A modern and current examination of Reconstruction that explains how the South in the aftermath of defeat in a total war, was still able to exhaust the will of the powerful North using asymmetric warfare.

• Offers a synthesis of asymmetric warfare concepts that provides a novel context for understanding events and developments of the Reconstruction era and the emergence of the New South

• Enables readers to draw interesting parallels between the events of Reconstruction 140 years ago to the recent U.S. military's experience in the Middle East

• Explains how reconciliation and peace result from a political-social equilibrium that marks the achievement of the weaker actor's goals

• Offers a view of history that places events in terms of examining conflict to explain the achievement of a weaker actor's goals