Ordeal of the Union

Ordeal of the Union, an eight-volume set (published 1947–1971) on the American Civil War by Allan Nevins, is one of the author's greatest works, ending only with his death. The individual books are:

1. Fruits of Manifest Destiny, 1847–1852
2. A House Dividing, 1852–1857
3. Douglas, Buchanan, and Party Chaos, 1857–1859
4. Prologue to Civil War, 1859–1861
5. The Improvised War, 1861–1862
6. War Becomes Revolution, 1862–1863
7. The Organized War, 1863–1864
8. The Organized War to Victory, 1864–1865

For the last two volumes, published in 1971, Nevins won the U.S. National Book Award in History.