New York: Oxford University Press, 1984. xviii, [2], 561p.; 24 cm. (9½ inches). Blue cloth with gilt spine title; dust jacket. Includes notes and index. Fourth printing. In this outstanding book, Joel Williamson "combines brilliant analysis with a Faulknerian richness of detail to confront one of the awful ironies of American history: that the war which was fought to free blacks from slavery also freed racism. Under slavery, the author shows, Southern white thinking about black people was contained by the needs of the `peculiar institution'; after Emancipation, blacks became increasingly expendable, and racism ran riot" [from the dust jacket]. A book for our times. In Fine/Near Fine condition: edges of dust jacket slightly rubbed.. Fine/Near Fine.