Stephen D. Engle

This book is a collection of four separate volumes in Osprey's Essential Histories series; The War in the East 1861 – 1863, The War in the West 1861 – 1863, The War in the East 1863 – 1865 and The War
in the West 1863 – 1865.

Presented in the usual Osprey style, it's an easy read and illustrated with period photographs, pictures, contemporary artwork (mostly by Don
Troiani) and a sheaf of maps. Given that I judge military history books on their maps, mainly as I can rarely make sense of a written account of a battle without one, I'd rate the book fairly highly on that basis alone.

The book covers the whole war with varying degrees of detail, with the emphasis most definitely on the operational side of things. There are
several sections on the home front both in the North and the South, the political situation and the experiences of slaves and non-combatants, but for the most part the big battalions, battles and
generals are the stars of the show.

That said, the book covers that aspect of the war very well and manages to tell a complex, multi-layered story with clarity, which is
no mean feat. I find the separation of the war into two distinct theatres artificial from the point of view of the narrative as each
theatre influenced the other greatly, but the authors do a workmanlike job of relating the two to each other and keeping the whole narrative
flowing in the minds eye within the limitations of that structure.

Rounded off with a comprehensive index and a relatively short bibliography (with a few surprising absences), "This Mighty Scourge of
War" is a fine introduction to the American Civil War. But it is exactly that, an introduction, a careful searcher* could probably find
most of this information on the internet, and a genuine Civil War buff is not going to find anything new here.

On the other hand, the newcomer is not going to find a more visually appealing or friendly introduction to the period.

*And one who can stand reading their history from a computer screen which I'm less and less willing to do as I grow older.… (mere)