The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

Erik Larson takes real life events and weaves them into page-turners. (See his books about the Titanic and the Chicago Exposition.) THIS book is about the lead-up to the Civil War, the intrigues, mistakes, miscommunications, shifting alliances and just plain human nature that swirled around 3 cities (Charleston, DC and Montgomery) in the year leading up to the firing on Ft. Sumter which initiated the conflict. I lived in Charleston for years, and still live in the Lowcountry, so the geography is familiar; and I've read a lot about "the late unpleasantness" -- but Erik has all the "receipts" and a lot of it is just astounding. How close we came to having no war at all. How misunderstood were both sides by the other. But most interesting are the never-spoken-of similarities to the times we are in now, with similar misunderstandings, miscommunications, hyperbole and saber rattling. This is a great read (or listen). Read all Larson's books!