A stimulating study of two of the finest soldier-authors in American literature, Just What War Is explores the Civil War writings of John William De Forest and Ambrose Bierce. Michael W. Schaefer argues that, among the many Civil War veterans who wrote memoirs, novels, and stories based on their own experiences in combat, De Forest and Bierce stand alone in their efforts to create an unromanticized portrayal of war in literature.

While exploring issues of literary realism in general, Schaefer examines the struggle of these two major writers to represent the moral and human dimensions of combat.