Customer Reviews

Days of Defiance: Sumter, Secession, and the Coming of the Civil War

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Almost every literate American is acquainted with the basics of the coming of the War Between the States in the form of Lincoln's election and the firing on Ft. Sumter. Most Civil War students are also acquainted with the military sequence of events of the siege and surrender, followed by Lincoln's call for volunteers to invade the Confederacy and the resulting general hostilities. As far as I know, however, very few lay students of the War have much appreciation for the wide variety of political views on relations between the states at the time, on the possible approaches to the slavery situation (including proposals to guarantee protection for the institution made by some surprising individuals), on the subtle constitutional and other legal aspects of secession, and the actual process by which South Carolina's secession spread to ten other states, some of which were quite reluctant to do so initially. Prof. Klein sets all of this out in a very readable, fast moving text which is guaranteed to hold the reader's interest and attention. From my standpoint, the most interesting aspects involved the (ultimately unsuccessful) attempts by some of the most unlikely individuals to pull the situation back from the brink, and the cynicism of others who are often described in more altruistic and one dimensional terms. At many junctures in Klein's book the reader will get the irresistable urge to play "what if." I "read" this book by a rented audio tape edition during some day long vacation drives and I was extremely pleased with it, in a way that is often not true with well researched histories. The other reviewers who have described this as comparable to a mystery or other novel are not far off the mark and I recommend it very highly.

This is a superb account of the onset of the end of the American republic as people then knew it. The title and preface would lead the reader to believe that this text is firmly centered on events in South Carolina and the forts nearby. However the author spends much of the book discussing Buchanan, his cabinet, Lincoln and other players who shaped the events of the time. Klein's insights are instructive and render the total picture of how the country was pulled into the great war. I have not read a better account of how the United States government functioned in the days leading up to the war. Klein's portrayals of the individuals involved is remarkable. I have given this book four stars instead of five only because I was led to believe the book is centered on the forts and the conflict in Charleston. If you look at it as a book which explores how our nation drifted into civil war, it is clearly a five. I sincerely hope Mr. Klein continues to write other accounts of the war. He is truly talented.

I can only echo the previous reviewers who have stated how good this book is. Maury Klein has written a well researched, but highly readable account of the last months of James Buchanan's presidency and the beginning of Abraham Lincoln's first term. In vivid detail, Klein discusses the secession crisis in the South, but focuses mostly on South Carolina. Klein gives great mini-biographies of the differing players and uses tons of diaries, letters, and newspaper accounts to really make the story flow. From a research standpoint, the book is history at its best, but it is also great history because it is engaging and lively and you want to just keep reading. If you read just one book on the coming of the Civil War, this might just be the one to pick up.

"Days of Defiance" deserves to rank with "Battle Cry of Freedom," the Pulitzer-winner of a few years back, in its drama, pacing and sense of context. It is among the rare Civil War books that do not wallow in detail, that amplify the poignance of flawed people making decisions the reader knows to be tragic, and that kindle the sense that the story is about America, not about which general charged into which thicket with which regiment. The author picks a tightly circumscribed period in which to tell his story: roughly the five months before the bombardment of Fort Sumter (although he synopsizes the previous half-century to give essential background). The highest praise I can think of for this book is to say that he makes those five months, yes, suspenseful. Follow this book's enigmatic Lincoln into another brilliant Civil War book, "Lincoln at Gettysburg," and you have a window into a period truly lit by fire.

A great read on a subject that is usually glossed over. I remember learning about the Civil War in school, where they covered Lincoln's election and his decision to supply but not reinforce the fort. But nowhere did teachers discuss the crucial in-between time that led up to the fight. Klein lends personality to the characters, too, which lends to the WSJ's description that it reads like a novel (which is not quite true, but not quite untrue); we learn all about the histories of the South Carolina Senators, the US Major Anderson, Mary Chestnut, William Seward, Abe Lincoln, and more. This is a pretty quick read because it pulls you in, but do not let that fool you; Days of Defiance fully wraps the reader in the Charleston realm of the secession controversy. Now to find a similar book about other areas in the South at the same time...

Maury Klien is a very good storyteller and thorough historian. Combining both of these skills often seems difficult in some popular histories, but when it works it produces a highly readable and insightful understanding of the past.

Klien tells the story of the Union's slide into the abyss of Civil War - with most of the focus on the period between Lincoln's election and the firing on Ft. Sumter. Using many first-person accounts, he gives an immediacy and presence to this tale that helps the reader feel he is there as the great decisions, positions and vaccilations are taken during this critical period.

Days of Defiance reminds the reader that the Civil War was perhaps an irrepressable conflict. Despite attempts to conciliate and compromise, the Republicans in the North would not brook the extension of slavery. The South saw the North's hostitity to the spread of the institution and the loss of it's hold on the national government as threatening to the slave based economy in the states where it was legal. Although many tried to find a middle path, the sectional interests were too diametricly opposed to ward off war.

The focus of the book are the events during the twilight of the Buchanan Administration, the struggle in Congress to do something that could produce a compromise and the efforts of South Carolina to dissolve the Union. The Buchanan Administration, reflecting the political base and culture of the President, was amazing in its inability to produce a policy that would at least address the growing crisis. The president elect, waiting for four months to assume office after his election, had to balance the act of satisfying factions of the Republican Party in putting together the first Republican Administration with the need to adopt a posture that did not accelerate a crisis brought to its head by his election. In trying not to accelerate the crisis before he could claim the reins of the government, he also had to maintain his positions regarding the spread of slavery and unlawfulness of secession -- positions that had garnered him his victory and the support of the North.

The portraits of the president and the president-elect and their minions are fascinating. Lincoln's genious for leadership shows through some early trials and mistakes as he assumes his first administrative office. Buchanan's lack of support, reliance on friends who did not have the Administration's best interests at heart and personal unwillingness to adopt any policy helped create a vacuum that South Carolinian seccessionists gladly filled. Buchanan's secretaries -- particularly Floyd of the War department-- exhibited loyalty to their factions that in some cases could best be described as treasonous. Lincoln needed to pull men into his cabinet who in three or four cases thought themselves superior to the president-elect and saw themselves as "managing" the new leader, while setting the tone and discipline necessary to ensure that the Lincoln Administration would be run by Lincoln and not Chase or Seward or Cameron.

At the middle of this story stands Maj. Anderson and the garrison at Ft. Sumter. It's presence in rebellious So. Carolina's Charleston Harbor was the focal point to this irrespresible conflict. Although frequently cut off from the decision makers in both the Buchanan and Lincoln Administrations, the decisions made by Maj. Anderson forced the chain of events that led to the bombardment of the fort and the start of our Civil War.

This is a fascinating story well told by Klein.

Maury Klein has done an outstanding job of making the roll up to the Civil War pop off the pages. From the dour last days of the Buchanan administration to the careful balancing of public and private interests by Lincoln, all set against the backdrop of moves by secessionists in South Carolina, Florida and D.C., Klein covers the steps and missteps that might have headed off the war in a manner. This is a fantastic work, written with the critical eye of a historian, but influenced by the wit and timing of a novelist.

Maury Klein does a superb job of detailing the events that lead up to the Civil War, and gives the reader some excellent background material in regards to the political viewpoints of the day.

The book was very easy to read and flowed smoothy from one chapter to the next. You don't get bogged down in trivial matters nor does the author drag on with the usual rhetoric of modern day thought superimposed on past issues. His high level of detailed research shows through in every chapter.

A very well done book, that deserves a spot on your list of "must reads" in regards to the Civil War.

Maury Klein has really captured the mindset of America during the pre Civil war years. From the political in-fighting, to Major Anderson trying to avert hostilities while maintaining his honor, to the women of Charleston standing on their balconies watching Fot Sumter get pummelled with a barrage of artillary. A must read for any Civil War Historian. Kutos to Maury Klein.

Maury Klein in Days of Defiance (Sumter, Secession, and the Civil War) recounts the heady days in the North and the South between the time of Lincoln's victory in the election and the surrender of Fort Sumter. Not knowing too much about the Civil War, this seemed a good place to begin. The material was presented along with a good introduction to the issues behind this collision of two cultures in one country, beginning at the time of the nullification crisis. Many voices are heard throughout this story, mostly politicians, though, as these fateful six months were a political struggle. Occasionally the inactivity of the participants as they play a waiting game can transfer over to impatience to the reader but this is, otherwise, quite an exciting account for readers interested in looking at the small and large beginnings of a great and horrific event. This piece of historical writing is well researched and well put together.