Reviews
"Foreman amply offers a new perspective on the war in an elegantly written work of old-fashioned narrative history."- Publisher's Weekly , starred review Praise from the U.K. for A World on Fire NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST " A World on Fire is an achievement as enjoyable as it is impressive. As in a great nineteenth-century novel, a teeming cast propels this epic-the gallant and the craven, scoundrels and lovers, diplomats and freebooters-some helplessly caught in the gale, others with their hands firmly on the levers of power. Charles Dickens appears in this book; had he been an historian he might well have written it."-Richard Snow, editor, American Heritage , 19902007 "This is a tale never previously told."-Stephen Graubard, Financial Times "Riveting . . . The reader is swept along. . . . One can hardly overestimate the brilliance of Foreman's conception. . . . A shimmering tapestry."-Jay Parini, The Guardian "Amanda Foreman's magnificent new book . . . resembles nothing so much as War and Peace ."-Adam I. P. Smith, History Today "A real-life Gone with the Wind . . . extraordinarily rich, racy and poignant . . . an iridescent book."-Antonia Fraser, The Mail on Sunday "Magnificent . . . a completely fresh perspective on the first great modern conflict."-Antony Beevor, author of D-Day: The Battle for Normandy "The scale of Ms. Foreman's book is epic."- The Economist From the Hardcover edition., The Economist , The New York Times , The St Louis Post-Dispatch , Publishers Weekly and Library Journal all list A World on Fire as one of the best books of 2011! "Ms. Foreman...is such an engaging writer that readers may find this 958-page volume too short."-Michael Burlingame, The Wall Street Journal "Extraordinary cast....Thoroughly researched and well written...Remarkable."-Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New York Times Book Review "One puts down A World on Fire with a sense of awe. Foreman''s skills as historian and writer are formidable."- The Boston Globe "Foreman''s descriptive gifts show especially well in bringing vividly to life the political and diplomatic worlds of Washington and London...A brief review can only hint at the expansive scope, rich detail and pulsing energy of A World on Fire . Foreman succeeds admirably in evoking the British dimension of the great American crisis."- The Washington Post "This is an essential book, well-written and almost cinematic in sweep. As the historian Piers Brendon said about it, ''if her tome is hard to pick up, it is also hard to put down''"- Newark Star-Ledger "Meticulously researched, colorfully written and lavishly illustrated, Foreman's volume is a worthy addition to the Civil War sesquicentennial bookshelf."- Cleveland Plain Dealer "[A] magisterial history." - Newsweek "So expansive in its scope, and so well written...to call it a masterpiece somehow doesn''t seem to do it justice." - Christian Science Monitor The " A World on Fire is a tour de force, a work of extreme virtuosity both in the research and the telling...Astonishing and compelling."-Bloomberg.com "[Foreman] is one of the more exciting historians I have encountered in years. She has the knack of finding and using the quotations and descriptions that put vitality into her writing....Five stars, at least."- The Washington Times "[Foreman's] book offers a brisk, compelling narrative that shows how important Britain was to the outcome of the war and how close the Union came to losing it."- The Dallas Morning News "A splendid book… solidly grounded in a prodigious amount of research…[Foreman] breaks new ground in telling this vastly complicated story through the eyes of myriad characters."- The Wilson Quarterly "Foreman amply offers a new perspective on the war in an elegantly written work of old-fashioned narrative history."- Publisher''s Weekly , starred review Praise from the U.K. for A World on Fire " A World on Fire is an achievement as enjoyable as it is impressive. As in a great nineteenth-century novel, a teeming cast propels this epic-the gallant and the craven, scoundrels and lovers, diplomats and freebooters-some helplessly caught in the gale, others with their hands firmly on the levers of power. Charles Dickens appears in this book; had he been an historian he might well have written it."-Richard Snow, editor, American Heritage , 19902007 "This is a tale never previously told."-Stephen Graubard, Financial Times "Riveting . . . The reader is swept along. . . . One can hardly overestimate the brilliance of Foreman's conception. . . . A shimmering tapestry."-Jay Parini, The Guardian "Amanda Foreman's magnificent new book . . . resembles nothing so much as War and Peace ."-Adam I. P. Smith, History Today "A real-life Gone with the Wind . . . extraordinarily rich, racy and poignant . . . an iridescent book."-Antonia Fraser, The Mail on Sunday "Magnificent . . . a completely fresh perspective on the first great modern conflict."-Antony Beevor, author of D-Day: The Battle for Normandy "The scale of Ms. Foreman's book is epic."- The Economist, A New York Times Top Ten Book of the Year! The Economist , The New York Times , The New Yorker , The St Louis Post-Dispatch , Publishers Weekly and Library Journal all list A World on Fire as one of the best books of 2011! "Ms. Foreman...is such an engaging writer that readers may find this 958-page volume too short."--Michael Burlingame, The Wall Street Journal "Extraordinary cast....Thoroughly researched and well written...Remarkable."--Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New York Times Book Review "One puts down A World on Fire with a sense of awe. Foreman's skills as historian and writer are formidable."-- The Boston Globe "Foreman's descriptive gifts show especially well in bringing vividly to life the political and diplomatic worlds of Washington and London...A brief review can only hint at the expansive scope, rich detail and pulsing energy of A World on Fire ."-- The Washington Post "[A] magisterial history."-- Newsweek "So expansive in its scope, and so well written...to call it a masterpiece somehow doesn't seem to do it justice."-- Christian Science Monitor, A New York Times Top Ten Book of the Year! The Economist , The New York Times , The New Yorker , The St Louis Post-Dispatch , Publishers Weekly and Library Journal all list A World on Fire as one of the best books of 2011! "Ms. Foreman...is such an engaging writer that readers may find this 958-page volume too short."-Michael Burlingame, The Wall Street Journal "Extraordinary cast....Thoroughly researched and well written...Remarkable."-Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New York Times Book Review "One puts down A World on Fire with a sense of awe. Foreman's skills as historian and writer are formidable."- The Boston Globe "Foreman's descriptive gifts show especially well in bringing vividly to life the political and diplomatic worlds of Washington and London...A brief review can only hint at the expansive scope, rich detail and pulsing energy of A World on Fire ."- The Washington Post "[A] magisterial history."- Newsweek "So expansive in its scope, and so well written...to call it a masterpiece somehow doesn't seem to do it justice."- Christian Science Monitor, "Foreman amply offers a new perspective on the war in an elegantly written work of old-fashioned narrative history."- Publisher's Weekly , starred review Praise from the U.K. for A World on Fire NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE ECONOMIST " A World on Fire is an achievement as enjoyable as it is impressive. As in a great nineteenth-century novel, a teeming cast propels this epic-the gallant and the craven, scoundrels and lovers, diplomats and freebooters-some helplessly caught in the gale, others with their hands firmly on the levers of power. Charles Dickens appears in this book; had he been an historian he might well have written it."-Richard Snow, editor, American Heritage , 19902007 "This is a tale never previously told."-Stephen Graubard, Financial Times "Riveting . . . The reader is swept along. . . . One can hardly overestimate the brilliance of Foreman's conception. . . . A shimmering tapestry."-Jay Parini, The Guardian "Amanda Foreman's magnificent new book . . . resembles nothing so much as War and Peace ."-Adam I. P. Smith, History Today "A real-life Gone with the Wind . . . extraordinarily rich, racy and poignant . . . an iridescent book."-Antonia Fraser, The Mail on Sunday "Magnificent . . . a completely fresh perspective on the first great modern conflict."-Antony Beevor, author of D-Day: The Battle for Normandy "The scale of Ms. Foreman's book is epic."- The Economist, A New York Times Top Ten Book of the Year! The Economist , The New York Times , The New Yorker , The St Louis Post-Dispatch , Publishers Weekly and Library Journal all list A World on Fire as one of the best books of 2011! "Ms. Foreman...is such an engaging writer that readers may find this 958-page volume too short."-Michael Burlingame, The Wall Street Journal "Extraordinary cast....Thoroughly researched and well written...Remarkable."-Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New York Times Book Review "One puts down A World on Fire with a sense of awe. Foreman's skills as historian and writer are formidable."- The Boston Globe "Foreman's descriptive gifts show especially well in bringing vividly to life the political and diplomatic worlds of Washington and London...A brief review can only hint at the expansive scope, rich detail and pulsing energy of A World on Fire ."- The Washington Post "[A] magisterial history."- Newsweek "So expansive in its scope, and so well written...to call it a masterpiece somehow doesn't seem to do it justice."- Christian Science Monitor From the Hardcover edition.
