This is about an active blog. The blog is a long way from done so this can’t be a review and it has already started so this can’t be a preview . I guess this is simply a “view” — and a recommendation.
I have never met Eric Swanger although I’ve known him, in an internet sort of way, for many years. We share some interests, like old roads, music, and photography, but Eric manages to make each of these hobbies his own. Take old roads. Eric has crossed the United States and ridden Route 66 on a Vespa. Music? He’s a punk rock maven who has had at least two music related blogs. As for photography, Eric likes old and odd — sometimes really old and very odd — film cameras. He develops the film himself. Except, of course, for the Polaroids. The currently running Load Film in Subdued Light is his photography blog.
We both like history but Eric isn’t even the least bit casual about it. Like many others, he has a deep interest in the American Civil War and, also like others, he focused a lot of attention on it during its just ended sesquicentennial. He wasn’t the only one publishing a Civil War blog during the last few years nor was he alone in doing it daily. It was in the breadth of his coverage and the depth of his analysis that set him apart. When Civil War Daily Gazette first appeared, I expected it to have a few borrowed headlines and a picture or two on most days. I sure was wrong in a very good way. From Abraham Lincoln’s election in November of 1860 through Andrew Johnson’s May 1865 offer of amnesty, the Gazette presented a collection of each day’s events and did an admirable job of tying them together and putting them in context.
The subtitle of the Civil War Daily Gazette was the very accurate “A Day-By-Day Accounting of the Conflict, 150 Years Later”. As much as I was surprised by the range and quality of that accounting, I was even more surprised by an after-the-fact revelation. Gazette posts were not just informative, insightful, and witty. They were truly “fair and balanced”. The times when I thought I sensed any north or south leaning in an article were extremely rare and (here’s the big surprise) were wrong. Apparently those imagined slants were more the result of my own prejudices than those of the writer. Only after the Gazette‘s run ended and This Cruel War‘s framework put in place, did I realize that Eric had begun the Gazette as a fan of the south and a self-identified Neo-Confederate. It was a jolt but a jolt that made what I had been reading for four and a half years even more impressive.
The subtitle of This Cruel War is “An Evidence-Based Exploration of the American Civil War, Its Causes, and Repercussions”. I have no doubt that is every bit as accurate as the Gazette‘s subtitle and want to draw particular attention to the phrase “Evidence-Based”. The blog’s launch day post, “History — Not Heritage Not Hate (A Preface)”, points out that history and heritage, though often used interchangeably, are two very different things. This Cruel War is all about history — and accuracy. A huge percentage of what floats around the internet is pretty much the exact opposite of “Evidence-Based”. There is no question that emotions and misinformation played a role in the Causes of the war. That is a sad truth about virtually every war. What’s sadder is that emotions and misinformation continue to play a role in our understanding of the Causes of the American Civil War.more than a century and a half later. I’m really looking forward to that “Evidence-Based Exploration”.
I learned of Eric’s pro-south past and conversion through the new blog’s About the Author page. The story it tells is not entirely unique. Although I have never bought into “the South was right” line of thinking, I can still see a little of myself in his story in terms of what I once shrugged off as misguided but harmless. I’m guessing that it is obvious that the recommendation I mentioned in the opening paragraph is that everyone go back and read This Cruel War from its recent (Aug 24) beginning and follow it to the end although I have no idea when or where that will be (and I doubt Eric does either). An even stronger recommendation, and one that is much easier to follow, is that everyone at least read that About the Author page. Not only did I learn some things about the author from it but I also learned acknowledged some things about myself.
When I previewed this book in April, it was with the hope that a Kickstarter campaign would result in a bargain priced offset printed version. Ara had turned to the crowd funding site to facilitate pre-ordering the book in support of a cost saving bulk order. As noted in a mid-May update to 
Not surprisingly, many of the photos are of America’s open spaces. Ara has visited and camped in some rather isolated spots and has captured some of their beauty. Canyons, lakes, and improbable shapes carved by wind and water are masterfully recorded and there are many gorgeous sunsets. A quote from Jo Walton really resonated with me:
Cece’s a singer… and a traveler and now a writer. Cece (I know the book cover says Cecelia but few actually call her that.) has been singing since childhood. As an adult, she has spent a goodly amount of time singing professionally as a classically trained mezzo-contralto and there was travel, both in and out of the US, involved. Then, just as the career should have been accelerating, a stumbling economy resulted in it instead being sort of paused. Cece used the time to attend workshops and other activities to help in focusing her future. One workshop involved identifying, in a short amount of time, “…five projects you see yourself doing…” and one item on her hurriedly produced list was “singing travelogue”. No one, including Cece, was quite sure what that meant but it sounded intriguing and, before long, she was on her way to defining a real world project that included a coast-to-coast concert tour, a CD, and this book.
We had apparently become accustomed to being a two car family at this point so, when the blue Nova became a non-runner, I went shopping for another beater. I bought a 1965 Corvair in Kentucky. It didn’t look as ragged as the one at right (which might actually be a ’66) but it probably was. It was a full-on stripper with 3 on-the-floor, bare rubber floor mats, and no perceivable options other than an AM radio and even that might have been standard.
It had begun life as a poor white Chevy and that was still the color of the top. The bottom had been painted fire engine red. It was a decent repaint and still pretty shiny. It was sort of a blend of these two cars minus the fancy wheel covers and all that chrome. It really didn’t look too bad from the proper distance. Up close, something of a reverse freckled look became noticeable. A few chips had appeared in the red part so that bits of the white part showed through. It was a mild case of reverse measles that gave the car “personality”. Yeah. That’s what it was. Personality.
The title song is the opener and I’ll admit I found myself wondering if that was a good thing. “If It’s Got Wheels”, the song, is a V8-powered rocker that heads straight for the horizon like something Springsteen or the Eagles might drive. But then what? Did Murdock pick this tune to lead off and supply the name for his latest album because that’s all there is? The quickly apparent answer is a very loud NO. If It’s Got Wheels, the album, is filled with powerful songs performed by a collection of talented musicians.
