Book Notes

BOOK NOTES The Bold Cavaliers: Morgans 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Raiders. By Dee Alexander Brown. (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, Co., 1959. Pp. 353. $6.00.) Dee Brown has adroitiy placed the reader in the saddle alongside John Hunt Morgan and his "Alligator Horses" and, in one of die season's more colorful works, one accompanies this famous cavalry troop on raids, through victories, and into legend. New insights are given to the characters of Morgan , Basü Duke, George St. Leger Grenfell, and others of equal ardor who made this regiment one of the most famous in the Confederate army. Firstrate reporting by the author of Grierson's Raid. The Civil War in the Western Territories. By Ray C. Colton. (Norman : TheUniversityofOklahomaPress, 1959. Pp. x, 230. $5.00.) Following at the heels of Robert Kerby's specialized study, The Confederate Invasion of New Mexico and Arizona, 1861-1862, this needed work for the first time gives a broad picture of the effects of civü war in the isolated pockets of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. Although the chapters suffer from the same lack of correlation that confronted the opposing forces in the Southwestern theater, the illustrations are good and the narrative reflects careful thought and sound research. This work grew out of the author's doctoral dissertation at the University of Maryland. Lincoln's Favorite Poets. By David J. Harkness and R. Gerald McMurtry . (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1959. Pp. 101. $3.50.) Lincoln's hterary interests are the theme of this small volume by two of the outstanding modern Lincoln scholars. The Emancipator's favorite song, favorite hymn, best-liked quotations, and most consulted Uterary works are presented in well-organized fashion. The contents demonstrate that Honest Abe was not whoUy the unpolished, illiterate, backwoods lawyer as generations of opponents have painted him. Readers may be amazed to learn that his favorite bard was Shakespeare, with Byron and Burns running close seconds. Despite the coundess volumes already written on Lincoln, this is a valuable new look into the character of America's American. 108 Prudent Soldier: A Biography of Major General E. R. S. Canby. By Max L. Heyman, Jr. (Glendale, CaUf.: The Arthur H. Clark Co., 1959. Pp. 418. $11.00.) Although Canby is most remembered for his Western campaigns against the renegade Captain Jack, haU of this new study treats of his Civü War and Reconstruction careers. He repulsed the first Confederate invasion of the New Mexico territory, served three years as müitary aid to Secretary of War Edwin B. Stanton, and helped disperse tiie New York draft riots of 1863. Entering the field late that year, Canby conducted and won the Mob üe campaign of 1864 and later accepted the surrender of the last two Confederate armies in the field. A splendid study of a minor but capable Federal officer; beautifully printed and bound. In the Name of the People. Edited by Harry V. Jaffa and Robert W. Johannsen. (Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 1959. Pp. x, 307. $5.00.) Two recognized poUtical scientists have put together tiie speeches and writings of Lincoln and Douglas in the 1859 Ohio poUtical campaign. Few if any primary sources have been overlooked. As a result, the reader has a seat on the fifty-yard line for aU the controversies of that day which ultimately led to war. Fighters for Freedom: The History of the Anti-Slavery Activities of Men and Women Associated with Knox College. By Herman R. Muelder . (New York: Columbia University Press, 1959. Pp. x, 428. $6.50.) Dr. Muelder has written a new treatment of aboUtion in Illinois, centering on the importance of Knox CoUege at Galesburg and relying heavüy on unused sources. Spanning the years of 1825-1860, this work treats of the activities of such groups as the American Anti-Slavery Society and the Liberty Party, and it touches on the more outstanding individuals involved in the crusade to free slaves. The book suffers from a lack of ülustrations, and it may be a bit too concentrated a dose of aboUtionist propaganda for less liberal souls, but it is weU-written and highly documented. A good coUection of background material...