Erik Larson, one of the most popular history writers over the last half century, has his new book on the crisis over Fort Sumter debut at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List.
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War tells the harrowing story of a small group of Regular United States soldiers surrounded by thousands of armed Confederate partisans in Charleston Harbor in the last days of peace before Civil War. The book describes the hardening attitude of white Southerners for military action against Major Anderson and his men as well as the betrayal of the unit by the Buchanan Administration and the ineffective measures during the early weeks of the Lincoln presidency.
Larson has written many bestselling books over the years, including The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. While his new book has been met with some very good reviews, The New York Times’ own reviewer gave it an unfavorable review.
The book topped both the New York Times Hardcover Bestseller List and the Combined Print and E-Book Bestseller List.
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Another great book. I’ve read ’em all. Question: Who wrote the New York Times story on the firing on Fort Sumter? April 13, 1865