This book has a lot going for it. Size: an art book should be of large size like this making it easy to see the reproductions. Don't even think of trying to buy this for a Kindle or Nook. Quality printing, paper, and binding--This is a well made book with good heavy paper and a strong binding. Price--OK the original cover price is kind of high BUT take a quick look at the current Amazon price. It is a bargain I promise. Quality authors--Harry Katz is former head curator at the Library of Congress and Vincent Virga has authored several impressive works himself.In an era before every pre-teen with a cell phone could snap photos newspapers employed men known as "Special Artists" to help bring the action home to readers. Papers such as Frank Leslie's Illustrated News and Harper's Weekly would employ artists such as Frank Vizitelly, Edwin Forbes, Winslow Homer, Thomas Nast, Arthur Lumley and many others to bring the sights of war to their readers. For those who expected this to be a quick and easy war the scenes produced by the Specials proved beyond a doubt that there was going to be a large amount of blood spilled before all was said and done.Many times you will find these prints having been removed from the newspapers available for sale in antique shops and flea markets. What separates this book however is that in the majority of instances you are seeing reproduction of the original work and not the newspaper. Included you will find works from the more famous battles such as Antietam and Gettysburg but also lesser known fights such as Fair Oaks.For those interested in the portrayal of blacks whether enslaved, newly emancipated, or free there are works here to amaze you. The emphasis is on the war itself and not personal stories or home life so this is not a prominent theme however.In showing that journalism has not changed all that much the artists certainly created propaganda pieces such as that shown on page 100; Southern Chivalry Dedicated to Jeff Davis. This piece by Thomas Nast features many negative images of southerners including a Confederate soldier having beheaded a Union soldier at Bull Run, Confederates throwing wounded Union men in the road to die, southern women gloating over Union dead, the killing of negroes at Muffreesboro Pike and more. This piece from the February 7, 1863 Harper's Weekly would have been certain to stir emotion and support for Union troops.This is a beautiful book with excellent text included and is highly recommended. Just a warning however: if you aren't careful you can spend several hours looking at the wonderful art inside.I must admit, I was skeptical about purchasing this book for $3.75 (!!) when the list price was $50... but I was very pleasantly surprised. The quality of the paper and binding is very good, the image reproduction is very high quality and the textual content is outstanding. I bought this mainly for eye-candy, but ended up learning a thing or two while reading it.My ONLY gripe is not with the book, but with the way it was packaged for shipment. The book was not properly secured, and as a result, it shifted during transport, causing one corner to be very slightly bent. Most people would never even notice such minor damage, but I tend to be meticulous in the care and preservation of my books, so I was a little miffed that it did not arrive in pristine condition. Still, for the price, I would have bought this book even with the miniscule damage to one corner... so I quickly got over it.At the time of this writing, I see the price has gone up to $5.47, but even at the new price, this book is an amazing bargain for anyone interested in the Civil War, etchings, the history of journalism, war correspondence, American history or fine art.Just received this book, so I have yet to read it from cover to cover. From what I have viewed so far, it is a beautiful book! Wonderful large images in color. I will use this book in my classroom, as well as read it myself. No pages stuck together or anything like that, as others have said. My only complaint is the chunk that was taken out of the dust jacket. For only $5, I won't return it.The book I received was a used library book but it is in excellent condition. The book itself is fascinating. The drawings are very interesting. There is a lot of historical information included with the drawings. I purchased this book as a study book on quick sketches for my own information. Also makes a great coffee table book.I've seen this book in the past and always wanted a copy. I found it here to be a very reasonable price and a good deal.I read about this book from reading the article about the war correspondents that were called 'specials' in the May 2012 National Geographic. The article was fascinating and the heroism and fortitude of these people was remarkable. The book is everything I'd expected. It's a book I will keep on the shelf along with Macpherson's and others that will keep the Civil War history alive and with us long after the sesquicentennial has passed.A super-fascinating peek into the day-to-day doings of the Civil War. It is arranged in chronological order starting just before the attack on Ft. Sumter, so you get to see roughly what newspaper readers of the day saw also. The authors give lots of background on who the reporters were, their adventures, and the politics behind it all.In some ways better than photographs