James M. McPherson’s “Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam, The Battle That Changed the Course of the Civil War

Task: Write an essay length review of your book including arguments about key strengths and weaknesses of the book and the authors historical research.

Your essay should follow this format:
1,000-1,500 words long (roughly 4-6 double spaced pages
Typed and submitted to Canvas turn in folder
Intro paragraph that includes
An overview of the books historical topic
An overview of the authors historical argument(s) AND the sources they used to write this book
A brief background of the author
Who they are and what their previous work includes (topics and titles)
Do they teach? Where?
An overview of the how the book was received by
Academic community: youll read reviews for this info
General public: popular reviews and book sales info (bestseller lists etc)
Finally: your arguments about what you feel the strengths and weaknesses of the book are
Body paragraphs should include
Detailed discussion of the authors historical argument and sources used
AND your thoughts on this aspect of their work
Detailed discussion of how this book compares to other books/articles/documentaries about the same historical era or events
Youll need to read professional reviews of this book to learn this info
Detailed discussion of how this book was received by the academic community of professional historians AND how it was received by the general public
Some books will have much more readership in 1 of these areas than another; rarely will a book of wide readership both with professionals and the public
Youll need to read reviews to learn much of this info
As mentioned above, you need to read at least THREE PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS about your book to help you write this paper
You must cite at least 3 reviews in your body paragraphs
These will be quoted as evidence along with the material you cite from your book
ACCESS these reviews using the following link: https://library.coloradomtn.edu/discipline/history
This link can also be found through the CMC libraries website
Throughout your body paragraphs you should include discussions of your opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of the book and the authors work
This is after all your review of the book
Conclusion paragraph
Here is where you should discuss why the history presented in your book is important to modern American society AND how this book fits in to our current cultural efforts to understand this particular chapter of American history