Washington was rarely isolated from the world during his eventful life.

Sleepers, Wake! Technology and the Future of Work was published by Oxford University Press in 1982, became a bestseller and has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Swedish and braille. The fourth edition was published in 1995.

Reproduction of the original: Chronological Retrospect of the History of Yarmouth and Neighbourhood, ... by William Finch-Crisp

Literary critics have praised Chesnut's diary. The influential writer Edmund Wilson termed it "a work of art", "masterpiece" of the genre and the most important work by a Confederate author.