
Crossroads of Freedom
Antietam
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Narrated by:
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Nelson Runger
About this listen
Through historical newspaper accounts and the personal letters of soldiers, the events leading up to the battle and the battle itself are stunningly recreated. You will enter the mind of Robert E. Lee as he makes the fateful decision to cross the Potomac River and take the offensive. You will feel the frustration of Abraham Lincoln as he struggles to convince George McClellan to fight. And you will stand side-by-side with foot soldiers as the peaceful Maryland countryside explodes into terrifying, unforgettable carnage. In vivid detail and with remarkable insight, McPherson makes a convincing case that Antietam was the "battle that changed the course of the Civil War."
The “Pivotal Moments in American History” series seeks to unite the old and the new history, combining the insights and techniques of recent historiography with the power of traditional narrative. Each title has a strong narrative arc with drama, irony, suspense, and – most importantly – great characters who embody the human dimension of historical events. The general editors of “Pivotal Moments” are not just historians; they are popular writers themselves, and, in two cases, Pulitzer Prize winners: David Hackett Fischer, James M. McPherson, and David Greenberg. We hope you like your American History served up with verve, wit, and an eye for the telling detail!
©2002 James M. McPherson (P)2002 Recorded Books, LLCListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"McPherson convincingly establishes the Battle of Antietam as the [Civil War]'s pivotal moment militarily, politically, and morally." (Publishers Weekly)
"A fine study." (Library Journal)
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Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War historian James McPherson provides a historic tour through Gettysburg, one of our nation's most visited cities, and the site of the bloodiest and perhaps most consequential battle ever fought by Americans. Listeners will be transported by McPherson's meaningful reflection, historical description, and his intimate stories from his own experiences at Gettysburg.
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Nice for what it is.
- By William on 01-05-04
By: James McPherson
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The Coming Fury
- The Centennial History of the Civil War, Volume 1
- By: Bruce Catton
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 20 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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> The New York Times hailed this trilogy as “one of the greatest historical accomplishments of our time”. With stunning detail and insights, America’s foremost Civil War historian recreates the war from its opening months to its final, bloody end. Each volume delivers a complete listening experience. The Coming Fury (Volume 1) covers the split Democratic Convention in the spring of 1860 to the first battle of Bull Run.
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History As It Should Be
- By Bryan on 07-19-11
By: Bruce Catton
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This Republic of Suffering
- Death and the American Civil War
- By: Drew Gilpin Faust
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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During the Civil War, 620,000 soldiers lost their lives - equivalent to six million in today's population. This Republic of Suffering explores the impact of the enormous death toll from material, political, intellectual, and spiritual angles. Drew Gilpin Faust delineates the ways death changed not only individual lives but the life of the nation and describes how a deeply religious culture reconciled the slaughter with its belief in a benevolent God.
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a unique civil war perspective
- By D. Littman on 04-21-08
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Lincoln's Lieutenants
- The High Command of the Army of the Potomac
- By: Stephen W. Sears
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 32 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The high command of the Army of the Potomac was a changeable, often dysfunctional band of brothers, going through the fires of war under seven commanding generals in three years, until Grant came east in 1864. The men in charge all too frequently appeared to be fighting against the administration in Washington instead of for it, increasingly cast as political pawns facing down a vindictive congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War.
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Good, but not what I thought
- By Paul S. on 08-10-17
By: Stephen W. Sears
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Landscape Turned Red
- The Battle of Antietam
- By: Stephen W. Sears
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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The Civil War battle waged on September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek, Maryland, was one of the bloodiest in the nation's history: On this single day, the battle claimed nearly 23,000 casualties. In Landscape Turned Red, the renowned historian Stephen Sears draws on a remarkable cache of diaries, dispatches, and letters to recreate the vivid drama of Antietam as experienced not only by its leaders but also by its soldiers, both Union and Confederate.
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Excellent Book
- By David on 08-16-06
By: Stephen W. Sears
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Gettysburg: The Last Invasion
- By: Allen C. Guelzo
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 22 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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From the acclaimed Civil War historian, a brilliant new history–the most intimate and richly readable account we have had–of the climactic three-day battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), which draws the reader into the heat, smoke, and grime of Gettysburg alongside the ordinary soldier, and depicts the combination of personalities and circumstances that produced the greatest battle of the Civil War, and one of the greatest in human history.
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A Fresh Look at a Famous Battle
- By W. F. Rucker on 07-03-13
By: Allen C. Guelzo
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Gettysburg
- By: Stephen W. Sears
- Narrated by: Jaime Renell
- Length: 21 hrs
- Unabridged
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The greatest of all Civil War campaigns, Gettysburg was the turning point of the turning point in our nation’s history. Volumes have been written about this momentous three-day battle, but recent histories have tended to focus on the particulars rather than the big picture: on the generals or on single days of battle—even on single charges—or on the daily lives of the soldiers. In Gettysburg Sears tells the whole story in a single volume.
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A Fresh Analysis of The Most Examined Battle in US History
- By Dana D. on 07-30-24
By: Stephen W. Sears
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The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume I, Fort Sumter to Perryville
- By: Shelby Foote
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 42 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume 1 begins one of the most remarkable works of history ever fashioned. All the great battles are here, of course, from Bull Run through Shiloh, the Seven Days Battles, and Antietam, but so are the smaller ones: Ball's Bluff, Fort Donelson, Pea Ridge, Island Ten, New Orleans, and Monitor versus Merrimac.
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OUTSTANDING! I'M PROUD TO BE A BLACK AMERICAN!!
- By The Louligan on 08-22-13
By: Shelby Foote
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The Man Who Killed Kennedy
- The Case Against LBJ
- By: Roger Stone
- Narrated by: David Rapkin
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Lyndon Baines Johnson was a man of great ambition and enormous greed, both of which, in 1963, would threaten to destroy him. In the end, President Johnson would use power from his personal connections in Texas and from the underworld and from the government to escape an untimely end in politics and to seize even greater power. President Johnson, the thirty-sixth president of the United States, was the driving force behind a conspiracy to murder President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. In The Man Who Killed Kennedy, you will find out how and why he did it. Political consultant, strategist, and Libertarian Roger Stone has gathered documents and used his firsthand knowledge to construct the ultimate tome to prove that LBJ was not only involved in JFK's assassination, but was in fact the mastermind. With 2013 being the fiftieth anniversary of JFK's assassination, this is the perfect time for The Man Who Killed Kennedy to be available to readers. The research and information in this book is unprecedented, and as Roger Stone lived through it, he's the perfect person to bring it to everyone's attention.
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COMPELLING BOOK - THE CROOKS ARE IN POWER
- By Theo Tsourdalakis on 12-01-13
By: Roger Stone
What listeners say about Crossroads of Freedom
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- Paul Peart
- 06-14-21
Very well done presentation of an important subject. I learned a lot from this book.
I’ve bought more books on the civil war because of this book and my desire to learn all I can on this important subject.
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- A. McDonald
- 01-26-04
Far beyond the scope of the battle
This excellent book is not a standard battle history of Antietam (called Sharpsburg by the South) -- it is an excellent summary of the war to that point, and why the battle was so important in shaping issues beyond the battlefield. It examines examining the changing moods of both North and South up to that point, their changing expectations, what they were willing to put up with in terms of sacrifice and casualties. There is no sense of inevitability to the North's eventual victory here; the war was at midpoint and at the time a strategic draw. And although Antietam was the single bloodiest day in American history, while not to be ignored, this is hardly its significance. As a Union victory, it gave Lincoln the political capital to finally issue the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves in the Southern states. This changed the war decisively, rendering it a battle for and against slavery that it hadn't explicitly been to that point. For this reason it also foreclosed the possibility of any European recognition of the South, which was quite eminent and perhaps the South's closest means of drawing the war to a close in its favor.
In addition to these strategic issues, McPherson is also quite good at drawing out several personalities involved in the battle. Lincoln's difficult balance in withholding his Emancipation Proclamation without some tangible Union success is explained thoroughly, some generals are described, various European reactions are explored -- but the character one remembers most is the ambivalent general of the Army of the Potomac, McClellan. It is an excellent study of failings and success in command, and failings and success in character.
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19 people found this helpful
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- David
- 05-11-05
A nice civil war read
If you are looking for a long and detailed analysis of the battle of Antietam then this is not the book. But I enjoyed the analysis of the early phases of the civil war and the crtical juncture Antietam was. The author does a nice job telling the story and even the ending provides yet another good summary of what happens after the battle.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Mickey Tallent
- 03-28-21
Antietam in its Sociopolitical Constellation
Solid wave top narrative of the campaign and battle and the political environment it took place and its reverberations.
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- Stephen
- 02-15-10
Great way to help your kid with a project
Before this, I knew very little about the Civil War. I had no idea how close the North came to losing to the South. I must have slept through that portion of my schooling. My boy needed to do a project on the Civil War for his History class, and this book was a quick listen and learn about the war and this pivotal battle. I was able to listen to it while skiing down the slopes Up North, and come to his aid as he completed his project. The author, James MacPherson, is one of the most respected historians on the Civil War, and the information in this work is encyclopedic, but fascinating. The audiobook narrator kept it interesting and alive for me. No regrets at all.
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- John
- 06-02-09
good review of history
I enjoy Civil War history and this book is no exception to the thorough study I would expect of this author. The reader is very good and the outline of the battle and surrounding events leading up to the engagement is well researched. I would recommend this to Civil War buffs and plan to read more by this same author.
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- Ron&Bridget
- 02-16-24
Detailed political analysis of Antietam and result
Another great book for history nerds... and I mean nerds! McPherson analyses the tactical and strategic decisions made by McClellan, Lincoln and many other Leaders within both international and domestic contexts. I appreciate this book because of the detail. Other, very worthy books cover Antietam as part of the overall Civil War but this book is a microscope focused only on that trajectory inflecting battle. Note: for anyone wishing to add to the reasons to despise Gen McClellan, this book is for you. "Little Napoleon" was at best an egotistic bumbler; at worst, a Confederate sympathizer.
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- JudieBee
- 08-24-15
Another excellent McPherson!
If you could sum up Crossroads to Freedom in three words, what would they be?
Detail, detail, detail!
What was one of the most memorable moments of Crossroads to Freedom?
Overriding evidence regarding McClelland's murderous ego. Pathologic.
Would you listen to another book narrated by Nelson Runger?
Not my favorite narrator. I won't NOT get a book narrated by him but .. Well, not my favorite.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Antietam is a tragedy. McClelland's lack of expertise and just plain old courage made this a tragedy.
Any additional comments?
I recommend this book.
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- Matthew P Wood
- 08-14-24
Excellent read
I really enjoyed how this book helped bring focus on why the battle at Antietam was a pivotal moment in the American Civil War. Obviously the death toll makes it significant, but the author really helps the reader understand the greater significance of the politics surrounding that victory.
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- JHR
- 08-21-24
Good research
Great study of Antietam battle or Sharpsburg, Maryland 9/17/1862 by a respected historian, James M. McPherson. Gives a balanced account od the conflict. -JHR
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