Premise: Shelby Foote, author of the acclaimed three volume history of the American Civil War, The Civil War: A Narrative, died in Memphis on June 27 at age 88. Foote also wrote historical fiction, including Follow Me Down and Shiloh. He may be best known for his appearance in filmmaker Ken Burns' PBS documentary, The Civil War. The Modern Library ranked Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative as number 15 on its list of 100 best non-fiction books. He was commissioned to write a short history of the Civil War by Random House and spent more than 20 years on the work eventually producing the three volumes.
Hypothesis: Foote was commissioned to write a three volume history