[headsonpikes]

Thanks for taking on this work; please add me to The Ping List.

Allan Nevins wrote an 8-volume history of the era which I am working through. The detail is sometimes overwhelming but does put flesh on the bones of time.

Ordeal of the Union (1947–1971)

1. Fruits of Manifest Destiny, 1847–1852;
2. A House Dividing, 1852–1857;
3. Douglas, Buchanan, and Party Chaos, 1857–1859;
4. Prologue to Civil War, 1859–1861;
5. The Improvised War, 1861–1862;
6. War Becomes Revolution, 1862–1863;
7. The Organized War, 1863–1864;
8. The Organized War to Victory, 1864–1865

I am half way through volume 6, and in no hurry, apparently.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

That looks like a good one. I thought I was allowing plenty of time for reading to learn about the era, but every day I get a tip on something else or think of a new subject I need to cover. I guess there will always be something else . . .

I will get you on the new list now.

[morphing libertarian]

FYI
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hour-Peril-Secret-Lincoln/dp/1250042666