In colorful, readable prose, this volume provides a full history of the Civil War—including John Brown's raid; the story of the Confederate States of America; the battles of Bull Run, Antietam, and Gettysburg; Sherman's March to the Sea; the Emancipation Proclamation; the Thirteenth Amendment; Lincoln's assassination; Reconstruction; and Andrew Johnson's impeachment.
But more importantly, it offers a range of essays on how events could have turned out differently—militarily, politically, and culturally. It challenges students and general readers alike to remember that the course of history is not preordained. Instead, history is "made " in critical moments of decision by those who choose one course of action over another. Their choices—and the outcomes of those choices—could easily have been different.