Best School : West Point, 1833-1866

Describes not only the curriculum & administration but also the social, military, & bureaucratic aspects of West Point. The Civil War was a war between West Pointers. All of the top commanders on both sides were graduates of the U.S. Military Academy -- Ulysses S. Grant vs. Robert E. Lee, William T. Sherman vs. Joseph Johnston, William S. Rosecrans vs. Braxton Bragg -- the list is long. Hence what these men learned & did not learn at West Point, & how that institution influenced their characters & attitudes, is of cardinal importance in understanding the war they fought & how they fought it. Carefully delineates the context in which a significant public institution of higher education operated, & the external pressures which shaped it.