CHOICE

connect

A publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries
A division of the American Library Association
Editorial Offices: 575 Main Street, Suite 300, Middletown, CT 06457-3445
Phone: (860) 347-6933
Fax: (860) 704-0465

FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY

Please do not link to this page.

November 2016 Vol. 54 No. 3


Louisiana State University Press


The following review appeared in the November 2016 issue of CHOICE. The review is for your internal use only. Please review our Permission and Reprints Guidelines or email permissions@ala-choice.org.

Social & Behavioral Sciences
History, Geography & Area Studies - North America

54-1386
E470
2015-42804 CIP
Stith, Matthew M. Extreme Civil War: guerrilla warfare, environment, and race on the trans-Mississippi frontier. Louisiana State, 2016. 218p bibl index afp ISBN 9780807163146, $42.50; ISBN 9780807163160 ebook, $42.50.

Despite the vast amount written on the Civil War, imaginative scholars find new aspects of the conflict and sources to explore them. Stith (Univ. of Texas at Tyler) takes on several of these topics. The trans-Mississippi, long neglected, was the site of more action than older accounts recognized, and by bringing in the also long-neglected topic of guerrilla warfare, Stith makes an important contribution to understanding the region and enriches understanding of the Civil War. His focus is the borderland where Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Indian Territory met. This was a diverse area where Native Americans and (mostly enslaved) African Americans made up 30 percent of the population. Much of this conflict predated the outbreak of war and was a carry-over from the debate, often violent, over the expansion of slavery into the territories. Stith takes a very broad approach, bringing environmental issues, such as drought and harsh winter weather, into the discussion. While the area studied is small and seemingly on the fringe of the Civil War, the issues Stith raises have much to say about the nature of the conflict between North and South.

--W. H. Mulligan Jr., Murray State University

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries.