The Confederate Press in the Crucible of the American Civil War

The skirmishes and battles of the Civil War were well-covered by earnest scribblers (and the new kids on the block, the photographers); later they were, in turn, covered by the historians. Tuyll (communications, Augusta State U.) takes up the thread and writes of the cultural, political, and social changes the war brought to the Southern press. She begins by describing the community of southern journalists (with accompanying material on the survey methods), the roles of the press, political culture, the business side, dissemination, freedom and regulation, press dissent, and the effect of the failure of the confederacy. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Debra Reddin van Tuyll (PhD, University of South Carolina) is Professor of Communications at Augusta State University, where she teaches courses in public relations, journalism, and journalism history. She is author or editor of four previous books including Knights of the Quill: Confederate Correspondents and Their Civil War Reporting, co-edited with Patricia G. Mc Neely and Henry S. Schulte (2010), which was a finalist for the Tankard Book Award.