John G. Nicolay (1832-1901) was an undeniably apt and brilliant choice to inaugurate the landmark Campaigns of the Civil War series. Private secretary to President Lincoln and coauthor (with John Hay) of the monumental, ten-volume Lincoln biography, Nicolay experienced the Civil War from a unique vantage point: living in the White House, witnessing the many momentous events and minor wranglings, sharing the nation's trauma with Lincoln, and winning his open confidence. It is Nicolay's firsthand knowledge and personal observations of the key figures that imbue The Outbreak of Rebellion (1881) with immediacy and thrust. Here is the secession fever that swept the South Lincoln's shrewd and desperate maneuverings to hold the border states the behind-the-scenes debates about how to respond to the crisis the attack on Fort Sumter and the call to arms and the hard-fought battle along Bull Run creek that resulted in a chaotic Federal defeat and the first appalling casualties of the war. Nicolay's insider view of the opening act of the Civil War has produced a succinct, compelling account of considerable value and fascinating insights.