Two Miserable Presidents by Steve Sheinkin

Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the Civil War by Steve Sheinkin

Another pickup from the library. I thought this was an interesting book. Its listed as a juvenile book but I think it also suits a mass market well. Basically this is an easy to read book that covers the Civil War for anyone who does not know, or remember from school, much of that conflict.

There is a fair amount of coverage of the causes of the war. It covers roughly a sixth of the book. Then a section about half that size follows on the election and the buildup to Fort Sumter and First Manassas. After that battle events dominate the text but some of the lesser events are also mentioned, like Robert Smalls escaping to freedom by stealing an armed Confederate ship and steaming past other Confederate ships. There is also a section that talks about the common soldiers, but battle oddities and stories fill most of the pages.

If you read this blog daily this book is not for you. It might be for that family member of yours that wonders just why you feel compelled to watch the sunset from Little Round Top, or be in Fraley Field at sunrise.