Reviews for Law & Society Reader

The average rating for Law & Society Reader based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-01-30 00:00:00 Mark Schneider This book was, at its time, very influential in both Andersonville and broader Civil War prison historiographies. However, newer studies have created more effective histories of both, although largely on Futch’s back. The book, although loosely organized by chapters, seems a little aimless and meandering. The timeline of the prison and its commanders is unclear, and the book focuses too largely on the commanding experience rather than that of the prisoners - although this is a matter of personal preference. However, the book nails the conclusion and does a good job of evaluating not only the actions of Wirz and Winder but also how their legacies were shaped by contemporaries and historians. If you are looking for an introductory book, skip this one - it serves better as a research aid for those interested in the controversy of who is to blame for the inhumanity of Andersonville.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-01-26 00:00:00 Michael Karner The classic work on Andersonville. I had never read anything scholarly on the topic before, so this was a great introduction. I was completely horrified by the descriptions, but what I realized after I read the first and again as I finished it—the conditions at the prison were unintentional. The South did not mean to starve people to death. In fact, if you really think about it, Andersonville is a microcosm of the entire Confederacy: this is a country fighting a war with soldiers it cannot feed, clothe, or adequately shelter. The inadequacies of the Confederacy are the same, though on a much smaller scale, as those of Andersonville. The pictures were interesting, but for more graphic-ness, check out the ones on wikipedia. The living skeleton nearly made me faint.