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Erik Larson is must-read! This book presents history in an extremely accessible and compelling way. The details are important and timely often drawing parallels to current events.

Civil War era isn‘t my jam. Larson takes on what led up to the first shots being fired at Fort Sumter which then kicked off the actual battles of the Civil War. There was what felt like a lot of unnecessary details and side bits being told.
It has a very different feel to it from any of Larson‘s other books. I got through it and it had interesting information.
3⭐️ if you are into Civil War era or Lincoln.
This wasn‘t for me.

Start this audio a few days ago. I have to take it in chunks. It feels different than some of Larson‘s earlier works. This one doesn‘t have that fictional feel to it, it feels like the nonfiction that it is. Civil War era isn‘t my jam normally, however Larson is a must read on my list.
So far so good and interesting.
I‘m hoping to finish it tomorrow or Wednesday, I‘ve got about 6.5 hrs left.

I‘m waiting impatiently to get this back from Libby so I can finish it. #gray #coverlove

#TheDemonOfUnrest #ErikLarson #BookSpinBingo #SeriesLove2024 #July2024

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.

Erik Larson can write the best nonfiction books. I learned so many things about the war for Fort Sumter.

Pros: 1) short chapters 2) excellent primary sources 3) varied personal accounts and perspectives. Cons: 1) way too long; needed better editing 2) unnecessarily extended section about Lincoln‘s train journey to D.C. 3) for all the protraction, the ending felt rushed. #BOTM (Background: insanely difficult puzzle of Paul Klee painting) 🔥 💣 ⚔️

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I‘m usually a big fan of narrative nonfiction, but my attention really waned here. Chronicling the months leading up to Fort Sumter, it‘s an integral part of US history, our successes and missteps. Such an interesting topic, but there‘s a point when mundane details become filler. Just get on with it! Not bad by any means, but Larson just isn‘t for me. I‘ve read his HH Holmes one and didn‘t love it either.

I couldn‘t choose just one NONFICTION for May —so I picked two! The tagged book for the May slot, and “The Wide Wide Sea” for the wildcard bonus slot. Which also advances to the quarterfinals by taking out the April winner. This bracket may be the most interesting race of the year!

#2024ReadingBrackets

Erik Larson is one of my favorite nonfiction authors-I have loved every book I‘ve read by him. He used letters, diaries and other documents to show both sides leading up to the start of the Civil War. I learned a lot and now want to make another trip to Fort Sumter. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Putting this together and I realize it‘s my first grid since Feb where I own more print copies of the books than ebook or audio. Tagged my favorite!

5* = Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

1. Ten years ago next month, I went to the local branch for the grand reopening after a renovation. This was possible because a new community center had been completed, and some of its functions had been occupying part of the library building.
2. Mostly the library by way of Libby, but I like to visit in person too.
3. Tagged book came off hold, and instead of deferring it I downloaded it to read!
#wondrouswednesday

Excellent account of the months leading up to April 12, 1861, when the first shells were launched by Confederate forces on Fort Sumter and the U.S. Civil War began. Larson draws on diaries and various narratives from both sides to show how they danced warily around each other until the inevitable clash. I was most fascinated by the parts about Lincoln‘s preparations for his arrival into DC for his inauguration.

GIVEAWAY - head over to this link for the giveaway on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/C63oUuVrTBB/?igsh=MXZ0NzF0bmNqczU5ZA==

In my bits of studying the politics leading up to the American Civil War I momentarily memorized enough names and dates to pass the subsequent test, but no interest beyond a course. This book was fascinating- S Carolina was the Mc. Now I‘ll remember beyond Abraham Lincoln and Robert E Lee. I‘m intrigued if the next time I reading/watching Civil War material, I‘ll be like …oh yeah, Seward, Ruffin, Beauregard, Anderson… I know about them.

47/150 I'm not sure if giving this 5 🌟 is enough praise for this amazing, exciting, thought provoking, and emotional story. Dead Wake is my favorite Larson book, but this is a close second. Drawing from both the Confederate and Union sides, Larson weaves a thrilling drama of the battle of Fort Sumter, which lead to the American Civil War. Unrealistically, neither side thought it would lead to war, and if it did, it would be short ⬇️⬇️

Just an FYI for the fans of Erik Larson who live near enough to attend. Hosted by Joseph-Beth bookstore in Cincinnati, more info is on their site under events.

1. I‘m going to Malice Domestic at the end of the month! Sujata Massey is the Guest of Honor, so that‘s a good reason to keep reading in the Perveen Mistry series.
2. Not preordered, but I put the tagged book on hold on Libby.
#two4tuesday

The tagged book for sure. Erik Larson is an auto-pick author for me. This is his first book dealing with the American Civil War era, I expecting it to be detailed, well researched, and very informative.

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern