The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference

For a broader crash course in Civil War history, the Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference offers a lucid summary of political rifts that led up to the war, extensive chapters on battlefields and the home front, state-by-state details about the armies and much more. Edited by LOC writer/editor Margaret E. Wagner, University of Virginia history professor Gary W. Gallagher (Lee and His Army in Confederate History) and University of Tulsa College of Law professor Paul Finkelman (An Imperfect Union), the book also has a chapters on ""Civil War in Literature and the Arts"" and ""Studying the War: Research and Preservation,"" as well as bibliographies, filmographies and lists of other resources and organizations. (Sept. 13)