Best-selling author Erik Larson discusses his new book chronicling the start of the Civil War

The Spark

Erik Larson is perhaps America’s preeminent non-fiction history writer. His best-selling books stand out for their storytelling narratives, but also their attention to detail, especially when it comes to what the historical characters in his books actually said or wrote. There’s no speculation – Larson only quotes what is verified.

Larson’s newest book is about the period between Abraham Lincoln’s election in November, 1860 and the start of the Civil War, with the bombardment of Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
Erik Larson was with us on The Spark Thursday to talk about The Demon of Unrest – A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War.

Larson has said he would never write about the Civil War but during the COVID pandemic in 2020, came upon a book about the beginning of the Civil War and was intrigued.

The unrest at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 to stop the certification and protest the election of President Joe Biden by Trump supporters also drew parallels in Larson's mind. The Vice President, who would certify Lincoln's election victory in 1861 was John C. Breckenridge, a candidate for president who Lincoln had just defeated and there was speculation the South would attack Washington to disrupt Lincoln's inauguration.

One of the heroes in the story is Major Robert Anderson, the commanding officer at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. South Carolina had seceded from the United States after Lincoln's election, believing he planned to abolish slavery. Anderson was a southerner and former slave owner but was loyal to the U.S. Army and did his valiant best to keep the fort from falling into South Carolina's hands until he and his 75 men were overwhelmed and had to surrender. That sparked the beginning of the Civil War.

Erik Larson will be appearing with NPR’s Steve Inskeep Saturday at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Harrisburg at 2 p.m. Tickets are still available through Midtown Scholar Bookstore.

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