First off, I want to give a big THUMBS-UP to you the reader. I just received my latest website and blog traffic statistics, and we are already up to 9,000+ hits for the month. Much of this significant increase (I suspect) is due to the article on Best Of CW Blogs that was written by the good folks at CWI for North & South magazine, as well as the generous links that we now have posted on other blogger’s pages. Thank you all!
Second, I want to give a huge THUMBS-DOWN to the people at Borders Bookstore. First, you cut your Civil War section in half (it appears) and then some genius comes in and rearranges everything on the shelves so that you could never find any specific title that you are looking for. In a month or so, you have gone from having one of the best Civil War sections that I have ever seen, to a hodge-podge of disorganized chaos, and far-less choices. Well done. I mean it’s not like Fredericksburg is a place that DESERVES a quality CW selection or anything!
The ONLY good thing to come out of my trip there yesterday was a heavily discounted copy of “Recollections and Letters of Robert E. Lee” that I found buried on the bargain table, and the time that I spent at the magazine rack, which brings me to my next topic.
A big THUMBS-UP to Eric Wittenberg & J.D. Petruzzi for their outstanding cover story in this month’s “Civil War Times” on J.E.B. Stuart’s ride to Gettysburg. I loved the book, and I loved the article. Well done guys. I am looking forward to reading more of your work in the magazine section (since there is nothing left over in the books!)
And another big THUMBS-UP to Harry Smeltzer from Bull Runnings, for his excellent piece on Civil War Blogging that appears in the latest issue of “America’s Civil War.” Harry showcased some of our “premier peers” like Brian Dirck, Brian Downey, Chris Fonvielle, Mannie Gentile, Mark Grimsley, Gerry Prokopowicz, and Dmitri Rotov. All of the participants had some great insights, and they also posed some pros and cons about the validity and credibility of what we are all doing here.
The article also pointed out some of the potential “flaws” in CW blogs such as their periodic tendency to become "thin" in content, and our own tendency as bloggers to treat the realm as a diary (in hope that someone will take an interest in our most mundane day-to-day thoughts.) This personalization (IMO) can be both a blessing and a curse, and I pledge to post “less of me” and “more for thee” in the coming weeks. I have some great new content over on my website too, and plan to incorporate more of it here on my blog. Stay tuned.