Free Audio Book : The Demon of Unrest, By Erik Larson

On the 6th of November, 1860, Abraham Lincoln emerged as the unexpected winner in a closely contested presidential race. The nation was deeply divided; Southern radicals were inching closer to tearing apart the Union, with state after state seceding and Lincoln unable to halt them. Slavery was the spark that ignited the conflict, but somehow, the fervor of the North and South converged on a solitary federal stronghold in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter.

Erik Larson, a masterful narrator, provides a riveting account of the tumultuous months between Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s bombardment of Sumter—a time characterized by tragic missteps and miscommunications, inflamed egos and ruthless ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself penned that the trials of these five months were “so immense that, had I foreseen them, I would not have believed it possible to endure them.”

At the core of this suspense-laden narrative are Major Robert Anderson, the commander of Sumter and a former slave owner who, despite his sympathy for the South, remained loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty extremist who fanned the flames of secession at every chance; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, the wife of a notable planter, torn between her marriage and slavery and drawing parallels between them. Amidst it all is the beleaguered Lincoln, grappling with his deceitful secretary of state, William Seward, as he strives to prevent a war he fears is unavoidable—a war that would ultimately claim the lives of 750,000 Americans.

Larson, drawing from diaries, covert messages, slave ledgers, and plantation records, presents us with a political horror tale that encapsulates the forces that pushed America to the edge—a chilling reminder that we often fail to see an impending disaster until it’s too late.