I finished reading "The Long Surrender" last night while exercising; it was a very engaging book. It covers the end of the Confederacy in general, and the period of Jefferson Davis' life from April 1865 to his death. It's fascinating, because it reminds us that there is a part of the US that has a history (more recent than 1812 or the revolution) of invasion, surrender, and occupation. It also makes plain just how lucky we are that the end game of the rebellion was handled as well as it was; outside of the shackling of Davis, the terms of reconstruction weren't terribly onerous, and led to a modern day US without much in the way of reactionaries looking to refight the war. A quick look at the Balkans and how far back memory extends there shows you how easily things can go a different way...

Anyway, I highly recommend the book - and you should also get "April 1865" with it.

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