"Even before the first rumblings of secession shook the halls of
Congress, British involvement in the coming schism was
inevitable. Britain was dependent on the South for cotton, and
in turn the Confederacy relied almost exclusively on Britain for
guns, bullets, and ships. The Union sought to block any
diplomacy between the two and consistently teetered on the brink
of war with Britain. For four years the complex web of
relationships between the countries led to defeats and victories
both minute and history-making. In A World on Fire, Amanda
Foreman examines the fraught relations from multiple angles
while she introduces characters both humble and grand, bringing
them to vivid life over the course of her sweeping and brilliant
narrative." A New York Times bestseller that is available in
standard print format, as an eBook, and as an unabridged audio
book.