The American Civil War's imposing number of historical figures can make it a daunting subject to study, but this beautifully produced encyclopedia meets the challenge with succinct entries on the 50 most important people of the era, along with synopses of key battles and nearly 300 illustrations. Flattering yet factual, the articles themselves are culled from 19th-century sources and filled with direct quotations from those who knew these soldiers best, giving a sense of how these individuals were viewed in their own era.