The Demon of Unrest

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

By: Erik Larson

Narrated by: Will Patton, Erik Larson

Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The 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 in this “riveting reexamination of a nation in tumult” (Los Angeles Times).

“Perhaps no other historian has ever rendered the struggle for Sumter in such authoritative detail as Larson does here.”—The Washington Post

“Even history buffs will find much that is new here.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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 Harbor: 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 them. 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.

©2024 Crown (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Larson, one of today’s pre-eminent nonfiction storytellers, trawls a variety of archives to explore the historically momentous months between Abraham Lincoln’s election and the Battle of Fort Sumter.”—The New York Times

“Perhaps no other historian has ever rendered the struggle for Sumter in such authoritative detail as Larson does here. . . . Few historians, too, have done a better job of untangling the web of intrigues and counter-intrigues that helped provoke the eventual attack and surrender.”—The Washington Post

“The immediacy of the story in The Demon of Unrest—as well as on-the-ground reports from inside South Carolina's Fort Sumter, an early Union bulwark—lend the book vigor.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

Meh...

Not his best work. Anticlimactic and monotone narration. Pretty disappointing honestly. I found my mind wandering and having to rewind several chapters multiple times.

A great education

Giving a human and detailed account of the time made it a great book.

The narration ruins this

Ugh- I usually skip any book narrated by Will Patten as I can’t stand how he whistles on EVERY SINGLE S. But Erik Larson is one of my favorite authors so…
How is this man a narrator for a living?!? He burns my ears. Ruined my enjoyment of this novel.

You need to read this to understand the Civil War

I can’t believe how little I learned about the essential story of the beginning of the Civil War! I’m eager for more on this story.

Incredible detail

What a book! I learned more about Sumter and the civil war than I ever knew.

Riveting and educational at the same time

I thought I knew the history of the Civil War, but this book takes you into the intimate lives and letters of the people at the pivotal points that sent everything over the edge. Masterful job of getting inside the personalities that forced the issues and others that were pulled kicking into the fray.

Will Patton's narration gave personality to the reading that fit the character of the topic perfectly.

Always a great storyteller

Even with stories we think we know Larson makes it interesting and with details we never knew. Master storyteller!

Larson does it again - cracking good yarn

Larson does it again with a cracking good yarn that happens to be TRUE. Historical detail, diary and letter entries, and some flawed and fascinating people are all arranged here like a novel.

Not just for civil war buffs, every American will appreciate the rhetorical carelessness and myth-making that led South Carolina to succeed and fire up a narrative that led to the deaths of over 700,000 Americans. A cautionary tale for our own times that are crammed full of myth, jingoism, and hubris.

Will Patton, whose distinctive voice James Lee Burke fans will recognize anywhere, was a perfect choice to narrate this story.

May be the best Civil War book I’ve read…

First, let me say that I am glad that the Union prevailed. I wouldn’t want to live in a world where slavery is seen as God-endorsed. That said, I’m still not certain why the Southern states were not allowed to secede. I do understand better that secession was not going to be allowed, and I have a better image of Lincoln from this book: his humor, his humanity and his moral standards. I can only imagine how the deaths of so many must have pained him. I had never before grasped the economic consequences the slave owners had to face. Thanks so much for that exposure. Money is often at the heart of conflict, even today. We noted a few years ago after visiting Mount Vernon how very dependent the Washington’s were on the slave system. The property had crops, a winery, a fish farm, etc., etc., etc. while they held human beings in bondage. Interesting that when the slaves were freed that the operation pretty much fell apart. It is also interesting to me that half of the nation looked at these dark-skinned people and saw human beings and the other half looked upon these same people and saw property. Tragic.

History as a story told

No one forgets a good story. That’s exactly what you’ll get with this beautifully told, richly historic book.