The Imperiled Union: Essays on the Background of the Civil War by Kenneth M. Stampp (Morrison Professor of History Emeritus, Morrison Professor of History Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley)
A collection of essays by a master historian. Amongst the subjects that Stampp tackles are the inevitability of the Civil War and the truth about why the confederacy actually died. The other essays are a mix of historiography and analysis of issues including Lincoln's role in reinforcing Fort Sumter, the impact of psychology in trading slaves, and the role of racism in the Republican Party.