earwicker 's review for:

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson

4.0

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At only 800+ pages, Battle Cry is broad in scope and still relatively concise. McPherson blends the social and political context with the military details quite deftly, and provides enough detail about the major figures that the story is never dry. The first quarter to a third of the book is about the antebellum circumstances and reasons that led to the war -- reasons that are the subject of debate to this day, in some circles anyway. An excellent encapsulation of the nation's worst years.