Portraits Of The Civil War

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Making history come alive is important, and in commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg battle there were many re-enactments this year. Here are some other ways to understand the issues about the Civil War.

The Killer Angels, a 1975 book by Michael Shaara won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, writing in alternate chapters viewpoints of Confederate and Northern Generals about the Gettysburg battle. A more recent book, 1861, by Adam Goodheart has won great praise for depicting the start of the war at Fort Sumter.

The film, "Lincoln", which won an Academy Award, is a beautiful portrait of Lincoln's battle in securing enough votes for freeing the slaves and a new movie, just released, "Copperheads", draws a picture of mostly Democrats in small towns who wanted negotiation and did not support the war.

These varied sources describe real aspects of the times, are highly recommended and make for summer enjoyment and learning.