Keegan's Civil War

John Keegan, perhaps the foremost military historian of our times, has finally tackled the subject of the American Civil War and the result appears to be interesting. Here's a nice review of the book by Yale's David W. Blight. He emphasizes Keegan's appreciation of the geographical context of the war [vast spaces larger than Napoleon's empire and comparable to the extent of Genghis Kahn's conquests, the lack of strategic cities, the importance of the West. especially the Vicksburg campaign], and the sheer brutality of the tactics [this was a "body count" war that in many ways anticipated the early years of World War One]. It sounds interesting and will definitely go on my reading list for next year. You can order it here.