Vitor Izecksohn's book is on the cutting edge of the current trend toward 'internationalizing' the study of the American Civil War. His comparisons to the horrific War of the Triple Alliance take us into far less familiar territory in South America than any other historian has ventured, and he guides us with skills and knowledge that few other scholars could claim. Izecksohn presents an original and fruitful comparison of the recruitment difficulties confronted by the Union Army in the U.S. Civil War and the Brazilian imperial army for the War of the Triple Alliance. No other work has made such a sustained comparison of these two wars, and none has based this comparison on archival research on both sides of the equator. [ Slavery and War in the Americas ] is a balanced and well-structured study that is sure to stimulate passionate debates in U.S.

and Brazillian classrooms on the workings of race and citizenship in the two largest slave nations in the Americas. It offers tantalizing insights into how the U.S. Civil War resonated in Brazilian public discourse, including among the enslaved Izecksohn's innovative comparative study. has broken new ground in more than one way, none the least also by utilizing several archival repositories, especially in Brazil, in order to engage fruitfully with this complex and worthwhile comparison. Published as part of a book series on the American Civil War (1861-1865), Vitor Izecksohn's study is the result of his early concern with finding ways to contest the American exceptionalism interpretive model. Izecksohn's comparative approach show[s] that the American Civil War was no exceptional experience.