PREFACE
When the first edition of this pamphlet was planned in 1957, the decision was made to concentrate essentially upon books published since 1950. While this precluded comprehensive coverage of earlier standard works, it was felt that information on such books was available to teachers in textbook bibliographies and in historiographical studies, and that space in a brief essay might better be devoted to newer publications. The favorable response to the first edition has encouraged the author to continue this plan in the second.
This time it has proved especially difficult to quit revising and go to press without omitting good books, which keep appearing in this centennial year in an unbroken stream. However, it is felt that readers and writers alike will understand that a pamphlet prepared and submitted for publication in 1961 cannot deal with all books of that year.
Like the first, this second edition of Civil War and Reconstruction does not purport to pass anything approaching final judgment upon the voluminous and complex historiography it touches. If it helps classroom teachers and their students to attain a better understanding of this rapidly expanding and changing field, together with a knowledge of some pertinent books that can be profitably read and used, the author will feel that it has fulfilled its purpose.