Learn about the Civil War from a whole new perspective. Dr. Megan Kate Nelson explains why you can't fully understand America's pivotal moment without grasping the role the West played in both the Union and Confederate sides. Her book, "The Three Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West," explores how the West became critical not only in the strategy of the war, but in the imagination of Washington and Richmond. She describes how Native peoples, Mexicans, anglos and African Americans collided on lands that now make up Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah as they sought to keep control of critical routes to California and Oregon. Their fight for gold, shipping and the future of slavery became all-important in securing the future of the continent, and the diverse peoples who live here.

Dr. Nelson is available on Twitter at twitter.com/megankatenelson

Her website is megankatenelson.com

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