Place Called Appomattox

From the point of view of a family historian, Marvel's book fills a hole in the genre of social history books for Appomattox. The gems in this book consist of a lengthy source for chapter notes, family names like Ferguson, Flood, and McClean, and simplified maps showing the layout of Appomattox CH, as well as Clover Hill, and the dilineation of Buckingham and Appomattox Counties. The latter can be a source of much confusion in census records after 1845.Marvel tells a story of typhoid epidemics, social mannerisms, and politics that will tickle the soul of the wanna-be gossip, as well as the reader who relishes a good story. The attention to detail goes beyond the call of duty, and is much appreciated by this reader. This is the first book I've seen that mentions Robert Kyle's heavy artillery division in any detail.If you're not familiar with the names and families through genealogical research, you'll know them by the time you finish the book. Excellent reading, excellent resource.

Overall this book is a good read on a unwritten about subject. The events during Lee's surrender have been written many times, but not many have discussed how Appomattox was founded, who lived there, etc. Marvel does this, although the first couple chapters are a bit slow. However, during the war years, the text picks up and is more lively. Marvel's description of the differing personalties in Appomattox's history is very good too. The section on the post-war years did not go into as much depth however. Nor did Marvel go into much depth on the death of Appomattox or its rebirth as a national park. I have been to the park and this book gave me a better understanding of some of the things I saw. Overall, the book is very good, but Marvel did miss a couple things.

Marvel's "A Place Called Appomattox" is a great book. Overall it provides an insightful and intriguing portrait of the life and death of Appomattox Court House, VA. However there are some minor problems with the book that prevent it from being an outstanding book.First off, the book takes several chapters to really get rolling. The first three chapters of the book consist entirely of narrative by Marvel and no quotations from letters, diaries, newspapers or government documents. This lack of visceral primary sources keeps the book from involving the reader in the narrative and may bore readers who aren't committed for the finish.However, once the war does start, the books becomes much more active. There are active quotations from individuals and the narrative becomes much more involved with the individuals of the town. I really enjoyed this part of the book. Overall this is a great book. However, Marvel doesn't go as far into the death throes of Appomattox or its restoration during the 1930's and 1940's as I would have liked. Marvel also doesn't really do as thorough a job as I would have liked to prove his statement in his preface that Appomattox was a typical Southern town. Other than this, it was an interesting book.