The Unwritten War

American Writers and the Civil War

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American, Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877)
Cover of the book The Unwritten War by Daniel Aaron, University of Alabama Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Daniel Aaron ISBN: 9780817390310
Publisher: University of Alabama Press Publication: October 21, 2015
Imprint: University Alabama Press Language: English
Author: Daniel Aaron
ISBN: 9780817390310
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
Publication: October 21, 2015
Imprint: University Alabama Press
Language: English

In The Unwritten War, Daniel Aaron examines the literary output of American writers—major and minor—who treated the Civil War in their works. He seeks to understand why this devastating and defining military conflict has failed to produce more literature of a notably high and lasting order, why there is still no "masterpiece" of Civil War fiction.

In his portraits and analyses of 19th- and some 20th-century writers, Aaron distinguishes between those who dealt with the war only marginally—Henry Adams, Henry James, William Dean Howells, Mark Twain-and those few who sounded the war's tragic import—Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and William Faulkner. He explores the extent to which the war changed the direction of American literature and how deeply it entered the consciousness of American writers. Aaron also considers how writers, especially those from the South, discerned the war's moral and historical implications.

The Unwritten War was originally published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1973. The New Republic declared, [This book's] major contribution will no doubt be to American literary history. In this respect it resembles Edmund Wilson's Patriotic Gore and is certain to become an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to explore the letters, diaries, journals, essays, novels, short stories, poems-but apparently no plays-which constitute Civil War literature. The mass of material is presented in a systematic, luminous, and useful way.
 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In The Unwritten War, Daniel Aaron examines the literary output of American writers—major and minor—who treated the Civil War in their works. He seeks to understand why this devastating and defining military conflict has failed to produce more literature of a notably high and lasting order, why there is still no "masterpiece" of Civil War fiction.

In his portraits and analyses of 19th- and some 20th-century writers, Aaron distinguishes between those who dealt with the war only marginally—Henry Adams, Henry James, William Dean Howells, Mark Twain-and those few who sounded the war's tragic import—Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and William Faulkner. He explores the extent to which the war changed the direction of American literature and how deeply it entered the consciousness of American writers. Aaron also considers how writers, especially those from the South, discerned the war's moral and historical implications.

The Unwritten War was originally published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1973. The New Republic declared, [This book's] major contribution will no doubt be to American literary history. In this respect it resembles Edmund Wilson's Patriotic Gore and is certain to become an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to explore the letters, diaries, journals, essays, novels, short stories, poems-but apparently no plays-which constitute Civil War literature. The mass of material is presented in a systematic, luminous, and useful way.
 

More books from University of Alabama Press

Cover of the book Our Southern Zion by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book The Counterpunch (and Other Horizontal Poems)/El contragolpe (y otros poemas horizontales) by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Enduring Motives by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Paths to a Middle Ground by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Renaissance Man of Cannery Row by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Languages of the Pre-Columbian Antilles by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book People, Plants, and Landscapes by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Between Contacts and Colonies by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Memories of Two Generations by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Drone Warfare and Lawfare in a Post-Heroic Age by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Boundary Conditions by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Bioarchaeological Studies of Life in the Age of Agriculture by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Founding Fictions by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Archaeology and Ancient Religion in the American Midcontinent by Daniel Aaron
Cover of the book Prehistoric Digital Poetry by Daniel Aaron
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy