Faculty Bibliography

That is not the case with the Valley of the Shadow's new CD-ROM, a user-friendly guide that spotlights Augusta and Franklin Counties in the critical years between 1858 and the spring of 1861. Titled The Eve of War: Valley of the Shadow, it comes with an excellent book by Dr. [Edward L. Ayers] and Dr. [Anne S. Rubin] describing both the history of the region and the roots of the conflict. Even better, the CD contains reference tools that allow a novice to find material. What comes through clearly in The Valley of the Shadow are the similarities of these two counties, only 200 miles apart, and the reluctance of their residents to go to war. Both were prosperous farming communities, known for their grain and livestock; both were settled by people from Germany and the British Isles; both were deeply racist places, with whites viewing blacks as inferior. The defining difference, quite simply, was that Augusta County had slavery, and Franklin County did not. One can sift through the documents to see how slaves lived and worked in Augusta County, and how valuable they were to the local economy. Or the searcher can explore the mixed emotions of Franklin County's whites concerning the evils of slavery and its further expansion. Some viewed slavery as the proper station for those with dark skin, while others accepted its presence in the South but opposed its spread into new territory. A few demanded its abolition on moral grounds

"A Life in the 20th Century" by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr is reviewed

For the immigrants who came through New York harbor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Statue of Liberty no doubt dazzled their senses, but Ellis Island determined their fate. Opened on Jan. 1, 1892, Ellis Island's vast inspection center served as the entry point for more than 10 million men, women and children, mostly European Catholics and Jews. In the busiest years, between 1898 and 1915, its overburdened staff processed 5,000 people a day with cold, stunning efficiency. The key sections of this CD-ROM -- "The Journey" and "The Golden Door" -- are very well done. Combining videos, photographs, primary documents and crisp commentary, they follow the immigrant path from the tiny villages of Europe to the controlled chaos of Ellis Island

For the immigrants who came through New York harbor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Statue of Liberty no doubt dazzled their senses, but Ellis Island determined their fate. Opened on Jan. 1, 1892, Ellis Island's vast inspection center served as the entry point for more than 10 million men, women and children, mostly European Catholics and Jews. In the busiest years, between 1898 and 1915, its overburdened staff processed 5,000 people a day with cold, stunning efficiency. More surprising is the failure of ''The Ellis Island Experience'' to emphasize the changing dynamic of immigration. In the 1890's, Americans grew uneasy about the enormous flow of immigrants from places like Greece, Italy, Russia, Poland and Hungary. Without new safeguards, they believed, these immigrants would pollute the nation with a stream of alien blood. Ellis Island was a logical response. Ellis Island could be a frightening experience for immigrants, but it also served them well. There were showers and hot food for everyone, and the hospitals provided excellent medical care. Most immigrants were processed quickly, in a matter of hours. Fewer than 10 percent faced additional tests or hearings; and only 2 percent were denied entry to the United States. Government policy at Ellis Island was to admit, if at all possible

Other historians, including Eric Foner of Columbia and David Levering Lewis of Rutgers, are less confident. Mr. Foner, whose books on race, slavery and freedom reach audiences well beyond the academic walls, is concerned by what he sees as the continued reluctance of historians to impart broad meaning in their written work. There were dissenters, too. William Appleman Williams turned American exceptionalism upside down by portraying the nation as a greedy colossus searching endlessly for raw materials and foreign markets. Although some historians condemned him as a dangerous radical, there was, in fact, a large common ground. What united scholars like [Frederick Jackson Turner] and the Beards, [Richard Hofstadter] and Williams, was their preoccupation with national history, their interest in how the United States was created, how it developed and, ultimately, how it should be judged. By focusing on large themes, they became valued participants in the public life and civic culture of their time. Before the 1960's, historians largely ignored or minimized the presence of Native Americans and other minorities. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times)(pg. B9); Frederick Jackson Turner; Richard Hofstadter; Charles A. Beard; [George Bancroft] (pg. B11)

"Trouble In Mind: Black Southerners in the Age of Jim Crow" by Leon F. Litwack is reviewed

David M. Oshinsky reviews the book "How We Got Here: The 70's: The Decade That Brought You Modern Life (For Better or Worse)" by David Frum

Oshinsky reviews "The Last Campaign: How Harry Truman Won the 1948 Election" by Zachary Karabell

How does one maneuver through this information logjam? A new book, "The Civil War on the Web" (Scholarly Resources, $18.95 paperback), offers much needed help. After exhaustive investigation, the authors - William Thomas, director of the Virginia Center for Digital History at the University of Virginia, and Alice Carter, project manager for education at New York Times Digital - recommend 95 sites based on the richness of sources, ease of navigation and visual appeal. These criteria are flexible, they say, because most sites were not made by professional Web designers but by "librarians and archivists, reenactors and preservationists, students and educators - people more interested in the Civil War than in slick appearances or sophisticated menus." Put simply, most sites are stronger on content than on aesthetics.

The Web site examines two Shenandoah Valley counties -- Franklin in Pennsylvania and Augusta in Virginia -- in the late 1850s and 1860s. The CD contains wonderful photographs, a foot-tapping music score and a helpful time line linking Augusta and Franklin counties to important national events, like the Dred Scott decision and John Brown's raid on the federal arsenal in nearby Harper's Ferry, W.Va. Both were prosperous farming communities, known for their grain and livestock; both were settled by people from Germany and the British Isles; both were deeply racist places, with whites viewing blacks as inferior. The defining difference, quite simply, was that Augusta County had slavery, and Franklin County did not.