Aw, the Civil War--it's that thing in American history that we're all supposed to know. Sure you know the basics: That the South was the evil racist ones and the North was the nice loving ones...except segregation was everywhere in the North. It was not uncommon for African Americans to be excluded from public transportation and schools. That it was the bloodiest war in American History...except, well...depends on how you define "bloodiest"--like do you actually mean blood? Because while it's true that over 600,000 did lose their life, roughly 400,000 of that was due to poor living conditions--not actually on the battlefield. About 200,000 died on the battlefield, which is, no doubt, blood, but nothing compared to the 400,000+ who died in World War II. That at the end of it there was this thing called the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery once and for all...except, well...it didn't! Hundreds of thousands were still enslaved because the proclamation only applied to states or territories "in rebellion against the United States." Okay, so maybe you don't know the basics! The Civil War is a complicated piece of American history. If you want to know all there is to know about the Civil War, then there's plenty of lengthy volumes just for you! But if you just want to brush up on your history and understand what it was all about then, you've come to the right book. Be warned! By simple, I mean it! This is a short read--in fact, it will probably only take you about an hour. That's the point! By the time you finish, you'll have a basic understanding and you can find longer books if you want to know more. The book also has trivia facts and a bit of humor--if you don't like to laugh a little, then turn away!