The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris by Erik Larson -> Starting November 1st, 2025

[Jamie]

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War—a slow-burning crisis that finally tore a deeply divided nation in two.

On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston: Fort Sumter.

Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter—a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were “so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them.”

At the heart of this suspense-filled narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter’s commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between both. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous Secretary of State, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable—one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans.

Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink—a dark reminder that we often don’t see a cataclysm coming until it’s too late.

[Carrie]

starting this one tonight, if anyone would like to join!

[Carrie]

Hammond: I found it funny and interesting that going from Lawyer to Farmer was such a positive thing. Farmer being the only honorable occupation

[Carrie]

I also missed in history class how contested Lincoln's election was. Never knew it was considered suspicious. Had no idea it had so many similarities to the Biden/Trump decision of 2020.

[Carrie]

(view spoiler)[ Yuck, affairs with his nieces. And the young ages of them, but his wife was only 15, so...I know it was normal back then, but ugh. Women were just possessions. So happy his wife left his cheating self once she found out! Good for her! Too bad he didn't lose more than he did, since she was the connection to his fortune and how he advanced politically (hide spoiler)]

[Carrie]

Wow the similarities, however I sure thought this was going to be more story like than just hard core historical facts. I know it is considered non fiction , but summary read more narrative.

[Carrie]

(view spoiler)[ There was some great historical facts throughout this book. I loved how it explained about Lincoln's garage sale. I never thought about how hard it would have been leaving his hometown that he had never left before on the train, not knowing how long he would be gone. And to never return :( I also had no idea about the assassination protection even so early on (hide spoiler)]. It amazed me and actually worries me of all the similarities between then and now. I pray every day for change, just a civil war is not the change I want.