My latest audiobook was A Short History of the Civil War by Bruce Catton. It gave me a good overview of the Civil War, and I enjoyed it a lot. The one problem with listening to audiobooks about wars is that when they mention geography, it’s impossible for me to figure out what’s going on. I don’t have a map to look at.

I learned a bit about strategy in war. There’s a lot of value in having the initiative and forcing the enemy to react to you rather than the other way around. In general, one should concentrate ones forces. Speed is a killer, as evidenced by the cavalry. I don’t really know how this helps me practically. Maybe the next time I’m playing a board game I can remember it.

I was impressed by Robert E. Lee and Abraham Lincoln. Had Lincoln not been assassinated, I wonder how differently things would’ve turned out. He was much more magnanimous and moderate than the Republican Congress.

Finally, I realized how the Civil War and its aftermath left scars on a nation that we still see today. The book was written in the 60s and that upheaval in civil rights is directly related to that war. 100 years and the same kind of tensions flared again. It’s strange how conservatives want to make-believe that racism just isn’t a problem anymore when history shows us how culture can sometimes change very slowly. After all, it’s the conservative who should recognize the role of the habits of society.