The Assault that Helped Ignite the Civil War
On May 22, 1856 ardent pro-slavery Congressman Preston Brooks of SC savagely attacked and critically injured anti-slavery Senator 
Charles Sumner on the floor of the U.S. Senate with a gold tipped walking stick. Stephen Puleo's "The Caning: The Assault that Drove America to Civil War", paints a vivid picture of the vitriolic climate of the times and chronicles the major events of the decade leading to the outbreak of the Civil War.
Top Recommendation for May
(2012, Oct - 374pp)
Superb, easy-to-read, highly informative narrative that explains and links the key events in the years prior to the final outbreak of the Civil War at Ft. Sumter