A review by matttrevithick
The American Civil War: A Military History by John Keegan

3.0

Dense but good read on the American Civil War. Written by a Brit, so some distance from the topic, at times startling (the book opens with, more or less, 'The South never had a chance' - strong words even for a Northerner like me) but on the whole appreciated. He weaves in references to comparable European wars and battles, which I liked. Little hard to pin down at times, he slides around time periods with ease and it's occasionally a little tricky to follow - one page we're reading a detailed account of a battle in 1862 and the next page it's how this battle was perceived after the war, while moving right on to the next sequential battle on the next page.