One Paragraph Book Review: Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson

Subtitled "The Civil War Era," this book is less about the era than the war itself. It is a narrative telling of the military and political history of the times leading up to and including the Civil War. It is comprehensive, well written, laudatory to sources, and--perhaps most importantly for a book this size--consistently interesting. McPherson gives the South fair treatment, but he writes from a decidedly Northern perspective, which is even more evident in the 2003 Afterword in which he defends Abraham Lincoln from southern critics. Originally published in 1988, it won a Pulitzer Prize, and deservedly so. If you're looking for a one volume history of the Civil, this book will reward you. I also suggest Jay Winik's April 1865 as a good follow-up to this book. Winik's book provides a history of the final month of the war, the "month that saved America."