Erik Larson delivers another masterful work with "The Demon of Unrest." This book delves into the crucial five months between Abraham Lincoln's election and the onset of the Civil War, a period rife with tension, uncertainty, and pivotal decisions that shaped American history.

Larson's storytelling prowess is evident as he meticulously reconstructs the chaotic months from November 1860 to April 1861. The book begins with Lincoln's unexpected victory in a bitterly contested presidential race, a result that exacerbated the already deep divisions within the country. Southern states, driven by the issue of slavery, began to secede, pushing the nation towards an inevitable conflict.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the book is Larson's portrayal of Mary Boykin Chesnut, the wife of a prominent planter. Her conflicted views on marriage and slavery offer a nuanced perspective on the societal norms of the time. Additionally, Larson paints a vivid picture of Abraham Lincoln, struggling to navigate the treacherous political landscape while dealing with his manipulative Secretary of State, William Seward.

The book excels in capturing the atmosphere of impending doom that pervaded the nation during this period. Larson highlights the tragic errors, miscommunications, and inflamed egos that contributed to the escalating crisis. His portrayal of Lincoln as a leader overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenges he faced adds a human dimension to the historical figure. In addition, Larson's use of primary sources, including diaries, secret communications, slave ledgers, and plantation records, lends authenticity and depth to the narrative. His ability to weave these sources into a cohesive and gripping story is (as always) highly impressive.

When it comes to history, it’s hard to conjure a more capable author than Erik Larson. I’ve thought this for some time, but his Churchill biography, The Splendid and the Vile (2020) cemented this impression. I am therefore gushingly grateful to NetGalley and Crown Books for the review copy. I would have paid full cover price for this book if that was the only way that I could get it—or the only way that I could get it soon.

This book focuses on Fort Sumter, the Federal fort off the coast of South Carolina that became the catalyst for the opening guns of the American Civil War. The Southern states that seceded from the US, or that attempted to do so, believed themselves entitled to seize the forts, munitions, and indeed, every single ounce of American property located within the borders of their states—and although Fort Sumter and the lesser, partially constructed forts around it were on islands rather than inside the state’s boundaries, they expected to annex those, too.

Meanwhile, as most know, Major Robert Anderson was the fort’s commander, and he desperately wanted orders from Washington. The period following Lincoln’s election, up until he actually took office, was a critical one, but President Buchanan was determined to postpone any official acts until he could hand the responsibility to someone else. He didn’t want his legacy marred by the beginning of a civil war, or indeed, by any sort of noteworthy strife whatsoever, and so he mostly just hid from everyone. Representatives from South Carolina—would-be ambassadors that came to conduct international business—were turned away without official recognition, and that’s about the only worthwhile thing the guy did. And during this fraught period, Anderson and those he commanded waited tensely to learn whether they would be ordered to evacuate, or to defend the fort.

They waited a long damn time; too long.

This is a complex story and an interesting one, and so there are many historical characters discussed, but the primary three that take center stage are Major Anderson; Edmund Ruffin, a South Carolinian firebreather, stoking the fires of secession; and Mary Chesnut, the highly literate wife of a member of the ruling elite. Others of importance are, of course, President Lincoln; Allan Pinkerton, the head of the notorious Pinkerton Agency, which is tasked with keeping Lincoln alive; and a Southern power broker named Hammond, with whom the story begins.

In starting the narrative by discussing Hammond, Ruffin, and Chesnut, Larson gives us a fascinating window into the minds of the South Carolinian ruling elite, known among themselves as “the chivalry.” They style themselves as if they were characters from out of Arthurian legends, placing their own somewhat bizarre code of honor above every other possible principle, and beyond matters of simple practicality. I’ve always been fascinated by the way that leaders of morally bankrupt causes arrange their thoughts and rationales so that they can look at themselves in the mirror every morning and like what they see, and nobody can explain it quite the way Larson can. Everything is crystal clear and meticulously documented. I’m a stickler for documentation, and so although I feel a little silly doing so for someone of his stature, I pull two of his sources, Battle Cry of Freedom, by James McPherson, and Mary Chesnut’s Civil War, which is the diary she wrote leading up to and during the war, from my own shelves, and turn to the pages indicated in a couple of the notes. There they are, just where Larson said they’d be! This may not impress you, but it makes me ridiculously happy.

The story commences with Hammond, a wealthy planter with a highly elastic moral code. There’s a fair amount of trigger worthy material here—though the term had not been coined yet, he was a sexual predator of the highest order, and delighted in writing about the things he did to his nieces. Although this information, drawn from primary sources, does its job by letting us know exactly what kind of person helped shape the rebellion, it’s hard to stomach, and I advise readers that can’t stand it to either skim or skip these passages, because one can easily understand the majority of the text without them.

Once upon a time, this reviewer taught about the American Civil War to teens, and yet I learn a hefty amount of new information. In particular, I find the depiction of Anderson illuminating. I have never seen such a well rendered portrait of him before.

I could discuss this book all day, and very nearly have done so, but the reader will do far better to get the book itself. Highly recommended, this may well be the best nonfiction book of 2024.

I've been captivated by Erik Larson's research and storytelling on historical events since I picked up Isaac's Storm years ago. Every time I see there's a new release coming, I have the book on pre-order ASAP. The books add context and personality to historic events, and I wish history in schools was taught using books like this versus the dry textbooks in current use. I loved Demon of Unrest, and I'm sure many other readers will feel the same way.

I read this book in pretty much ever format, ebook, physical book, and audiobook. It's engaging in any format. Some of the quotes from the characters were eerie, in the aftermath of January 6th and the current political turmoil. It was a prescient reminder that we are actively living in historical events that will be dissected and examined decades and centuries later. For some, it can be unimaginable that a country would go to war with itself, and Larson's book walks through events that led to the Civil War.

Lincoln's role and response to the evolving political atmosphere was actually a much lower presence than I would have expected, and the book shows how events had already been set into motion for the country to tear itself apart. Erik Larson has a way with words, and helps the reader to understand both the cultural and political events that primed the country for the war, as well as painted very descriptive pictures of living conditions. The code to which Southern men were expected to adhere to, and how this code led to significant events that would shape the path to war was really interesting, as I had some idea of the attitudes and ideals men were supposed to participate in at the time, however this book did an amazing job at helping the reader to really fully understand the role it played. The end of the book acknowledges that each historical event when written about may have a new angle, because there are so many stories to tell and only a few that get written. Overall, I loved the book and would highly recommend.

Please be advised I received an Advance Readers Copy (ARC) from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Good use of Larson’s usual split-screen technique. Union and Confederacy blunder toward a war that was deemed inevitable (by rabid secessionists, at least) and yet almost feels that it could have been averted had more people been paying attention.

Take a shot whenever it says "honor". Hammond is a shit dude. I like Erik Larson. I love history. I enjoy all of his books, this one included. As I read I realized I don't know much about the Civil War, no more than the basics that is. Could've done with less judging Lincoln on his spelling. There was no dictionary and all phonetic

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Erik Larson’s latest historical masterpiece, The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, is a gripping narrative that plunges readers into the tumultuous months leading up to the American Civil War.

Known for his meticulous research and compelling storytelling, Larson once again delivers a page-turner that is both educational and enthralling.

Set against the backdrop of a nation on the brink of division, Larson’s narrative focuses on the five critical months between Abraham Lincoln’s election and the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. This period, marked by political missteps, personal tragedies, and escalating tensions, is brought to life through Larson’s vivid prose and keen eye for detail.

At the heart of the story are three central figures: Major Robert Anderson, the conflicted commander of Fort Sumter; Edmund Ruffin, a fervent secessionist; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, a Southern woman torn between her loyalties and her conscience. Through their eyes, Larson paints a complex picture of a nation grappling with its identity and future.

One of the standout aspects of The Demon of Unrest is Larson’s ability to humanize historical events. He delves into the personal lives and motivations of his characters, making their struggles and decisions relatable to modern readers. This approach not only enhances the narrative but also provides a deeper understanding of the era’s social and political dynamics.

Larson’s use of primary sources, including diaries, letters, and official documents, adds authenticity to the narrative. His meticulous attention to detail ensures that readers are not only entertained but also educated about this pivotal period in American history. The book’s pacing is reminiscent of a thriller, with each chapter building tension and anticipation.

In The Demon of Unrest, Larson also explores the broader themes of hubris and heroism. He examines how personal ambitions and egos influenced the course of history, often with tragic consequences. Yet, amidst the chaos and conflict, acts of bravery and resilience shine through, offering a glimmer of hope and humanity.

The Demon of Unrest is a masterful blend of history and storytelling. Larson’s ability to weave together complex historical events with personal narratives makes this book a must-read for history enthusiasts and casual readers. It is a poignant reminder of the fragility of democracy and the enduring impact of individual actions on the course of history.

Whether you’re a Civil War buff or simply a lover of well-crafted narratives, The Demon of Unrest is a book that will captivate and enlighten you. Erik Larson has once again proven why he is one of the most respected voices in historical non-fiction.

Larson has the propensity to drag me in and not let me go until I’ve turned the last page. Unfortunately, that was not the case with this one. I thought perhaps it was because I had been reading too much fiction and it was hard for my brain to slow down and focus on the events of the book — the attack on Fort Sumter and the lead up to the Civil War. But, alas. I had a hard time paying attention and parts to me felt somewhat disjointed or even unnecessary.

However, Larson is a master researcher, bringing historical figures back to life. There were definitely parts that certainly grabbed my attention, especially those featuring Major Anderson who would not yield until the absolute occasion called for it.

I’m not even sure advancements in social media or technology could have made the situation any better; miscommunication and misinformation abound just as it still does today. No one felt that the tension between the north and south would result in something to cataclysmic!

If you’re a Civil War buff, and particularly an Erik Larson fan, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one. It’s chock full of first person accounts from prominent figures involved the most tumultuous time of American history and showcases the clear line drawn in the sand between the North and South.

Erik Larson is, by far, one of the best writers of historic nonfiction today. He has a way of taking minute details, personal accounts, and theories and combining them into a captivating, informational, and entertaining read. The Demon of Unrest is a brilliant account of the events leading to the Civil War. I appreciated his dedication to factual accounts and written records to create an adventure-like record of these events. I've never been too interested in learning about this point in history because it always felt too dry while learning about it, but this book certainly caught my attention early and I found it great overall.

Erik Larson is such a great researcher and author! I love historical nonfiction, and learning about Lincoln is intriguing. History lovers will enjoy this book.

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

I feel smarter after reading The Demon of Unrest! This book is filled with historical details I wouldn't have otherwise known. We start with Abraham Lincoln getting elected as President and his journey to the White House. His election sparks tension between states that support slavery and those that don't. The sides clash, leading to the Civil War. I appreciated learning exactly how the the war started and the people involved. There were however so many details and so many people that I couldn't retain everything. I'm sure I missed important facts. Likely, this is one of those books I need to read more than once to get the full impact.
#Americanhistory
#Civilwar
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The Demon of Unrest was another excellent Erik Larson read! I love his ability to drop into the history and feel as if I were there. Even though lengthy, Larson's writing was propulsive.

The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson – Detailed account of the beginning of the Civil War from personal narratives and historical records


Erik Larson is one of my favorite non-fiction writers and I was excited at the opportunity to read his newest book, The Demon of Unrest - A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War.

The Demon of Unrest is different than other books by Erik Larson. The book starts at the time of Abraham Lincoln’s election and inauguration, and the start of the secession of the southern states, led by South Carolina. We see the Buchanan Administrations indifference, weakness and failures that left the US military serving in southern states vulnerable to attack. Lincoln was walking into a tinderbox and a Nation divided. Southern proslavery extremists were fomenting secession and if necessary, war so they could maintain their standard of living and wealth built on the backs of enslaved human beings.

Erik Larson did a tremendous amount of research and tells the story of what happened from many different viewpoints. He compiled the personal narratives from diaries and wove them together with many historical records to document this time in history.

I was most compelled by Fort Sumter’s commander, Major Robert Anderson, and President Abraham Lincoln. There were so many details that it kind of overwhelmed the personal side of the story and what the people went through and endured.

The Demon of Unrest is a long book and it took me over two months to read. I was about 20 percent in to the book and I almost called it quits. I was disgusted by the moral depravity of James Henry Hammond that was shared in too much detail. I would like to have had that summed up without going into the gross details of this vile man. If I had it to do over again, I would have skipped that section. Since I respect Larson’s writing, I decided to give another try. I am glad I finished the book. I found it hard to comprehend and relate to the southerner’s mindset, tolerance, and approval of slavery.

My favorite chapter was the epilog that summed up the how the war ended and impacted the various people whose stories were included in this historical book. I would like to have had several charts or overviews on the timeline and the people from both the north and south, with their titles and a brief description. It would have helped me as I was reading through this historical narrative.

Erik Larson started off the book talking about January 6th and related it to the Civil War. Other than a reflection of a Nation divided, I did not see the comparison. It was a bit off-putting.

If you love history, especially US history or the Civil War, or are an Erik Larson fan, I recommend this book.

I would like to thank Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson. I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.

4 true stars
“How on earth did South Carolina, a primitive, scantily populated state in economic decline, become the fulcrum for America’s greatest tragedy?” In The Demon of Unrest, narrative non-fiction writer Erik Larson sets out to answer this question with an extensively researched, well-organized, highly-readable book.

I like the way Larson occasionally lets his sense of humor slide in on serious subjects. “The Confederate commissioners had come north expecting to be treated as the envoys of a grand new republic, the Confederate States of America, and here was Secretary of State Seward, via Campbell, treating them as if they were house servants demanding a day off.” Another entry, “’Breakfasted with John Manning who made better jokes than usual.’”

Larson does an outstanding job of weaving first-person narratives (often from diaries) together. I appreciated that he includes women’s stories in a historical setting where too often women’s perspectives had been deemed non-worthy or relegated to the distant sidelines.

As always, with his books, I learned new information. He puts in lots of details, but the story never bogs down. Larson includes an extensive bibliography for scholars and those more interested in the Civil War than I am. His long collection of notes includes stories “that for various reasons did not fit into the main narrative but, like little birds in a nest, seemed to cry out to be told.”

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I grabbed this book because of my interest in the history of Fort Sumter after visiting the fort on a trip to South Carolina a few years back. I wish this book was as fascinating as the tour of the fort itself. I really had to slog through this one as I found it to be a rather dry and boring. I gave up after 200 pages or so.

This is the first Erik Larson book I’ve read (shocking, I know) but I’ve really liked it! It look ,e quite a while to get through it, but it was totally worth it. Larson provides so much detail and so many vignettes about such a pivotal moment in US history that I didn’t know all that much about. This “story” is so much more interesting than the 30,000 foot view we got in any history class or discussion.

Not quite as easy of a narrative read as some of Larson's past works. If you haven't read him before, then I think you might need a distinct interest in history already to pick this one up, whereas I found that I could recommend some of his older works to folks without any specific real interest in the content. I quite enjoyed this "play by play" of such a short period of time. For fans of his works already this is easy to recommend.

Erik Larson is one of our leading writers of non-fiction. In "The Demon of Unrest" his focus is on South Carolina and the tensions, politics, characters, power players that put the south on collision course with the federal government. He give us the Buchanan administration in unflattering light. The rabid secessionists of South Carolina and beyond, eager to go their own way, those who cling to the belief that slaveholders were necessary to the South's (romanticized) way of life, and the lack of a realistic view of the South by those in the North--and of the North by Southerners.

By concentrating on South Carolina, Charleston, and Fort Sumter specifically, Larson enables the reader to explore more fully the lead up to the Civil War, and the tough choices made by those inside the Fort, and by Abraham Lincoln. I found myself frequently thinking "I didn't know that!", though much has been written about the Civil War.

Once again, Larsen thoroughly researches, and presents his information in a novel-like book, gripping, informative, entertaining.

The Demon of Unrest dive’s into the turbulent five month period between Abraham Lincoln’s election and the surrender of Fort Sumter on April 14, 1865. Larson combined research from many sources, sharing the perspectives of men and women who experienced the events firsthand and left behind journals that are now in our national archives.

The events surrounding Fort Sumter are fascinating to read through, especially as southern hospitality and gentlemanly behavior are upheld, despite rising tensions.

Hello, unfortunately despite an earlier request I was approved for this book right before publication date, so I waited until my actual hard copy arrived to read and think about it after a long read. Sorry I'm usually not late. Anyway, here it is

My initial thoughts are mixed on The Demon of Unrest

I love the source material Larson uses, although...

1) It seems like a questionable choice to bleep out historical terms because of modern day sensibilities. You know people are going to just look it up if they don't know the word already (presuming they are here to learn). Are we here to be accurate and teach or just to soften everything down for current readers, which is exactly what I don't think a broadly reaching historical platform should be doing.

2) I personally don't like how much Larson's own views come through although I respect that he picked a tone and stuck with it throughout. I mean obviously we don't need to show the confederates any grace in modern day society but I have mixed feelings about how much critical thinking space he left open for readers (some).

3) After the infamous introduction where he compares Sumter to Jan 6th, it's a bit obvious that he wrote the entire book through that lens once he started putting it together. Yes we have rabble rousers and division today but I don't think the book is going to hold up well

4) it is nearly 600 pages long and extremely fussy and nitpicky with some details (and repetitive at times). I do wonder if Larson could have pared out, for example, Mary Chestnut's entire contribution about the Carolina social scene (because who cares who she had dinner with). People can read her diary if they really want, instead of quoting so much from it. She could have been...reduced.

5) I'm not sure how I feel about the organization. It seems like so many dates and different narratives are throwing some readers off. I'm indifferent but can see where the comments are coming from. Larson usually strives to write a narrative more than a historical document so the fixation on dates and such got me where it didn't in his prior books.

6) Frankly in 600 pages, some of it is just a lot more interesting than other parts. Where Harper's Ferry is largely considered to be the ignition point, Larson overlooked that for the most part and hyper focused on many small details related to other events, meetings, speeches, ideas, people, etc

7) Will Patton after switching to audio was the only way I possibly could have finished this book

8) All that said, I don't think it's bad that a book focused on the precluding political, social, and cultural scene instead of the war itself. Is this the narrative we need in 2024? Probably, since there aren't many people willing to read dry facts today and the ideas are more important than who fought whom where. It fits in with Larson's prior efforts

Long story short: lots of good content but needed to be whacked down another 100-150 pages and I had trouble with how focused Larson's lens is. That all said, Larson writes narratives not historical documents and I'm never sure how much his prior books contain this because I'm not as familiar with the history itself. I love how much he loves research but what did he turn it into? As I said, mixed feelings

I personally did not really enjoy this book. It felt like it dragged on and there was a lot of information that made it feel like it excessive. Erik Larson typically is a good author but I just felt like this one was not the best. It had some neat information that I did not know but it took me awhile to get through it.