From the Chesapeake incident off the coast of Nova Scotia, through the St Albans Raid from Quebec into Vermont, to the reinforcing of garrisons across British North America in response to the Trent Affair, The Civil War Years ranges across the early Canadian landscape. It offers an in-depth survey of Canadian public opinion on the war, the role of Confederate sympathizers in Canada, and the number of Canadians enlisted in the armies of the North and South. The second edition includes a new introduction that provides an overview of Civil War studies since the book's original publication in 1960. The Civil War Years remains a valuable contribution to Canadian history, the history of Canadian-American and Anglo-American relations, and Civil War studies.

Robin W. Winks (1930–2003) was Randolph W. Townsend Professor of History and chair of the Department of History, Yale University.

Robin W. Winks' profile page

"A major contribution to Civil War literature by stressing the importance of Canada in determining Britain's foreign policy during the war ... An example of history as it should be written. Mr Winks writes in a lively style which illuminates all aspects of Canadian-American relations during the Civil War years." J. Rogers Hollingsworth, Civil War History "By far the most thorough study of the relations between the United States and British North America during the Civil War ... A well-written work of mature scholarship, a remarkable achievement ... Winks's exposition is neither pro-North nor pro-South, nor is it pro-Canadian. It is rather a detached yet sympathetic explanation of the manifold and often exasperating repercussions between an apprehensive British North America and the schizophrenic United States." A.L. Burt, Journal of Southern History "An excellent and comprehensive treatment of an important subject, a book that will serve as a source of information and reference for all future writers on the relations between the United States and the British Empire." Helen Manning, American Historical Review "An excellent analysis of issues and incidents that long have been familiar but which have never received the treatment they deserve ... A searching examination of Canadian and American attitudes throughout the Civil War, and the effect of attitudes and incidents upon the continuing problems of British-American relations ... The great value of Professor Winks' book is not only in its detailed analysis of Canadian and American attitudes, but also in its conspicuous fairness ... Comprehensive and objective." P.B. Waite, Canadian Historical Review