Richard L. Miller’s portrayal of life during the years leading up to, during and immediately after the Civil War through the telling of John P. Slough’s story is an enthralling edge of your seat tale. Richard L. Miller does an outstanding job enticing the reader in and explaining in simple yet riveting words to explain the complex issues that John P. Slough and America faced in those years in and around the Civil War. I am no history buff or great mind when it comes to politics but through Richard L. Miller’s words I found a great appreciation for what John P. Slough and many other man worked so hard to accomplish for our country in those trying years. Slough is certainly an underdog, mostly because of his own actions, yet Miller has you fighting right along side and for Slough through the whole book. This was my first time reading a nonfiction history and Richard L. Miller’s fantastic writing has left a sizeable impression on me for the genre. I 110% recommend this book to everyone! It was an beautiful eye-opening read that both educated and spellbound my mind!