The War for the Union Volume II....War Becomes Revolution 1862-1863

This is a middle volume in an eight-volume set of books which exhaustively covers the many origins and history of the Civil War from 1847 onward. For any student of history, it is invaluable in its coverage of the roots of the war and its conduct. This volume deals with the haphazard beginnings of the war in North and South when both sides thought that the war would be brief, and -- so to speak -- fun. Obviously that was a triumph of romanticism and fanaticism over logic; the truth was bloody and protracted. Despite the author's tendency toward lengthy sidebars, this is valuable history, fairly well written. Nevins could have used an editor, but so could most acedemics. This is worth the price, but consider reading the earlier volumes first.

This masterwork, one of the finest volumes ever written on the Civil War, is beautiful, timeless and provocative. Nevins writes effortlessly while using words such as "evinces" and "deputed" in a style that is lofty but not haughty. More than vocabulary or even style, however, is the weight this book carries in shear analytic power of historic events. Here is a historian who knows the real story and who has read the primary text. Yet this is not academic drivel, excessively given to the meanders of a minor player. This is what history should be. This is the language, the insite, the detail that convince a reader of a rare gift. Many set out to be what Nevins was, few come close.