Even The Most Painstaking History Is A

There Is A Rowdy Strain In American Life, Living Close To The Surface But Running Very Deep. Like An Ape Behind A Mask, It Can Display Itself Suddenly With Terrifying Effect.

The 1860 Election Became A Referendum On The Southern Way Of Life.

Early Youth Is A Baffling Time

The Civil War Was Fought In 10,000 Places, From Valverde, New Mexico, And Tullahoma, Tennessee, To St. Albans, Vermont, And Fernandina On The Florida Coast. More Than 3 Million Americans Fought In It, And Over 600,000 Men, 2 Percent Of The Population, Died In It.

A Certain Combination Of Incompetence And Indifference Can Cause Almost As Much Suffering As The Most Acute Malevolence.