Covered the topic extremely well. Certainly helped improve my understanding of the period. Included a useful timeline overview.

The palpably textbookish way of presenting 'what is the civil war and what are the factors contributing to its cause' is not a drawback. This book succeeds to be both engaging and easy to follow, as it presents the events leading up to, during and after the Civil War in chronological order, with brief asides to discuss contextual factors, historical legacies, and the background to key characters. Especially helpful supporting materials are timelines, maps and even graphically-depicted battle strategies. It is the ideal read for someone wishing a detailed and yet 'start at the beginning'/amateurs welcome, detailed introduction to the subject.