Popular blogger and Civil War reenactor Thompson kicks off the Guts & Glory nonfiction series with an entertaining overview of the war that divided the nation. While each chapter covers a battle, such as Gettysburg, Antietam, and Shiloh, this endeavor is not a greatest-hits recap. With a focus on heroes or "villains" rather than political statements, the battle descriptions feature the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts (one of the first African American regiments recognized by the Union), Belle Boyd (a Confederate female spy who smuggled messages to Stonewall Jackson), a great locomotive chase, the first battle between metal warships, and one of the last cavalry melees in military history. What brings these events to life, particularly for reluctant readers, is Thompson's spirited, conversational narration (e.g., the Confederates took the USS Merrimack and "upgraded it like an iPhone," encasing it in four inches of iron plating). Dramatic sketches, period photographs, battle statistics, and related facts from food and music to sharpshooters and the Mason-Dixon Line should keep students engaged.

In an amped-up voice laced with (somewhat forced) slang and conversational asides, Thompson--a Civil War reenactor and history buff--introduces pivotal battles such as First Manassas, Shiloh, and Chancellorsville and important individuals, including Robert E. Lee. Folded in throughout are pages devoted to facts and figures, reproductions of period maps, and enlightening sidebars. The pencil sketches are fresh and immediate. Bib., ind.

Gr 4&11;7&12; In this first of a series, history buff and reenactor Thompson displays a solid knowledge of the Civil War, hampered by an overreliance on "hip" prose. He ably covers major battles, campaigns, and figures in a roughly chronological order, mixing informational passages and fact boxes with colorful action sequences in each chapter in what could potentially have been a winning formula to grab and hold the attention of young readers. Unfortunately, Thompson's colorful prose often veers into the realm of the bizarre. The repeated use of the word dude may seem odd coming from an adult author, and readers are likely to miss many pop culture references, such as a mention of the 1990s film Anaconda or a "Mike Tyson haymaker sucker punch." The many run-on sentences will leave readers at a loss. One such sentence describing Lincoln's situation approaching the election of 1864 ends by saying that his popularity didn't "necessarily mean that everything was coming up unicorns, rainbows, and smiley-face sunshine happiness roses of joy." Thompson takes a linguistic swing for the fences and ends up spinning around and falling down at the plate. There are many other books on the Civil War for this age range that will hold a reader's attention without the bamboozling prose.&12; Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI