
What are we dying for,
and is the sacrifice worth it? is a question
soldiers always ponder in war. In THE NATURE OF SACRIFICE:
A Biography of Charles Russell Lowell, Jr., 1835-64,
Carol Bundy tells the remarkable story of Charles Russell
Lowell, Jr.’s brief, intense life, and eloquently
explores the psychological and social forces that turned
an idealistic young man into a soldier who killed, a commander
who led, and a son and husband who risked his life on
behalf of a greater good. Set against the backdrop of
one solder’s failed promise, THE NATURE OF SACRIFICE
is also a lively history of the abolitionist, Transcendentalist
Boston into which Lowell was born. |
Purchase
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view
the first chapter
Look for an article on
Charles Russell Lowell,
“The Transcendental Cavalier”
in the December issue of
Civil
War Times. |
“The Nature of Sacrifice is a beautifully
rendered portrait of a remarkable young man who became
a still more remarkable soldier in the crucible of the American
Civil War. It is also a timely reminder of the real cost of
combat in any era and marks the debut of a first-class
biographer.”
—Geoffrey C. Ward, author of Unforgivable
Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
“Carol Bundy's biography of her great-great-great-uncle,
Charles Russell Lowell, … ranks in quality with
the better pages of such masters as Shelby Foote and Bruce
Catton.
—Edwin Yoder, Washington Post
“In this clear-eyed, unsentimental biography, Carol
Bundy introduces us to a genuine Civil War hero, Charles Russell
Lowell. The transformation of an idealistic Harvard student
into a brave, intelligent and tough cavalry officer is a
riveting story. Her description of a cavalry charge conveys
the experience better than any Civil War film, and
her portrait of Boston society in the mid-nineteenth century
is just as finely etched. This book is not just for Civil
War buffs.” —Frances FitzGerald
Rarely in Union narratives do you find so compelling
and romantic a tale on which to hang a bit of history. I saw
a biography of Charlie Lowell as a chance to tell the story
of the Civil War from the point of view of the children of
the Transcendentalists: steeped in idealism, these young men
yearned for practical applications. Lowell believed that the
world advances by “impossibilities achieved.”
The American experiment in democracy was one; the abolition
of slavery another. New England has never recovered from their
loss.
“A stunning biography of a young man
from one of America’s most celebrated families who quickly
rose to the rank of colonel in the Union cavalry and died,
at age 29, from wounds suffered in a charge at Cedar Creek
. . . Bundy has examined an abundance of evidence in her reconstruction
of the life of this most remarkable fellow. . . [This is]
an enduring and often lovely monument to his memory.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
As Louis Menand, in The Metaphysical Club, explored
the war’s impact on Oliver Wendell Holmes, here first-time
author Bundy examines the life of another Boston Brahmin of
the time, and Bundy’s is easily the best account we
have of the life of the brilliant, magnetic and tragic Charles
Russell Lowell, Jr., examining how he became a martyr for
the cause of freedom . . . Bundy does an excellent
job of telling Lowell’s tale and explaining the ethic
of selfless sacrifice out of which he emerged. This
is an admirable life of an admirable man.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Carol Bundy's book, which I read with great interest
and great pleasure, offers rich insight into
a young man at war. It shows compellingly how the experience
of military life and of combat changed him and his relationships
to those around him. I also very much appreciated Bundy’s
vivid portrait of the impact of the Civil War on a
northern community.”
—Drew Gilpin Faust, Dean, Radcliffe
Institute for Advanced Study
“[The] theme of sacrifice to redeem the nation
from slavery is brilliantly explored and movingly
expounded in Carol Bundy’s notable biography of Lowell,
“The Nature of Sacrifice,” her first book. [It]
is not just a model of historical research, but is also written
with great style.”
—Michael Kenney, The Boston
Globe
“In her fine biography, The Nature of Sacrifice:
A Biography of Charles Russell Lowell, Jr., Carol Bundy
has rendered a great service to general readers and Civil
War scholars alike … The Nature of Sacrifice is a
skillfully written biography. … and Carol Bundy has
made a valuable contribution to both Civil War history and
American biography.”
—Richard Miller, Civil War
Book Review |