The purity mentioned in this book's title is the same thing many sportswriters say is missing from modern football. The Cadets of Army and the Midshipmen of Navy may be students at military academies, but the surprising fact is that many players choose these schools primarily because they offer a chance to play at a level for which they are otherwise unqualified for reasons of size, strength or speed. John Feinstein, the gifted sportswriter who brought a new dimension to golf in the classic A Good Walk Spoiled—and who edits this year's Best American Sportswriting anthology—spent the 1995 season with both teams. What he discovered about the inner workings of athletes who will never play professionally, and who will spend six years after the end of their football careers in the service of their country, is nothing short of fascinating. Both Army and Navy had 1995 seasons that make for good stories, and their last game of the year, against each other, went right down to the wire. But the human stories, from coach to fourth-string kicker, are the elements that make A Civil War a must-read for anyone who values teamwork, intrinsic purity and love of the game above all else in football.