To commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the end of the Civil War, Diversion Books is publishing seminal works of the era: stories told by the men and women who led, who fought, and who lived in an America that had come apart at the seams. The events leading up to the Civil War reveal a country divided by more than just a belief in, or revulsion of, slavery. It reveals a country still forming, even as it fissures and breaks apart. It reveals an industrial north and an agricultural south evolving into enemies even as they mutually benefit one another. It reveals politicians playing to their bases, riling up young men especially to take up arms against their fellow countrymen. This astonishing historical work chronicles all this and more, exploring the fractious ideologies and the most important figures who led the country into its bloodiest conflict.