Summary
An illuminating study of the American struggle to comprehend the meaning and practicalities of death in the face of the unprecedented carnage of the Civil War. During the war, approximately 620,000 soldiers lost their lives. An equivalent proportion of today's population would be six million. This b... Full description
- The work of death
- Dying: "to lay down my life"
- Killing: "the harder courage"
- Burying: "new lessons caring for the dead"
- Naming: "the significant word UNKNOWN"
- Realizing: civilians and the work of mourning
- Believing and doubting: "what means this carnage?"
- Accounting: "our obligations to the dead"
- Numbering: "how many? how many?"
- Epilogue: Surviving.