{"title":"Books by Louis P. Masur","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780197513668","title":"The U.S. Civil War","description":"More than one hundred and fifty years after the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter, the Civil War still captures the American imagination, and its reverberations can still be felt throughout America's social and political landscape. Louis P. Masur's The U.S. Civil War: A Very Short Introduction offers a masterful and eminently readable overview of the war's multiple causes and catastrophic effects. Masur begins by examining the complex origins of the war, focusing on the pulsating tensions over states rights and slavery. The book then proceeds to cover, year by year, the major political, social, and military events, highlighting two important themes: how the war shifted from a limited conflict to restore the Union to an all-out war that would fundamentally transform Southern society, and the process by which the war ultimately became a battle to abolish slavery. Masur explains how the war turned what had been a loose collection of fiercely independent states into a nation, remaking its political, cultural, and social institutions. But he also focuses on the soldiers themselves, both Union and Confederate, whose stories constitute nothing less than America's Iliad. In the final chapter Masur considers the aftermath of the South's surrender at Appomattox and the clash over the policies of reconstruction that continued to divide President and Congress, conservatives and radicals, Southerners and Northerners for years to come. In 1873, Mark Twain and Charles Dudley wrote that the war had \"wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations.\" This concise history of the entire Civil War era offers an invaluable introduction to the dramatic events whose effects are still felt today.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56226158641525,"sku":"9780197513668","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780197513668_8331b437-d230-4c73-9f3d-742f4de76eb2.jpg?v=1786033034"},{"product_id":"9780197684917","title":"A Journey North","description":"A storied friendship between two of America's founders--one that endured for fifty years--and the roadtrip that forged it. Between May 21 and June 16, 1791, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison went on a trip together through Upstate New York and parts of New England on horseback. This \"northern journey\" came at a moment of tension for the new nation, one in whose founding these Virginians and political allies had played key roles. The Constitution was ratified and President Washington was in his first term of office. Whether the country could overcome regional and political differences and remain unified, however, was still very much in question. Hence why some observers at the time wondered whether this excursion into Federalist New England by the two most prominent southern Democratic-Republicans, both future presidents, had an ulterior motive. Madison, maintained that the journey was for \"health, recreation, and curiosity.\" He and Jefferson needed a break from their public responsibilities, so off they set. Along the way, they took notes on the ravages of the Hessian Fly, an insect that had been devastating wheat crops. While in Vermont, they focused on the sugar maple tree, which many hoped might offer a domestic alternative to slave-grown sugar cane imports. An encounter with a free Black farmer at Fort George resulted in a journal entry that illuminates their attitudes toward slavery and race. A meeting with members of the Unkechaug tribe on Long Island led to a vocabulary project that preoccupied Jefferson for decades, and which remains relevant today.The Northern Journey was also about friendship. Madison later recalled that the trip made Jefferson and him \"immediate companions,\" solidifying a bond with almost no peer in the annals of American history, one that thrived for fifty years. Jefferson declared at the end of his life, that his friendship with Madison had been \"a source of constant happiness\" to him. This book reveals the moment when it took hold.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56226343092597,"sku":"9780197684917","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780197684917_9c46f7ac-cd2a-4970-8890-427e51370794.jpg?v=1786011040"},{"product_id":"from-presley-to-springsteen","title":"From Presley to Springsteen","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe first decades of the rock and roll era changed popular music forever and introduced songs that remain beloved standards over a half-century later. But what did it feel like in the rooms where those songs were being written, recorded, and mixed? What creative alchemy and happy accidents transpired to turn these records into classics?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book examines ten of the rock era's most iconic songs, including Chuck Berry's \"Johnny B. Goode\" and Bruce Springsteen's \"Born to Run.\" Along the way, it reveals how singers like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin reimagined \"Hound Dog\" and \"Respect\" through their sheer force of personality. It also takes you inside the studio to see how producers George Martin, Phil Spector, and Brian Wilson created a symphony of sounds. Other chapters explore how the lyrics of \"Satisfaction,\" \"Like a Rolling Stone,\" and \"What's Going On\" gave voice to the feelings of a new generation. Writing with a historian's careful attention to detail and a fan's love for music, Louis Masur invites us to hear these enduring songs anew.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57555359662453,"sku":"9781978848108","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":57682758467957,"sku":"9781978848115","price":40.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781978848108.jpg?v=1792511641"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-louis-p-masur.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}