LIBBY PRISON BREAKOUT may remind you somewhat of the 2010 political bickering between the two major parties. The North accused the South of deliberately mistreating its prisoners; The Confederated denied it. The North refused to exchange prisoners because the 30,000 soldiers who surrendered at Vicksburg returned to action and because the Rebel prisoners were much more capable of returning to action. Confederates also refused to trade black prisoners and white officers who led them into battle.

Probably the most remarkable characters in the book are Colonel Thomas E. Rose, a former Pennsylvania schoolteacher, who led four separate efforts to dig the prisoners' way out of Libby Prison. Rose was relentless when everyone else was willing to give up. He did most of the digging himself when the last effort neared fruition. The other major character was Elizabeth Van Lew, a union spy who managed to plant a union sympathizer into Libby Prison who ran the head count and conveniently looked the other way when some of the prisoners were missing because they were digging. She also carried on a constant communication with Grant using a cipher code.

The most exciting part of the book is author Joseph Wheelan's account of the prisoners attempt to reach union lines after their escape. Wheelan also provides a brief epilogue about what happened to the various characters after the war and a picture section. With so many Civil War books out there, this one provides a unique perspective about a little known subject.