The book, Vicksburg 1863, by Winston Groom, is an informative book written for a reader who knows little about the war and the campaign. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars because it mostly fulfills its purpose of describing the capture of Vicksburg in 1863, but (a) mixes extraneous topics intended to maintain reader interest, but which make it difficult to keep the main story in mind. The parsimonious reader who is looking for text directly related to the Vicksburg campaign will want to skim or skip half the book. (b) The book fails to provide the reader with notes (1) for additional reading of topics of interest and (2) for verification of the author’s interpretation of events and decisions made by leaders of both sides.