National Geographic, BGES Publish CW Traveler’s Guide
By Kathryn Jorgensen · Originally published March 2016 · p. 9
WASHINGTON — The collaboration between a very large non-profit scientific and education institution and a small non-profit Civil War education association — National Geographic and the Blue & Gray Education Society (BGES) — has produced National Geographic The Civil War: A Traveler’s Guide. “This is a book built on BGES programming and field experiences,” said Executive Director Len Riedel. The society, which was founded in 1994, conducts seminars, promotes scholarly research and supports interpretation and preservation projects. “This is our contribution to helping get people on battlefields with a superb and attractive book filled with compelling copy, pictures and maps,” he said. Riedel edited National Geographic The Civil War: A Traveler’s Guide. He outlined the book, chose the destinations, and wrote the Introduction and Acknowledgments. BGES members funded over $100,000 of the printing cost. Riedel said more than half of the BGES share was contributed by over 100 members whose donations matched funds pledged by a donor. BGES members’ photographs competed with National Geographic photographers’ work and some were included in the book as was a member’s artwork. Riedel said the book is targeted for a mass market and is projected to sell more than 100,000 copies in the coming years. At 512 pages it is National Geographic’s largest guide book. It expands on the 160-page National Geographic Guide to the Civil War National Battlefield Parks that Gary Gallagher and A. Wilson Greene wrote in 1992. The new book is full color and profusely illustrated. The tour destinations, which include recommended readings, are divided into four U.S. geographic areas. The international section features six countries. Additional pages highlight 25 most important battles, military leaders, the war’s great campaigns and key cities. BGES will receive royalties on the book and will earn an additional $10 per book if people order it directly from the society.
“Of special note and pride is a limited edition print of just 500 leather-bound books for the BGES which will sell for $50 or more with all proceeds benefiting the BGES,” said Riedel. All royalty proceeds will support BGES projects. Readers who use the guide are invited to go to the website’s dedicated section where they can add sites, recommend changes and give corrections for the second edition. The Civil War is the fourth book BGES and National Geographic have published. Their 2006 Fields of Honor: Pivotal Battles of the Civil War by Edwin C. Bearss, with a foreword by James M. McPherson, has sold 60,000 copies, according to Riedel. They are working on The Revolutionary War: A Traveler’s Guide, that BGES member Bert Dunkerly is writing and Riedel is editing. It will come out next year. BGES will again underwrite about $100,000 of the cost, with a member guaranteeing BGES’s share. For BGES information and book orders go to www.blueandgrayeducation.org or call 434-250-9921.
