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Title: Excellent one-volume treatment
Review: The Civil War is such a vast subject (I believe the most written about event in human history) that it's hard to know where to start. I'm not an expert on the war, but I found this read to be very satisfying. I don't know how much more time I'll devote to the Civil War, but it seems to me that this book provides an excellent overview of the event and is everything a nonspecialist lay reader like myself could want to know. I've read great words of praise for Shelby Foote's trilogy, so maybe I'll take on that project some day, but if I don't, I'll feel like McPherson gave me a solid understanding of the causes, major players, and main political struggles surrounding this terrible period in our nation's history. I can't add too much more to the other excellent reviews here, but I thought I'd add another five-star review and hope others take the time to read this well-written survey of our Civil War.
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