Author Description

About the Author Edward L. Ayers is the President of the University of Richmond. He was educated at the University of Tennessee and Yale University, where he received his Ph.D. in American Studies. Previously Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia, where he began teaching in 1980, Ayers was named National Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for the Support of Education in 2003. His book, IN THE PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES: WAR IN THE HEART OF AMERICA, 1859-1863 (2003), won the Bancroft Prize for distinguished work on the history of the United States. THE PROMISE OF THE NEW SOUTH: LIFE AFTER RECONSTRUCTION (1992) won prizes for the best book on the history of American race relations and on the history of the American South. It was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He is the co-editor of THE OXFORD BOOK OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH (1997) and ALL OVER THE MAP: RETHINKING AMERICAN REGIONS (1996). The World Wide Web version of "The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War" was recognized by the American Historical Association as the best aid to the teaching of history. His latest book is WHAT CAUSED THE CIVIL WAR? REFLECTIONS ON THE SOUTH AND SOUTHERN HISTORY (2005). Lewis L. Gould is Eugene C. Barker Centennial Professor Emeritus in American History at the University of Texas at Austin. After receiving his Ph.D. from Yale University, he taught at Texas for 31 years before his retirement in 1998. He was honored for outstanding undergraduate and graduate teaching during his career. His most recent books include THE MODERN AMERICAN PRESIDENCY (2003), GRAND OLD PARTY: A HISTORY OF THE REPUBLICANS (2003), and THE MOST EXCLUSIVE CLUB: A HISTORY OF THE MODERN UNITED STATES SENATE (2005). He has written op-ed essays for "The Washington Post," the "Austin American-Statesman," and "The Dallas Morning News," and has been a frequent commentator on radio and television ab