The Unknown Architects of Civil Rights: Thaddeus Stevens, Ulysses S. Grant, and Charles Sumner

Like others, I wished to learn more about Thaddeus Stevens after seeing Spielberg's "Lincoln". Googling led me to Barry Goldenberg's "Unknown Architects of Civil Rights" which seemed a good bet after reading the glowing UCLA precis and the four similarly flattering US reviews on Amazon. However, this book which three of the four reviewers highly recommend (one of them as "a must read") turned out to be no more nor better than an extended essay with all the hallmarks of a poorly proof-read undergraduate effort rather than the product of any sort of readable author or historian as such. Apart from the occasional misprint (notably in one place the howler of "solitude" for "servitude"!) the writing style is not only simplistic but too often also ungrammatical. In terms of content, Mr Goldenberg has clearly scoured the literature, peppering his very short text with innumerable quotations, but seemingly with nothing to add of his own. In particular, to take issue with one of the US reviewers, it is certainly not the case that "the author explains how the politics of the Reconstruction era affected modern day civil rights". A connection may be asserted but is not at all demonstrated. It is rather the case that the author's coverage is so skimpy as not to illuminate the politics of the Reconstruction era itself, nor for that matter the personalities of those concerned. This was altogether a most disappointing read for someone with a real interest in learning more of Stevens, Grant and Sumner. It is not a book I can recommend.

This book is fine if you want a quick understanding of these three civil rights pioneers. But the author explains that the book originated with an honors paper that the history professor really liked. So it is a small book, offering superficial insights at best.

A little amaturish in style. Not sure it was entirely accurate on all points. Still, quite a lot of interesting information. I liked the cartoons especially.

Excellent read!! Great for school reports.

Great intro on 3 figures often neglected in history.