This is not a comic history of the Civil War (as I thought when I ordered it). It is a comic study of the Confederate-commemoration movement, especially as encouraged by the Civil War centennial in the 1960s. The author was a very serious southern historian who wrote a very depressing history of the Confederate Army of Tennessee in two volumes focusing on its command problems. This book is much lighter, though it varies from laugh out loud funny to fairly feeble -- the author's dedication to his wife says she even laughed at the parts that weren't funny, which may have been a mistake if it encouraged him to include them. Its illustrator also illustrated Richard Armour's rather silly attempts at comic history, and as in that case the illustrators are often the best part. I especially like the series on Lincoln dealing with his generals. ( )