The Demon of Unrest, by Erik Larson

A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the w b Z Book Club. I'm Jordan Rich.
Whenever he comes up with a new one, I'm there.
Eric Larson, the master storyteller who brings history to life,
does so once again with The Demon of Unrest about
a period of time between the election of Abraham Lincoln
and the outbreak of war Civil War with the highest
number of American casualties ever. What happened in those five
months that finally led to the outbreak of hostilities at

(00:22):
Fort Sumter. Along with Abraham Lincoln, other characters come to life,
including Major Robert Anderson, who was the commander at Fort Sumter,
loyal to the Union but a former slave owner himself.
Secretary of State William Seward, who tries his best to
deter or avert a war, radical agitator Edmund Ruffin works
very hard to promote secession. It's a complex five month
passage featuring ardent personalities in a slow build up to

(00:45):
a conflict that would rip the nation apart. No one
tells a true story like him, Eric Larson, The Demon
of Unrest, a saga of Hubert's heartbreak and heroism at
the dawn of the Civil War. And that's the book
Club w BZ, Boston's news radio