How long does it take to read Ordeal by Fire?
The Civil War and Reconstruction
Ordeal by Fire by James M. McPherson takes about 12 hours 43 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 12 hours 43 minutes
A week or two of reading
First published 1900. 694 pages, about 190,850 words.
26 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 21 hours 12 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 12 hours 43 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 7 hours 57 minutes |
The page count is the median across 31 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
The Civil War is the central event in the American historical consciousness. While the Revolution of 1776-1783 created the United States, the Civil War of 1861-1865 preserved this creation from destruction and determined, in large measure, what sort of nation it would be. The war settled two fundamental issues for the United States: whether it was to be a nation with a sovereign national government, or a dissoluble confederation of sovereign states; and whether this nation, born of a declaration that all men are created with an equal right to liberty, was to continue to exist as the largest slaveholding country in the world. The Constitution of 1789 had left these issues unresolved. By 1861 there was no way around them; one way or another, a solution had to be found. - Preface.
Subjects: Causes, History, Reconstruction, United States, Histoire, Sezessionskrieg
