As someone who wanted to learn more about the personal relationship between soldiers and their uniforms, I found this book immensely frustrating. Dr. Cox repeatedly comes remarkably close to exploring that topic and even discusses it in the context of the United States Colored Troops (USCT), but often shifts to another subject just as it appears she is about to delve into it. That said, if material culture and material history are your areas of interest, this book may be exactly what you're looking for. Dr. Cox examines the material history of uniforms, badges, and flags on both sides of the conflict in impressive detail. While it wasn't quite the book I was hoping for—and made writing my capstone much more irritating—readers interested in the physical artifacts of the American Civil War will likely find much to appreciate here.

If you're looking for a book to read before bed, this isn't it. However, if you're looking for an excellent textbook that provides a comprehensive overview of Iowa history, this is probably the best book available. Dr. Bremer does an outstanding job of condensing the Hawkeye State's history into a book that is both easy to understand and impressively detailed. As a graduate of Iowa State University who took Dr. Bremer's Iowa History course (HIST 3700), I can confidently say that reading this book is essentially equivalent to taking a college-level Iowa history course. My one criticism is that the book is effectively Dr. Schweider's book Iowa: The Middle Land with the addition of Iowa history post-1996. Even so, I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a thorough overview of the history of the Hawkeye State.