Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: Good information, painful writing

Fishel sure makes you work for the information... there's not a fact that isn't cited three, four or five times in following chapters. He does bring together much disparate information about the development of a military intelligence service during the Civil War, that's for sure. He has done excellent research, and argues his case persuasively. If he'd only had an editor, though, this massive volume would have come it at a third of its weight and would have been a better book. A serious lack was any discussion of military intelligence in the Western campaigns. Whether this is due to a lack of data or a lack of interest on the author's part is unclear... it just doesn't show up. If you're interested in precision on matters concerning the Civil War in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, this book has lots to offer. But brother, are you going to have to work for it!