The one problem I have with this book is the way that Winik portrays Lee and Grant. Lee's virtues are portrayed as heroic,and even his vices are depicted as the manifestations of a superior man. Grant on the other hand, comes across as a loser who basically bumbled his way into being the first Lieutenant General since Washington. I hope the reader won't take Winik's word on Grant but read instead one of the many good Grant biographies out there. My favorite is "Grant" by Jean Edward Smith.Despite that caveat, the author brilliantly illustrates what I have been saying much more clumsily for years. That is that the American Revolution did not end with the victory at Yorktown. The American Revolution did not truly create a nation until the end of the Civil War and the convulsions of reconstruction that followed. As Winik says, it could easily have turned out differently anywhere along the way.This is an excellent read: highly recommended.