Presents an analytical explanation of why cricket failed as an American sporting institution. Devotes much attention to the rise of organized American sports immediately before and after the Civil War and interprets this phenomenon in the context of both its premodern American history as well as its development up to the First World War. The geographical focus is on the larger urban areas of the Atlantic seaboard, but other urban and rural areas are also discussed. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Share the personal letters of a family separated because of the war. Experience life in the South during the Civil War. Family members talk about the price of cotton, who has gone to war and who isn't coming home. James and Robert describe life in Army camps, battles, hospitals and in the Prisoner of War Camp, Elmira.

More than 300 letters, written by six men in the 14th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry.