He received a B.A. from Pomona College and earned his PhD. at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research focuses on British reactions to the American Civil War, and he has served as a book review editor for H-CivWar for the last six years. His articles and book chapters have covered topics ranging from the British understanding of the war’s military significance to the way in which the war influenced British thinking about race. He is currently writing a book that investigates the way in which Britons used the Civil War to construct lessons about politics, society, race, nationality, and military affairs.