Anyone know of a decent introduction to the reconstruction period? I tried Eric Foner's bulky 'Reconstruction' but struggled to get through the first chapter. Having spent time on the pre-war period it's time to look at what happened next (or at least it will be once I've cleared my current backlog).
Try the cut down version, Eric Foner and Olivia Mahoney "Americas Reconstruction, People and Politcs after the Civil War". A mere 136 pages including many photos but a pretty good general overview without going too deep. Available both from Amazon and Play.com.
John Hope Franklin wrote "Reconstruction After The Civil War" which weighs in at 280 pages, although I would recommend giving Foner's book another try. It remains the standard work on the subject.
