ran out of bullets during a Union assault; the beleaguered Rebels resorted to throwing rocks at the Union lines. Troiani captures this desperate action magnificently. Because the narrative focuses on these small stories, it sometimes misses the big picture; so while the text and paintings are presented in chronological order from 1861 to 1865, it makes for only a so-so recounting of the war overall. But this is not a book you read so much as experience. --Thomas Prowell