[The authors] show that the Southern states were not united around a single leader or cause. . . . In the end, they discovered that God did not wear gray.

—New York Times

The most comprehensive, sophisticated, and well-informed [book on this subject] I have ever read.

—New York Review of Books

Should be required reading for anyone interested in the Confederate experiment. Its superb analysis of the previous literature, including respectful disagreement with many of the conclusions of Owsley, McWhiney, Jamieson and other prominent historians, makes it an ideal starting point for any discussion of Confederate defeat.

—Dallas Times-Herald