Also earlier this week, when I asked them, Claire and Judith Wrubel Levy kindly recommended books on the American Civil War to me. Claire suggested Eric Foner's Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men and Judith suggested James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom.

An article from the mostly-subscription FT site, summarized in the Business Standard, argues that The War on Terrorism is really yet another mutated descendant of the American Civil War. It's by MacGregor Knox of the London School of Economics.