YA well-couched intro to the Civil War

The authors use the concept of "high-tech" to capture the attention of YA and slightly younger readers while introducing them to the names, battles and chronology of the American Civil War. It is age (middle grades?) appropriate in the level of detail and depth of analysis -- and yet interesting enough to hold the attention of this adult. And, no, the book is not dumbed down; it covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time, giving out a lot of facts, names, dates, locations (but no quiz at the end, so don't worry). It is more narrative and action than it is analysis.

Narrator Fred Sullivan has done an excellent job here. The pronunciations is clear and correct (especially proper names); the pacing is slow enough for young ears to digest but not so slow that they are bored.

For those trying to decide if this book is appropriate for their young readers:
What the book does include: battlefield statistics (numbers of deaths and casualties are mention for a couple of the battles); discussion of various firearms; mention of slavery as one of the reasons why the war was fought (but no discussion of the institution itself); the fact that civilians rode out to the battlefields to watch the various battles. This is a military history and the idea that soldiers died is not avoided but details are not provided.

What the book does not include: in-depth discussion of why the war was fought or in-depth analysis of the political and economic positions of either side. That is not the purpose of the book. There is no bullet by bullet description of the battles, no blood and guts. No guided tours of the military hospitals. Nonetheless, the book is aimed at an audience that already understands that in a war, people die; that the goal of a battle is to defeat the other side.

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Outstanding

A well researched very organized, well presented information about the civil war .Insight into how Lincoln’s foresight provided countless benefits to the country

Very Good

It was very informative of the progress that was made during the civil war

Very well researched

As a history nut, most of this material was known to me. But, I still learned a lot. Excellent book for the civil war interested.

Much fun

This book was very entertaining, even lighthearted—unique among civil war accounts—and enlightening in regard to wartime technological developments.

This is a fair rendition of the Civil War

However this summer I’ve completed Team of rivals,Clouds of glory and Personal memoirs of Ulysses S Grant.
I was looking for more information about the telegraph. I didn’t really find it.