This is an eloquent study of the most bitter years of the war when death slashed the country with a brutality unparalleled in the history of the United States. Through the kaleidoscopic tone and temper of the struggle, two men grappled with the burden of being leaders in both politics and war. In the North, Lincoln remained resolute that a house divided against itself could not stand. His vast use of resources is brilliantly contrasted with Jefferson Davis' valiant struggle for political and economic stability in the hopelessly fragmented and underdeveloped South. 'Better than any other history of the Civil War it combines narrative vigour, literary grace, freshness of view and independence of judgement, and a kind of catholic spirit which embraces the whole vast and tumultuous scene' Henry Steele Commager. This book can be read as a self-contained narrative or in sequence with the previous two volumes.