Ordeal of the Union

Ordeal of the Union, an eight-volume set (published 1947–1971) on the American Civil War by Allan Nevins, is one of the author's greatest works, ending only with his death. The individual books are:
 * 1) Fruits of Manifest Destiny, 1847–1852
 * 2) A House Dividing, 1852–1857
 * 3) Douglas, Buchanan, and Party Chaos, 1857–1859
 * 4) Prologue to Civil War, 1859–1861
 * 5) The Improvised War, 1861–1862
 * 6) War Becomes Revolution, 1862–1863
 * 7) The Organized War, 1863–1864
 * 8) The Organized War to Victory, 1864–1865

For the last two volumes, published in 1971, Nevins won the U.S. National Book Award in History.