Children and Youth during the Civil War Era

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Children and Youth During the Civil War Era. Ed. by James Marten. (New York: New York University Press, 2012. Pp. xii, 270, bibliography, index. Paperback, $25.00.)

At the end of this slim volume of essays there is a list of questions for consideration, starting with this one: "How did the wartime experiences of children differ from the wartime experiences of adults? How did children perceive that their experiences differed from those of adults?" (p. 255) These are crucial questions, and the ways they are posed reveal the great strengths of this book and the book's intended audience: the expectation is that the reader knows a fair bit about the wartime experiences of adults. …