In colorful, readable prose, this volume provides a full history of the Civil Waroincluding John Brown's raid; the story of the Confederate States of America; the battles of Bull Run, Antietam, and Gettysburg; Sherman's March to the Sea; the Emancipation Proclamation; the Thirteenth Amendment; Lincolnis assassination; Reconstruction; and Andrew Johnsonis impeachment.But more importantly, it offers a range of essays on how events could have turned out differentlyomilitarily, politically, and culturally. It challenges students and general readers alike to remember that the course of history is not preordained. Instead, history is imade i in critical moments of decision by those who choose one course of action over another. Their choicesoand the outcomes of those choicesocould easily have been different.