Just when you think everything's been said about the Civil War, along comes something that shows you things you never knew you never knew. ( )

A pretty good book, especially as the civil war started. The characters and policies of the five presidents who were alive when Lincoln ran in 1860 stand out in sharp contrast to what Lincoln had to do. The first part of the book is a bit dodgy, because it covers a lot of ground - from Andrew Jackson to 1860- and it is not always clear what is happening. The second two thirds of the book make up for that. ( )