1861: The Civil War Awakening

If you’re a Civil War buff, then this is your book. But, this nonfiction book is not an easy read, not a fast read. I started this about six months ago and have been gradually reading chapters or partial chapters, spaced by more of the usual genre in MRB. But, this is not a book that I ever thought about abandoning, as I do sometimes. Goodheart writes about the events of 1861, through the assault on Ft. Sumter in 4/61 and Lincoln’s State of the Union Address on 7/4/61. He showed how that State of the Union address foreshadowed the more concise and elegant words in the Gettysburg Address. Goodheart writes in immense detail, and much of the detail was a joy to learn about, but there was also a lot of detail that I didn’t care about. Still, as a historian, he documented some facts about that time that I did not know, and I was a history major in college, with an emphasis on the U.S. Much of the book focuses on Lincoln coming to the Presidency and then struggling to comes to terms with the fractious nation. I think almost everyone will find positive and negative stuff about Lincoln in this book, as a thinker and calculating politician, but the overall image is one of a remarkable man arising to the unprecedented challenges of his era. If you love that era, this is a must read, and 1861: The Civil War Awakening is likely to become a standard reference in all future books about Lincoln and the Civil War.