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A review by socraticgadfly
A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War by Amanda Foreman
5.0
A tour de force, indeed.
Amanda Foreman documents well the pirouettes between William Seward, U.S. consul in London Charles Francis Adams, British ambassador to Washington Lord Lyons, British Prime Minister Palmerston and Foreign Minister Russell.
She also notes, through describing reporters, artists and editors, the leanings toward the South that much of the British press had. Ditto, through following some officer-class volunteers, the leanings that much of "better society" had toward the South, albeit with issues over slavery.
Foreman illustrates well various official and unofficial Confederate agents trying to stir up British public opinion, raise money for Confederate needs, and plant stories in that British press. Meanwhile, other Confederate agents were trying to get ships built, find crews for them, and bribe or deceive British officials about the war capacity of said ships.
Both sides came close to war not only over the Union seizure of Confederate diplomats to Britain and France, but over the ships, Confederate agents in Canada, British-Yankee general antagonisms and the worries of some in Britain over the general degree of bloodshed.
The five dancers in the pirouette, with lesser parts played by President Lincoln and Senator Charles Sumner on the American side, among others, became key to preventing this from happening.
I think Foreman is too harsh on Longstreet, though not throwing him under the "Lost Cause" bus, unlike D.S. Freeman. But, other than that quibble, and a few minor factual errors, such as the wrong year on a couple of dates, this is simply a great book. I've only scratched the surface of what it covers.
Amanda Foreman documents well the pirouettes between William Seward, U.S. consul in London Charles Francis Adams, British ambassador to Washington Lord Lyons, British Prime Minister Palmerston and Foreign Minister Russell.
She also notes, through describing reporters, artists and editors, the leanings toward the South that much of the British press had. Ditto, through following some officer-class volunteers, the leanings that much of "better society" had toward the South, albeit with issues over slavery.
Foreman illustrates well various official and unofficial Confederate agents trying to stir up British public opinion, raise money for Confederate needs, and plant stories in that British press. Meanwhile, other Confederate agents were trying to get ships built, find crews for them, and bribe or deceive British officials about the war capacity of said ships.
Both sides came close to war not only over the Union seizure of Confederate diplomats to Britain and France, but over the ships, Confederate agents in Canada, British-Yankee general antagonisms and the worries of some in Britain over the general degree of bloodshed.
The five dancers in the pirouette, with lesser parts played by President Lincoln and Senator Charles Sumner on the American side, among others, became key to preventing this from happening.
I think Foreman is too harsh on Longstreet, though not throwing him under the "Lost Cause" bus, unlike D.S. Freeman. But, other than that quibble, and a few minor factual errors, such as the wrong year on a couple of dates, this is simply a great book. I've only scratched the surface of what it covers.