Eric Foner and Olivia Mahoney

A House Divided

"A graceful, informed overview of the antebellum U.S., the Civil War years, and the conflict's great aftermath. Best of all are the portrayed exhibit pieces." —Booklist

A century and a quarter after its conclusion, the Civil War retains its powerful grip on the American imagination. A House Divided combines lucid chapters on this fateful period by Eric Foner, the notes historian of the Civil War and Reconstruction, with 175 illustrations of striking artifacts from the vast collections of the Chicago Historical Society.

"A concise history of the causes, impact and aftershocks of the Civil War—a brisk, lucid, highly readable survey. . . . Will be irresistible to Civil War aficionados. . . . [Foner] is a thoughtful historian with a novelist's eye for color and detail and a journalist's talent for cutting to the heart of his arguments. . . . An essential contribution to the Civil War bookshelf." —Harold Holzer, Chicago Tribune