One of the benchmarks I use to determine how important a book is to me is how many book darts I use to mark passages I want easier access to. I must have used at least 20 for this book, and that was only for the most important passages.

While the book is titled Lincoln's Code, it actually covers the development of the American code of wars from the French and Indian War to pre-World War I. As such, it provides a good background for readers of these conflicts. Plus, it is interesting to see how this American code influenced the Code of Wars for numerous other countries.

For devoted readers of Civil War history, the author covers detailed information on numerous complicated situations our leaders encountered in that conflict, and how they then rationalized the "code of conduct" to meet new problems.

One interesting bit of trivia... While the code states torture is forbidden, it didn't stop American forces in the Philippines in the early 20th century, from using the "water cure" on hundreds of Filipinos. And today the CIA and and other "secret organizations" are still reeling from their use of the "Water cure" in recent conflicts.

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