Ordeal by Fire: An Informal History of the Civil War

Among those who have studied it the Civil War has the peculiar quality of arousing strong partisanship for or against particular figures. In addition, there is a good deal of controversy as to the exact sequence of events, especially in some of the battles.
The present one-volume history of the war is written for the man-in-the-street who, perhaps justifiably, has not the time to follow out the details of such controversies...