James M. McPherson Book order

The very best nonfiction and essays by James Alan McPherson, selected and introduced by Anthony Walton.

From the first shots fired at Fort Sumter in 1861 to the final clashes on the Road to Appomattox in 1864, The Atlas of the Civil War reconstructs the battles of America's bloodiest war with unparalleled clarity and precision. Edited by Pulitzer Prize recipient James M. McPherson and written by America's leading military historians, this peerless reference charts the major campaigns and skirmishes of the Civil War. Each battle is meticulously plotted on one of 200 specially commissioned full-color maps. Timelines provide detailed, play-by-play maneuvers, and the accompanying text highlights the strategic aims and tactical considerations of the men in charge. Each of the battle, communications, and locator maps are cross-referenced to provide a comprehensive overview of the fighting as it swept across the country. With more than two hundred photographs and countless personal accounts that vividly describe the experiences of soldiers in the fields, The Atlas of the Civil War brings to life the human drama that pitted state against state and brother against brother.

From a prize-winning scholar of Indigenous history, a landmark work that overturns America's dominant origin story

How far can you see...? How far can you go...? Are there daisies far below...? Can you hear bells in the distance chiming? Ice creams are waiting, it's all so exciting... for two little girls with a story to be told. Come with us on a magical journey, where the grass is an emerald green and sunbeams are full of shimmering gold.

The classic debut collection from Pulitzer Prize winner James Alan McPherson Hue and Cry is the remarkably mature and agile debut story collection from James Alan McPherson, one of America’s most venerated and most original writers. McPherson’s characters -- gritty, authentic, and pristinely rendered -- give voice to unheard struggles along the dividing lines of race and poverty in subtle, fluid prose that bears no trace of sentimentality, agenda, or apology. First published in 1968, this collection includes the Atlantic Prize-winning story “Gold Coast” (selected by John Updike for the collection Best American Short Stories of the Century). Now with a new preface by Edward P. Jones, Hue and Cry introduced America to McPherson’s unforgettable, enduring vision, and distinctive artistry.

How do you hold on to hope after more than twenty years of imprisonment? For Alice Marie Johnson the answer lies with God. For years, Alice lived a normal life without a criminal record -- she was a manager at FedEx, a wife, and a mother. But after an emotionally and financially tumultuous period in her life left her with few options, she turned to crime as a way to pay off her mounting debts. Convicted in 1996 for her nonviolent involvement in a Memphis cocaine trafficking organization, Alice received a life sentence under the mandatory sentencing laws of the time. Locked behind bars, Alice looked to God. Eventually becoming an ordained minister, she relied on her faith to sustain hope over more than two decades -- until 2018, when the president commuted her sentence at the behest of Kim Kardashian West, who had taken up Alice's cause. In this honest, faith-driven memoir, Alice explains how she held on to hope and gave it to others, from becoming a playwright to mentoring her fellow prisoners. She reveals how Christianity and her unshakeable belief in God helped her persevere and inspired her to share her faith in a video that would go viral -- and come to the attention of celebrities who were moved to action. Today, Alice is an icon for the prison reform movement and a humble servant who embraces gratitude and God for her freedom. In this powerful book, she recalls all of the firsts she has experienced through her activism and provides an authentic portrait of the crisis that is mass incarceration. Linking social justice to spiritual faith, she makes a persuasive and poignant argument for justice that transcends tribal politics. Her story is a beacon in the darkness of despair, reminding us of the power of redemption and the importance of making second chances count

This account of the Lakota Indians traces their rich and often surprising history from the early sixteenth to the early twenty-first century. Pekka Hamalainen explores the Lakotas' roots as marginal hunter-gatherers and reveals how they reinvented themselves twice: first as a river people who dominated the Missouri Valley, America's great commercial artery, and then -- in what was America's first sweeping westward expansion -- as a horse people who ruled supreme on the vast high plains. Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull are iconic figures in the American imagination, but in this book they emerge as something different: the architects of Lakota America, an expansive and enduring Indigenous regime that commanded human fates in the North American interior for generations.

James M. McPherson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom, and arguably the finest Civil War historian in the world, walks readers through the Gettysburg battlefield -- the site of the most consequential battle of the Civil War. In Hallowed Ground, McPherson makes stops at key locations, including Seminary Ridge, the Peach Orchard, Cemetery Hill, and Little Round Top. He reflects on the meaning of the battle, colorfully describes the events of those terrible three days in July 1863, and places the battle and war in the greater context of American and world history. This is the first illustrated version of this groundbreaking and important book and includes vintage photographs, memorabilia, and maps, as well as full-color photography of the battlefields and historical landmarks as they stand today. Sidebars written by contemporary soldiers, statesmen, and women of the day, as well as pieces by some of today's best-known historians and writers, add context to this engaging book.

James McPherson evokes the meaning and significance of the Civil War

"In 'Summer's Bloodiest Days', author-historian Jennifer Weber combines gripping eyewitness accounts and dramatic artwork with a riveting narrative to tell the story of Gettysburg from all sides. Names such as Devil's Den, Little Round Top, and Pickett's Charge take on new meaning as readers learn about the incredible sacrifices made there--often by soldiers in their teens" --Cover, p. 4.