Amazon.com Review
A soft bed and a clean bath--any hotel with a modicum of money and good taste can provide that. But lodgings that preserve an ember of American history? That's an amenity that can't be installed, no matter what the construction budget. Chuck Lawliss describes the history and present condition of Civil War sites and Civil War-related inns spanning 18 states, from the Sherman House in Lancaster, Ohio, where William Tecumseh Sherman was born, to the 1842 Inn in Macon, Georgia, where Jefferson Davis stayed in 1865 as he fled south to avoid capture. In Beaufort, South Carolina, there's the elegant Bay Street Inn, which was once used as a Union hospital, and the Kenmore Inn of Fredericksburg, Virginia, which still bears the scars of the pounding it took from Union shelling. Like greatness, you've either got it or you don't, and with the passing of time, a genuine connection with the Civil War is a special something fewer and fewer spots can boast with a shred of truth intact. --Stephanie Gold
From Library Journal
For Civil War buffs who want to immerse themselves in history, Lawliss provides the perfect travel guide. He includes everything from the Gettysburg battlefield, with a choice of five recommended inns, to the Windsor ruins in Mississippi, with a single accompanying inn. He divides the book into two sections, the North and the South, which are then broken down by state and attraction. The author of many travel books, he provides both basic information about each historical site, including details about directions, times open, admission price, and phone number. Lawliss then advises which historic inn to stay in during your visit and again provides information as to the address, accommodations (number of rooms available), amenities (air-conditioning, afternoon tea, etc.), rates, and restrictions (children and/or pets) as well as its historical significance. Used in conjunction with Spencer Kope's Everything Civil War (LJ 5/15/97), this good, basic guide would well serve the traveler in search of a total Civil War vacation. Recommended for public libraries.AJulia Stump, Voorheesville P.L., NY
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