This Republic of Suffering

While this was a school read I am so glad it came my way! This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust is a masterpiece for historical lovers and the general public alike. Covering not the war in common terms of battles and troop movements but through the real loss sustained on individual and state levels Faust peels back the patriotic veneer that covers our modern understanding of these long lost "war dead". In this was This Republic, while not the most uplifting read, opens up the past back up to modern eyes and allows us to see through the mass of suffering at a more understandable level. With all the Civil War events in the years to come read this before stepping on the battlefields to understand these brave men better. If the book doesn't seem your thing there is a documentary based off the work by the title Death and the Civil War: Amewrican Experience that does a good job of covering the condensed material for a more visual audience.