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ifyouhappentoremember's review against another edition
5.0
I too will join the chorus of people calling this book the best one volume work on the American Civil War. It covers all of the important aspects while keeping the book interesting and gripping. McPherson does an excellent job detailing that not only was the Civil War was caused by slavery, it was caused with the intention of spreading slavery.
A good read, highly recommended.
A good read, highly recommended.
bkeving_74's review
5.0
Excellent political and military account of the Civil War
I read this along side Lincoln: Team of Rivals and have learned so much about this period of history. Highly recommend!
I read this along side Lincoln: Team of Rivals and have learned so much about this period of history. Highly recommend!
sakeriver's review
I really enjoyed this book for its scope. Rather than focusing on one aspect of the Civil War or another, it starts by setting up the political and social climate in the United States several decades before the war, examining the build toward war, and then following through the consequences of each phase of the war, and how everything interacts. In the past my interest in the Civil War had mainly been military in nature, but in this book the battles took a back seat for me to the social and political questions: Why did this happen? How did this happen? And, though this isn't explicitly addressed in the book, could this happen again?