On one level this book is an excellent overview of the Civil War. I gained a powerful appreciation of the significance of the war to our country's history. Because it does such a good job of providing an overview, I was left feeling that I wanted even more detail and background, especially in the political realm, that this volume did not provide. Again on the plus side, reading this book has energized me to read more by this author and by other Civil War historians.

I was initially skeptical of such a slender volume on such a large topic, but Catton and McPherson are both eminent civil war authors, so I started reading. The authors produce a compelling and thoughtful narrative that covers all aspects of the war: military, political, economic, and psychological. It will reward newcomers to the topic the most, but even aficionados will find value in it. Depth of detail is impossible, but the authors provide live links to a wealth of online information providing as much detail as most readers will desire, cleverly knit within a well-organized story line.