Paperback
Lincoln’s election sparks chaos, secession, and the march toward Civil War.
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The Demon of Unrest

Abraham Lincoln & America’s Road to Civil War

RRP$27.99

$26.49

  • Paperback

    592 pages

  • Release Date

    21 October 2025

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Summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War in this ‘riveting reexamination of a nation in tumult’ (Los Angeles Times).

On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one stat…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780008681791
ISBN-10:0008681791
Author:Erik Larson
Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers
Imprint:William Collins
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:592
Release Date:21 October 2025
Weight:400g
Dimensions:41mm x 129mm x 198mm
A-Format
B-Format
The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson - ISBN: 9780008681791
129 × 198 mm
C-Format
A4
mm / in
What They're Saying

Critics Review

‘A thoughtful account that also offers a sobering reminder of how humans often don’t see a catastrophe coming until it’s too late’
Independent
‘So many volumes have been written about the origins of the American Civil War that one might heave a sigh at the thought of yet another, but Larson has found a genuinely original way of telling the story—and storytelling, on the basis of serious research, is what he does well’
Daily Telegraph
‘Larson, one of today’s pre-eminent nonfiction storytellers, trawls a variety of archives to explore the historically momentous months between Abraham Lincoln’s election and the Battle of Fort Sumter’
New York Times
‘Perhaps no other historian has ever rendered the struggle for Sumter in such authoritative detail as Larson does here… . Few historians, too, have done a better job of untangling the web of intrigues and counter-intrigues that helped provoke the eventual attack and surrender’
Washington Post
‘An all-too-prescient tale of tension and tragedy, clashing egos, miscommunication, power, and betrayal’
People
‘Even diehard Civil War aficionados will learn from [The Demon of Unrest]… . A riveting reexamination of a nation in tumult’
Los Angeles Times

About The Author

Erik Larson

Erik Larson is a writer, journalist, and novelist. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism on The Wall Street Journal, he has taught non-fiction writing at San Francisco State and Johns Hopkins.

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