Then topic of Reconstruction after the Civil War is one that is usually either handled very heavy-handed, or simply glanced over. The fact is while the war part of the Civil War ended in 1865, the civil aspect of it is still being fought today. Yes, there is a school of thought that contends the Civil War has not yet ended. Luckily in this book, Langguth doe snot take that tact.

It is easy to say that this is one of the best books on Reconstruction out there. It covers the main characters from the just before Lincoln’s assassination and how the Federal government sought to bring the nation back together once the bullets stopped flying. It also though spends some time on the ground level with the people who were living the local aspects of the overall governments policies. The book even goes so far (almost) to tie the struggles of the African-American community during Reconstruction to the modern-day Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. As such I would consider this book a good jumping on point of the subject interests you.

There are a few things to watch for. There is a bit of a tendency to jump around in the time line based on which person the story is following in any given chapter. So it is not a directly linear read. It did throw me off a couple of times. The other thing, as I said it makes a good attempt at tying the post Civil War era to the more modern times, but in the last chapter when it tries to do so it seems almost like an epilogue that has been tacked on. Not a negative as it lead me to wanting to read more, but something to be aware of.

All in all worth the read. Click the image to visit Amazon and pick it up