America in 1857

"[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.