Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson Book Review - American Civil War History Nonfiction

[@cathy2142]

Civil war was such a unique time in history and good for you for learning more on it. Those poor people living through it😢.

[@TriumphalReads]

Yeah, you can read the stress and anxiety coming through in the primary sources

[@SFF180]

Terrific review. I'm not a huge Civil War guy, but Larson's work is always of interest.

[@TriumphalReads]

Thanks yeah, I'm not really into the Civil War either but this was definitely engaging to set the context and beginning for sure

[@cathy2142]

Awww🎉. Love when you post

[@jammiez2805]

I definitely want to read this one! Thanks for all the information. This was a great review!

[@TriumphalReads]

No problem, glad you liked it!

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

Terrific review, Justin. This sounds like a great book. Thank you.

[@TriumphalReads]

Glad you thought so Pat, apparently Larson lives up to the hype

[@BookChatWithPat8668]

@@TriumphalReads I have read a couple of his earlier books. I think I will buy this one for my brother who reads a lot of history.

[@erinh9660]

Just started it today. It’s got me hooked. But like you said hopefully I can finish it at 400 pages.

[@TriumphalReads]

I found the shorter chapter sections let me feel like I was consistently making progress haha

[@anotherbibliophilereads]

I guessing The Demon of Unrest will be a nomination for the BookTube Prize next year. It looks really good.

[@TriumphalReads]

Gotcha, is his stuff usually like that when he releases something

[@bighardbooks770]

Excellent! I like Larson, a lot, and I want to read this. I've read many great Civil War nonfiction (Foner's _The Firery Trial_ and _A Worse Place than Hell,_ for example) books and novels. Good one 🎉

[@TriumphalReads]

Yeah American history and Civil War history aren't subjects I've read tons on but this one is great on a nice focused subject matter

[@ariannefowler455]

This is one period in US history that I know very little about. I do want to read this (and a few others) to learn more about the Civil War.

[@TriumphalReads]

I think this would be a good start if you don't want to just read an Overview or general history since this book captures the tone and context of the beginning of the conflict. I probably should read more on the era as well

[@Bookishtravels1]

This looks like a lovely looking book. I watched a old Civil War TV series a little while ago, but i'm not sure how accurate it was!

[@TriumphalReads]

Yeah, this had a lot of primary sources so I wouldn't be worried about accuracy in this one, though I'm not a civil war buff at all. It was engaging enough for me to read it over a few days so that's good haha

[@Bookishtravels1]

@@TriumphalReads Glad you enjoyed it:)

[@BryanM.R.-prionic1]

Interesting. I mostly think of Larson as the "Devil in the White City" guy, so I wouldn't have thought of this as his kind of topic. It sounds like he draws on a lot of the standard sources though. Yeah, Ruffin was quite a character. I think a horse was the only life lost at Sumter, correct? I have some southern forebears who were non-aristocratic (to say the least). I get the impression that they didn't give a fig about the politics of the war beyond a distaste for hostile armies invading their "neighborhoods." However, that branch of my family certainly picked up some rather mythologized views of the antebellum South and the war in the following century. But perhaps there were unfortunate reasons for that. Shoot, even in the 1960s, my mother was openly referred to as a "dumb southern girl" by her teacher when she moved north from Mississippi. (My mother has a PhD, by the way. 😜)

[@TriumphalReads]

Yeah there were some injuries but no fatalities. I don't think the horse was mentioned if it was one. Yeah northern people can be annoying as well. I remember when I lived in the south and people would always talk about "states rights" and whatever lol and I distinctly remember some who would always say "it's just half time" or something silly haha. I would imagine the broke 50% of the population would have rather not fought a war. The mythology thing and the lost cause really annoy me though ngl. I remember when the whole statue stuff was a big thing and my response when people would ask my opinion was always "Wae Wictis." Maybe a bit harsh idk lol.

[@cathy2142]

Love the unscripted wild video❤. 😂

[@TriumphalReads]

Yeah not sure why this one went on so many tangents