"1861-5: this book tells the story of five short years, yet they were filled with the most dramatic and the most tragic events in the history of the United States. The fledgling superpower pitted its brothers and neighbours against each other in a war concerned with the most fundamental human motivations; identity, freedom, nation. The great leaders like Lincoln, Lee and Grant were men worthy to conttest such notions, but millions suffered and more Americans were killed than in all the wars the United States has fought before or since. The victory of the Republic settled the indivisibility of the Union and ensured its development as a nation. Yet deep scars and divisions remained, and the study examines why the ideals outlined in the Gettysburg Address failed to become a blueprint for the modern United States. Peter Batty and Peter J. Parish have used their years of teaching and research in the subject to produce an accessible and compelling account of the conflict and its wider implications, extensively illustrated with contemporary photographs." --