Here is a dramatic, photo-filled guide to the war that split the Union. Eyewitness Civil War includes everything from the issues that divided the country, to the battles that shaped the conflict, to the birth of the reunited states. Rich, full-color photographs of rare documents, powerful weapons, and priceless artifacts plus stunning images of legendary commanders, unsung heroes, and memorable heroines combine with stories of courage, adventure, and defiance to paint an unforgettable portrait of the American Civil War. See Fort Sumter's battle-torn flag, a beardless Lincoln, the tools of a Civil war surgeon, and the Confederate capital in ruins. Learn how to fire a cannon, the secrets of the Underground Railroad, about the Confederacy's First Lady, and what soldiers carried into battle. Discover who plotted Lincoln's assassination, where the last Confederates surrendered, what happened to Jefferson Davis, and why the North won the war, and much, much more!

This photo-filled guide focuses each two-page spread on particular topics ranging from the Underground Railroad and how both sides raised armies to black volunteers and field artillery. The war itself is reduced to the battles of Bull Run and Gettysburg, the siege of Vicksburg, Sherman's March to the Sea, and Lee's surrender. Again, this underscores that this is a supplemental volume and not a primary source of information about the Civil War. The rule of thumb here is that the less you know about the Civil War the more you will be impressed with this volume, because the more you know the more likely you have already encountered most of the information and illustrations contained herein. I also think that this particular volume tries a bit too hard. Case in point, the famous engraving of Senator Charles Sumner being attacked by South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks with a cane on the floor of the U.S. Senate colors in the two main figures, and other illustrations have been colorized as well.

However, all of this simply goes to underscore that the great value of the DK Eyewitness Books series is that they show us things we have never seen and in my case this particular subject is one that has already exposed me to a lot of what we find in this book. Several volumes in this format could have been devoted to the topic of the Civil War, so I would not be surprised if somewhere down the road some companion volumes to this effort were produced.