America in 1857 : a nation on the brink

"[A] splendidly lucid, elegantly crafted, and exciting narrative"New York Newsday. "His sweeping survey ably demonstrates how the growing tension between North and South reached 'the political point of no return'"Publishers Weekly. "A skillfull narrative about a pivotal year...featuring the author's usual judicious analysis"Kirkus Reviews. From the Mormon rebellion to the Dred Scott decision to open warfare in Kansas to the Panic of 1857, it was a year when the troubled nation finally spun out of control. This fast-paced account by an eminent historian draws all the dramatic details together in a brilliant account of the forces tearing apart the Union.