Already excerpted in the New Yorker, Black Cloud Rising is a compelling and important historical novel that takes us back to an extraordinary moment when enslaved men and women were shedding their bonds and embracing freedom

By fall of 1863, Union forces had taken control of Tidewater Virginia, and established a toehold in eastern North Carolina, including along the Outer Banks. Thousands of freed slaves and runaways flooded

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This classic short story of a Southern plantation owner facing execution by Union soldiers is "a flawless example of American genius" (Kurt Vonnegut). Alabama planter Peyton Farquhar was loyal to the Confederate cause. Now, as the Union Army overtakes the South, he is brought to the edge of a railroad bridge-hands tied behind his back-sentenced to hang for attempting to burn down the bridge on which he stands. As he ponders the events both large...

Grant Comes East, the second book in the bestselling series by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen, continues the story of a Confederate victory at Gettysburg. The first book examined the great "what if" of American history: Could Lee have won the Battle of Gettysburg? A Confederate victory, however, would not necessarily mean that the Southern cause has gained its final triumph and a lasting peace. It is from this departure point that the story...

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was the daughter of famous transcendentalist, Bronson Alcott, but achieved notoriety herself as a writer of novels, letters and short stories. Growing up under the influence of such minds as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, Alcott took an early interest in writing, completing her first book in 1849. When she turned thirty, the Civil War was in full swing, and she left for Georgetown to serve as a nurse at...