Sex and the Civil War

A well-grounded analysis of some less-studied aspects of the war."" - Civil War News

""Offers intriguing glimpses not only into the much-maligned 'yellow-backed' novels that were cataloged in anti-obscenity prosecutions (the illustrations are not typical fare for academic monographs) but also into attitudes about youth, concerns about a 'marital crisis,' the role of the state in regulating morality, the pornographic tendencies of abolitionist literature, and much more."" - Civil War Book Review

""Well worth the consideration of both general and academic audiences. . . . Giesberg relates government efforts, including acts of Congress, to protect young soldiers during the war, and into the 20th century, by suppressing gay rights, birth control, and abortion."" - America's Civil War

""A welcome addition to the field. Perhaps the greatest contribution of the book is as an opening of the history of the Civil War to a serious consideration of what it means to call this critical moment in our history an 'era' and thereby also integrate those four years into the longer run of U.S. history."" - Journal of American History

""Raises profound questions about sexuality and desire, masculinity and its discontents, and the technologies and networks that the Civil War engendered."" - Journal of the Civil War Era

""Giesberg's book establishes the centrality of the Civil War in shaping sexual behavior and consumption of porn by arguing that 'the particular circumstances of the U.S. Civil War made possible the triumph of pornography.' The book is ideal for use in undergraduate courses … Giesberg's writing makes the book accessible to scholars, students, and buffs alike; her prose is lively, amusing, and frank."" - The Journal of Military History