Overwhelming in its detail (then again all good history books are overwhelming) author Jay Winik hits on subjects of this most crucial month beyond Lee's surrender and Lincoln's assassination.
Some of the great points in this book;
The great debate between Lee, his generals, and Jefferson Davis to take the South's cause to the hills to fight a guerrilla war which may have extended the conflict for years and left an entirely different country.
Lincoln's determination to save the Union when it would have been so easy for him to gain the favor of the people by agreeing to a peaceful settlement with the Confederacy.
Winik's lessons about previous transfers of power from president to vice-president. Explaining first John Tyler's succession to the presidency after the death of William Henry Harrison and then Millard Fillmore's becoming the 13th president after the death of Zachary Taylor. We tend to think of these in terms of just being a matter of fact, but nothing was as easy as time would make it seem.
The flaws of all these great men, and the opportunity to understand them in the context of their times not ours. Southern honor is anathema to us in the year 2009 when they held on to slavery. The Northern indifference and peace movement that was willing to settle for two nations instead of one is not alive in our thought process today.
Winik does an outstanding job and this book should be a must read for every high school student.
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