Reading this book (until chapter six, where the book picks up somewhat), I thought to myself, "Why does my teacher hate me so? Does he find interest in learning about someone getting a bad headache from lack of coffee (which takes up an entire chapter)?" This book offers a different look at the Civil War. A boring one. Written 100 years after the Civil War ended (1968), this book set the precedent of "don't write about the Civil War if you aren't going to talk about battles, because it's boring." Read something interesting with your ever-disappearing life.