What do you think?
Rate this book
The Longest Raid of the Civil War: Little-Known & Untold Stories of Morgan's Raid into Kentucky, Indiana & Ohio
Book by Horwitz, Lester V.
456 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
3 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 28, 2022
I found this to be an interesting extremely detailed record of Morgan's Raid. Living in Columbiana County I knew a little about his ride but was surprised by the detail in this book. Mr. Horwitz is to be commended for his detailed search for all involved and everywhere they went.
September 29, 2017
I loved this book. Given as a gift by my BFF who lives near the end of the raid we went looking for the monument marking the spot but the rest area and marker are gone. Beautiful printing too
November 23, 2023
There’s worthwhile information in these pages. The author, however, couldn’t be bothered to lay them out in a way that made sense. Instead, he was concerned with “facts”, which become extremely repetitive and are dubious at best anyway. Not to mention that he’s happy to parrot completely outdated interpretations of the raid, with plenty of Lost Cause drudgery mixed in.
April 16, 2015
One of my cousins travelled the route of Morgan's Raid with a friend after they had read this book. The format of this book is very helpful for anyone wanting to travel that route.
I found the first 60 or so pages very difficult to read because I was reading a hardcover book that was not in large print, and my eyes are used to a larger font on my Kindle. The content was also difficult for me because there were so many people mentioned that I couldn't remember on which side each one was fighting. Then, too, I was not familiar with the military jargon so that contributed to my difficulty with the book.
The book was printed on high quality paper, thicker than the pages of most books, and with the number of pages in this book, it was heavy to hold. [Again I have been spoiled by the light weight of my Kindle.] When one page fell out of the book, I became worried that more pages would follow suit. Others in my book discussion group mentioned that they also experienced pages falling out of their copies of this book.
I appreciated the index and the photos of many of the major people mentioned in the book. And although mentioning the historical markers in the book certainly would be an asset to those trying to follow Morgan's route, as a reader I would have preferred that the author insert a symbol to indicate that a marker exists at each place. The symbol could be described at the back of the book. I also would have appreciated having the major people mentioned in the book listed on two charts or in two columns, separating them by Union or Confederate side.
Having mentioned what I didn't like or think could be improved, I must say that the author and his wife did a great job with the book. I especially liked learning more about other aspects of the Civil War besides the fighting. The author interviewed many people and did extensive research. Although I was not able to find any of my ancestors mentioned in the book, many people are mentioned with short anecdotes so this book would be a valuable genealogical tool for the descendants of those mentioned.
It was good to have some humor in the book, too, and no dropping of the f-bomb. In fact, the author did avoid spelling out words that would offend some people so he gets extra points from me for that.
I found the first 60 or so pages very difficult to read because I was reading a hardcover book that was not in large print, and my eyes are used to a larger font on my Kindle. The content was also difficult for me because there were so many people mentioned that I couldn't remember on which side each one was fighting. Then, too, I was not familiar with the military jargon so that contributed to my difficulty with the book.
The book was printed on high quality paper, thicker than the pages of most books, and with the number of pages in this book, it was heavy to hold. [Again I have been spoiled by the light weight of my Kindle.] When one page fell out of the book, I became worried that more pages would follow suit. Others in my book discussion group mentioned that they also experienced pages falling out of their copies of this book.
I appreciated the index and the photos of many of the major people mentioned in the book. And although mentioning the historical markers in the book certainly would be an asset to those trying to follow Morgan's route, as a reader I would have preferred that the author insert a symbol to indicate that a marker exists at each place. The symbol could be described at the back of the book. I also would have appreciated having the major people mentioned in the book listed on two charts or in two columns, separating them by Union or Confederate side.
Having mentioned what I didn't like or think could be improved, I must say that the author and his wife did a great job with the book. I especially liked learning more about other aspects of the Civil War besides the fighting. The author interviewed many people and did extensive research. Although I was not able to find any of my ancestors mentioned in the book, many people are mentioned with short anecdotes so this book would be a valuable genealogical tool for the descendants of those mentioned.
It was good to have some humor in the book, too, and no dropping of the f-bomb. In fact, the author did avoid spelling out words that would offend some people so he gets extra points from me for that.
February 13, 2017
I really enjoyed this book but have to give it three stars as it is almost as much guide book as history book. Mr. Horvitz has researched a topic that he obviously loves and that love shows through in the intense attention to detail. However, the wonderful attention to detail, at times, breaks the narrative of the tale. Having read about Morgan's raid before, I am very happy to have read this incredibly detailed account but I would not recommend it to someone wanting to learn about the raid for the first time.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews