According to the author, this is the first study of secession politics in all four border states during and beyond the secession winter of 1860-61. The book is very well-researched (his bibliography is magnificent--I added at least twenty books to my reading list) and for the most part well-written, though I could have done without the politically correct touch of 'enslaved persons' rather than 'slaves', and like everybody else these days, he overuses explanatory brackets to make quotations more understandable when they are already perfectly understandable. Other than that, the book is refreshingly free of typographical errors and language solecisms. I found his writing to be extremely enjoyable, though the book does take a while to read. Like most academic books, it can be recommended as recreational reading only those for whom it covers an area of reading interest; as a source, it seems impeccable to me. ( )