Packed with nearly six hours of historical material, The Last Days of the Civil War provides a fascinating study of a nation in the painful throes of transition. The five History Channel programs compiled here effectively combine to form a multifaceted account of the pivotal events of 1864-65, when the bloodshed of civil war slowly brought forth a government (in the words of President Abraham Lincoln) "of the people by the people for the people," that would define the United States as it progressed toward the 20th century.