When I was in college, I wrote a paper on the Chicago World’s Columbian Exhibition of 1893. Then a year or so later, after I started working at the library, a book called, The Devil in the White City, about a serial killer that was working Chicago at the same time, was released. Since I had a little background on it, I grabbed it right away. That was my first introduction to the author Erik Larson.

Since I enjoyed The Devil in the White City so much, I looked for other books by him. Turns out his previous book was called Isaac’s Storm and it was about the Galveston Hurricane in 1900. You know I was hooked after that, right? To this day, Isaac’s Storm remains one of my favorite weather reads of all time.

Four years ago, I lucked out and had the current Erik Larson, The Splendid and the Vile, during my COVID quarantine, when the world shut down. This one was about The Blitz and WWII, which is not my favorite topic, but it was a good read and a good way to pass the time.

When I found out that Larson had a new book coming out in Spring 2024, I was so excited. And better yet, it was about the Civil War, which is also one of my jams. The Demon of Unrest looks at the events leading up to the first shots fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston’s Harbor. I’ve read a lot of books about the Civil War - both fiction and nonfiction - but none of them have really focused on this particular aspect of the war. I’ve travelled to Charleston with my husband and we visited Fort Sumter, so I had no problem picturing how Larson described the events of April 1861 and before.

While I love Erik Larson in general, I did not end up enjoying the book as much as wanted to - it will never top Isaac’s Storm as my favorite (not sure anything can). But I definitely think this is an important book that any student of the past should read. If we don’t learn from our history, we will be condemned to repeat it. If this isn’t your topic of choice, check out Larson’s other titles below. He’s also written about the sinking of the Lusitania and the invention of the wireless. No matter which book you pick, you’ll get a well-written story that just might teach you a thing or two.

Happy Erik Larsoning…
:) Amanda