Nearly half of this, the 4th installment of Cornwell's Nathaniel Starbuck series, is taken up by the Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg), and Cornwell's expert handling in great detail of that battle is the only thing that saves this book from a much lower rating--and that's because I am a Civil War buff. Otherwise, the writing is mediocre and the character of Starbuck just sorts of stutters and does nothing.

Antietam was and remains the bloodiest single day in US military history, with something like 23,000 casualties. It was a terrible battle, with both armies exchanging possession of one single patch of ground, the cornfield, something like 80 times. The sunken road was a slaughterhouse for both sides as well.

Cornwell does great justice to this battle, and his fictionalized characterization of George McClellan, the completely incompetent commander of the Union forces, is excellent. As usual, the depiction of the conduct of soldiers in battle is very fine, as is the portrayal of its horrors.

But Starbuck himself has become a nonentity and the writing is pretty poor. However, the fictionalized military history is very good, and anyone who wants a good introduction to Antietam/Sharpsburg will find that part of the book absorbing.