A Place Called Appomattox

“Marvel’s work does nothing less than to bring the place and the people that are oft so two-dimensional on the pages of history sharply into three-dimensions. . . . Marvel’s goal is quite clearly to focus on the people of Appomattox as humans with businesses, families, and lives, regardless of the moral implications of their own choices and the choices of their leaders. Appomattox’s citizens are presented purely as they were: human.”—Georgia Library Quarterly

“Marvel’s elegantly written book offers scholars valuable evidence about antebellum, wartime, and Reconstruction Virginia by interweaving the actions and perspectives of soldiers and civilians over nearly eighty years in this 'place.'” — Civil War History

“This is local history at its best.” — North & South

“Thanks to Marvel’s treatment, we have an even better appreciation of the significance of Appomattox beyond its common perception today.” — Civil War News

“[This book] reveal[s] the possibilities of local history to enhance our understanding of broader trends. It also is deeply researched and compelling in its narration.” — Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

“William Marvel knows how to tell a good story. He is also a master at debunking myths and reinterpreting historical orthodoxy. . . . A Place Called Appomattox demonstrates that Marvel can bring the same pleasing style and fresh perspective to local history. . . . Those who appreciate lively prose laced with irony will enjoy Marvel’s style, and A Place Called Appomattox appeals to such a wide-ranging audience that it almost defies a label. Whether shelved as Civil War history, Virginia history, Southern history or local history, Marvel’s work is sure to stand for generations to come as the most authoritative account of one tiny village’s collision with history.” — America’s Civil War

“Marvel has done it again. . . . Any conscientious evaluation of this fine history would yield a similarly favorable view of its accomplishments.” — Indiana Magazine of History

“One comes away with a renewed sense of just how difficult life was then, and just how devastating the Civil War was for the South. Marvel’s singular gift comes in the presentation of the narrative. While clearly the result of extensive research, the book reads as a sympathetic, interesting, poignant story of the life and people of a small rural town.” — Virginia Quarterly Review

“By focusing a new lens on one of America’s legendary places, Marvel delivers a book that is much more than a simple reinvestigation of a story often told. . . . Marvel offers an excellent, almost understated account of the surrender itself, exploding along the way some persistent myths. . . . Rare is the historian who strikes a happy chord in all three of the disciplines necessary to produce a quality work of history: research, analysis, and writing. Marvel garners high marks on all counts.” — Civil War Times

“Perhaps [Marvel’s] best book to date.” — Publishers Weekly