The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy (Conflicting Worlds: New Dimensions of the American Civil War)

This book stands alone as the best insight into Civil War soldiers' lives and motivations. This book is written from the perspective of the Confederate soldier, dubbed "Johnny Reb." I suggest this book be read in companion with "The Life of Billy Yank" by the same author as both books offer up contrasting pictures forming the totality of who fought in America's most bloody battle.This book is a compassionate treatment of the young men, and old in some cases, that fought for their homelands. It is not designed to be a political or historical commentary, rather a series of vignettes of what life was like in the Confederate Army and the conditions in which our people lived. It's simply superb!

Copywrite 1943, this is one of the most carefully researched, and credited volumes of Civil War history I've read and thoroughly appreciated. History from the viewpoint of the participants is "as good as it gets," to me; Bell Irvin Wiley certainly provided that viewpoint in this and its sister volume, The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union. (Available as separate volumes and as a boxed-set from sellers on amazon.com.) I recommend that one have both at hand for the sake of comparison, on a second read-through if not the first. (Got history? Bring it on!) Civil War historian Bruce Catton, whose books also rank highly for historical accuracy and "palatability," said, "Of all the books that have been written [on the Civil War]... the ones that will truly live are Bell Wiley's." I'll add: "I wish I'd been a student when Professor Wiley taught history at Emory."

Through genealogical research I discovered that many of my ancestors fought for the Confederacy. While they all served a common cause, they had a variety of different experiences. Some died in battle, some died of sickness, some were captured, and some were still around for the bitter end. But, what they all shared was the experience of serving in the ranks as common soldiers. There was not an officer among them.Most writers dwell on the historical contributions of the leaders and the impact they had on tactics and strategy. "The Life of Johnny Reb" by Bell Irvin Wiley is the only book I have come across that effectively tells the story of the men who did most of the actual fighting and the dying.This book let's me "walk in the shoes" of my ancestors. I have enjoyed it a great deal and I would highly recommend it.

This is for my husband who loves history.

This is my second copy of this book. It is a civil war classic and a good primer for beginners to Confederate history. Mr. Wiley touches on every aspect of how the Confederate soldier lived. I usually put on music from that period when I read this book. When you are reading about starvatioon, cold winters with no boots and things like that, you cant help but feel like you are there right along side them. I recommend this to anyone looking for a thorough day in the life account of the everyday Confederate Soldier.

I ordered the hardback version of book, what I received was the trade paperback. Anyone want it, I have 5 copies so far.

Excellent look into the many aspects of the life of a Confederate soldier. Wiley has definitely done his research, and cites numerous letters from the soldiers themselves. Once I finish this book, I plan to read the Union counterpart. This book should be on the bookshelf of any historian of the Civil War, and is a must-read for any reenactor.

Very likely the most accurate description of life in the CSA military. A must-read for all interested in the War of Aggression against the South.

Written in the 1940s by one of the legends of Civil War history, this book holds up remarkably well considering the developments and discoveries in the field in the intervening 70 years. It is effectively one of a pair with The Life of Billy Yank, which I have yet to read.You won't find the great names of Civil War history here. Lee, Jackson, Beauregard, Longstreet, barely get a look in here. Even the officer class is scarcely given a mention - this book is very about the grunts, the footsoldiers, the nameless masses that generally escape the attention of history. Yet, as Wiley points out, the War could neither have been won, lost or fought at all without them.He draws heavily on contemporary records, mostly letters, to reinforce his narrative - which means some challenging passages deciphering the somewhat free use of spelling and grammar! This was an era before wartime censorship of soldiers' letters, and you really get a feel for the thoughts and feelings of the men, where later generations would be more circumspect, aware that their officers would be reading and censoring their missives.This book covers almost all aspects of the soldiers' lives, from the clothes that they wore to the food that they are, the shelters and huts they built for themselves, their training and drill, their attitude to officers and one another, their backgrounds and education, their heroism and cowardice, and their reaction to battle. It shows its age in places - there is scarcely a mention of 'the Negro' outside of talk of body-servants, and the rights and wrongs of the Confederate cause are not discussed. Native American Confederate troops are described consistently as 'red men' and, whilst acknowledged as brave, dismissed as little more than savages unfit for organised soldiering.So a good book, well worth the read, albeit a little dated in places. I'll be curious to read its companion, Billy Yank, and see if the author's gentle Southern bias is simply a result of telling the story of the Confederate or whether it comes across in the book about their opponents as well.

This book was ordered from the USA and arrived in a reasonable time and the content of the book i was happy with. But, what i was not prepared for was the obnoxious smell of it. I can only think the odour was of tobacco smoke. Because we are non smokers we probably noticed it more, but it could not even be ignored on entering the house.Every single page gives off the smell, which is right under your nose. I have even sprayed it with air freshner but to no avail.A good book spoiled. A fair comment would have been to mention it on the write up when selecting the correct price.

La vie quotidienne des soldats, leurs occupations, angoisses, espoirs, ... écrite à partir de plusieurs milliers de lettres envoyées aux proches. Celui-ci et son pendant (The life of Billy Yank) sont parmi les meilleurs que j'ai lus concernant la Guerre de Sécession. A acheter sans hésiter pour une histoire des soldats et pas toujours des personnages les plus illustres.