The Demon of Unrest

The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson  592 pp.

Once again Erik Larson has taken a seminal event in history and delved into the deeper surrounding and causes leading up to it. This time it is the events leading up to the American Civil War that he has written about in details that the average person would not know. Gleaned from information taken from government documents, communiques, letters, diaries, and newspaper accounts, Larson has created a surprising readable account of the days beginning with Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency and ending with the attack and surrender of Fort Sumter which began the war. The dissention in Congress over the issue of slavery and the belief of the slave states that Lincoln would abolish slavery, which was not his intention, led to the eventual secession of states from the United States. The main players in this book are Major Anderson, commander of Fort Sumter and a former slave owner, Edmund Ruffin who makes it his life's ambition to stir up violent pro-slavery excitement whenever possible, Mary Boykin Chesnut whose diary about the social details of the "Chivalry" of the South and Charleston in the days leading up to and during the Civil War, and Lincoln, the President who tried to prevent the war but was too often thwarted by his own Secretary of State, William Seward as well as the unreliability of long distance communication. The audiobook was read by Will Patton who does an adequate job but it could have been better. 

Leadership in Turbulent Times

Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin, 473 pages.
Goodwin explores leadership during periods of crisis by focusing on Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. The audio version gives each President his own reader, with Beau Bridges reading the Lyndon Johnson chapters and Richard Thomas reading one of the others (FDR?). Goodwin has written entire books on each of the men covered here, so there is not much new uncovered, but she does do a great job of telling how each of these men honed their skills and became great leaders. A wonderful book.

Lincoln in the Bardo

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunder 343 pages.

I read this in 2017 and then listened to in in early 2018 for a book discussion group. I have to say that as good a read as this book is, and it is in the "very good" to "excellent" range, it is even better as an audiobook. With Nick Offerman as Hans Vollman, David Sedaris as Roger Bevins III, and the author as the Reverend Everly Thomas, the audio is a marvel. I listened to it about three times in succession because it was so good (and because I didn't have anything else to listen to on a long trip.
Here is what I said last year: Winner of the 2017 Booker Prize, Saunder's new novel is phenomenal read. When Lincoln's eleven-year-old son Willie died of Typhoid in 1862 the
president comes close to falling apart. Willie waits for him in the graveyard, ignoring the cacophony of voices around him. The graveyard is filled with the dead. Not just the bodies, but the spirits of those who have not yet fully departed, for one reason or another. We hear fascinating stories from these dead and witness weird scenes played out. I have not listened to the audio, but I hear that it's wonderful, with a great cast reading the book. Saunders has a magical style and I look forward to reading his backlist.

Lincoln in the Bardo

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunder 343 pages.
Winner of the 2017 Booker Prize, Saunder's new novel is phenomenal read. When Lincoln's eleven-year-old son Willie died of Typhoid in 1862 the
president comes close to falling apart. Willie waits for him in the graveyard, ignoring the cacophony of voices around him. The graveyard is filled with the dead. Not just the bodies, but the spirits of those who have not yet fully departed, for one reason or another. We hear fascinating stories from these dead and witness weird scenes played out. I have not listened to the audio, but I hear that it's wonderful, with a great cast reading the book. Saunders has a magical style and I look forward to reading his backlist.

Lincoln in the Bardo

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders  341 pp.

I listened to the audiobook of this Booker Prize winning book and I agree with most of Kara's review. The full cast recording brought the characters to life although I keep thinking I should go back and listen again to allay some of the confusion I felt and to identify the people who voiced them. My recurring thought on the dialogue and interplay between the spirit characters in the cemetery was "If it's really like that in a cemetery I'm glad my plans don't include one."

Lincoln in the Bardo

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, 341 pages

Just after his 11-year-old son Willie died, Abraham Lincoln spent a night visiting the cemetery where the boy was buried. Whether or not this really happened is unclear, but in Lincoln in the Bardo, it did, and the president's visit stirred excitement among the spirits still hanging around the cemetery. Narrated by the many "residents" of the cemetery, Lincoln in the Bardo tells the story of that one night, and delves into the former lives of the spirits, including the entirely fictional printer Hans Vollman, closeted gay man Roger Bevins III, and Reverend Everly Thomas, whose voices account for the bulk of the narration.

I focus on the narration here because I listened to the audiobook, which is a full-cast recording featuring an astonishing 166 separate narrators. With so many voices, it's hard to keep track of who is who, but a few voices stand out. Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, and George Saunders voice Vollman, Bevins, and the Reverend, respectively, and are perfectly cast in those roles. Also perfect? Megan Mullaly and Bill Hader as a foul-mouthed low-class (and hilarious) couple that were buried just outside the official cemetery in the mass grave reserved for slaves. Keegan-Michael Key and Don Cheadle excellently bring two of those slaves to life (or afterlife?), with ruminations on slavery and the Civil War, which was just a year old at the time this book was set.

Listening to this audiobook was quite the experience, and I'd recommend it, though perhaps not without a look through the physical book first, which would likely have helped abate the disorienting feeling of so many voices taking on the book's structure.

Assassination Vacation

Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell  258 pp.

Sarah Vowell made many trips researching the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley. She visited the sites of the crimes, museums with pertinent displays, homes of the victims and perpetrators, and other places associated with the murders of the three. In addition to the interesting facts she provides an often hilarious description of her travels to the historic sites, often with her sister and young nephew in tow. The number of quirky and downright bizarre things she discovered were never presented in the history books. You wouldn't think there would be things to laugh at in a book about assassinations but Vowell has provided plenty of humor which made me laugh out loud. And I'm seriously thinking of leaving instructions for memorial yo-yos to be handed out when I die.

Malice toward None: Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address / Jack E. Levin, unpaged

A slim volume which includes the complete text of Lincoln's speech, with period photographs and artwork by the author.  The book includes a preface and excerpted speeches given at Civil War commemorations.  The text of the speech is much briefer than I realized, making the book a potential choice for a family read.

This is an attractive-ish volume and a nice idea, but something isn't quite right about the execution here.  The pages are laid out in way that at first makes it unclear where the author's information and Lincoln's own words begin.  And the pages are often visually cluttered - with interesting items, but still cluttered.  Most annoying is an excerpted speech by some nobody at a 50-year Civil War commemoration, in the same font as the Inaugural address.

Gettysburg

Gettysburg: the Graphic Novel by C.M. Butzer  80 pp.

This brief graphic novel presents the basics about the Battle of Gettysburg, including the horrific death toll. It also shows the building and opening of the national cemetery that was completed in just a few months. The book ends with the opening ceremony for the cemetery and includes brief excerpts of the speech by former Secretary of State Edward Everett and the complete text of Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address. The illustrations during a portion of the address include a "timeline" of different rights marches from the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, unions, the civil rights movement, the American Indian Movement, United Farm Workers, through gay rights. The author's notes in the back explain a little more about the battles, the construction of the memorial, and Lincoln's speech. This would be a useful resource for American History teachers.