For nearly half a century, Grady McWhiney has stood in the foremost ranks of Civil War historians, receiving numerous honors and helping prepare a new generation of historians to carry on the task of understanding and interpreting the Civil War. Here, McWhiney presents a concise narrative that, says fellow historian John C. Waugh, "is comprehensive but still sings." Says Eugene Genovese: "Grady McWhiney provides a responsible, judicious, well-balanced guide to the principal issues and personalities of America's most painful period." McWhiney's book, he suggests, "is a corrective to prevalent textbook biases and deserves wide classroom use." William C. Davis adds, "The Civil War is not designed to be the last word on the experience and the era, but it contains virtually all of the first words needed to give a reader a considerable familiarity in a remarkably short time." The Civil War stands on its own as a supplemental text or a quick read, but it also is a natural companion to 20 Good Reasons to Study the Civil War by John C. Waugh, published last year by McWhiney Foundation Press and available in paperback.