My father gave me that book as a gift in the early ‘60s. The text is by Bruce Catton. I have poured over it many times. Is the version that you are looking at the original huge hardcover that has the jacket with the crossed flags of the North and South? Mine is still in its original jacket and on my top shelf.
No Sir, it is a hard cover encyclopedia size book with an olive blank cover with the embossed eagle clutching 3 arrows in his righttalon and a shield in his left. The binder is blue and yes the narrative is by Bruce Catton.