The author describes the characters and personalities of the key generals and even President Abraham Lincoln as if he knew them. It is a highly effective literary technique that makes the book very readable for the average reader. It balances well with the necessary well-researched details of key battles and outcomes. I was surprised to be mesmerized by the details of important battles, learning who won, how many soldiers were lost and who retreated, at what time and why ... fascinating, too was learning what strategies led to the outcomes for either side. This author uses vivid and colorful descriptions that make you want to learn more. Of note, is the introduction, which provides a background to help the reader understand what a fragile thing the "Constitution of the United States" really was at the time. One begins to see and appreciate how "building a nation" from sea to shining sea had tenuous moments where the outcomes *could* have been quite different indeed. It dawns on the reader how precious freedom really is and how important it is to safe-guard our hard-earned "rights". Reading about how the nation was divided - helps us understand how important it is to never let such a thing happen again.

The author deftly side-steps the causes of the war, although he does mention slavery as being the primary reason. This is the only difference of opinion I have with the author. He takes the "easy way out" by blaming "slavery". In actuality, the South was fighting for their economic survival, they were defending their 'way of life'. They feared losing their main cash crop which they wanted to export to Europe, without Congress imposing excessive taxes that forced them to trade only with the North. Otherwise, I find the author avoids showing partiality to either the North or South. The book is written in a narrative fashion, almost, but not quite like a novel. It must have been hard to remain neutral while writing the facts yet somehow he manages this. He also writes compassionately about the suffering endured by the South. He depicts the destruction of Sherman's march through Atlanta and the southern cities much more mildly than it deserves, this no doubt is his attempt to remain neutral. Most interesting to me, was the detailed description of Abraham Lincoln and his responses to the war, an analysis of his feelings and conflicts, reasons why he may have been alone that fateful night he went to the theater. Most riveting is the description of the nine hour ordeal endured by his wife and the physicians, who kept vigil at the president's bedside, during the last hours of his life. Other memorable moments described in full technicolor detail are the surrenders of the Confederate generals. The author does a phenomenal job of describing the larger-than-life southern "bushwackers" who in today's terms would be called, "guerrilla fighters". Amazing how the South held out as long as it did - four solitary years of suffering for the cause they believed in. Such courage is worthy of admiration. Fighting for one's homeland and beliefs is one of the noblest causes for which human beings suffer, despite the high cost in terms of lives lost. One learns, the price of freedom is always paid in blood. From this book one can extrapolate meaning from war even in modern times. Erika Borsos (bakonyvilla)

Winik excels at recreating on there ground,"you are there" moments, especially the evacuation of Richmond, the surrenders of Lee and Johnson, and the death of Lincoln. Unfortunately this comes at at a cost, as Winik indulges in breathless, overstated prose throughout the book, never using one adjective when three will do the same work. The sloppy writing results in many of his ideas being repeated several times throughout the book. Winik appears to have done an excellent job of research, although he's clearly writing outside his field of expertise (as the errors othes have pointed out attest to). In order to bolster the "counterfactual" side of his argument, he seems to have exaggerated the Confederate capability for prolonged guerilla warfare. And to bolster his "great man" ideas, he seems to have largely bought into the Robert E. Lee mythos. To fill out the book, he includes lengthy sketches of important men of the time, such as Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, Lee, Jefferson Davis, Joe Johnston, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Booth, and so on. While interesting, they interrupt the flow of the narrative and more properly belong as sidebars. There are all kinds of other digressions throughout the book, that, while interesting, have no direct bearing on Winik's thesis.

In the end, the book must be commended for bringing some lesser-known events of the time to light, fleshing out some of the better known ones, and generally emphasizing their chronological proximity. One only wishes Winik was better able to restrain himself in recounting the history (throughout the book, people and events are the "most," "best," "worst," "unequaled" and so on), and less prone to accepting the Lee mythos at face value. A kind of interesting book to read along with it would be Tony Horowitz's Confederates in the Attic.