The entry begins:
Reading great narrative histories helps get me through the fretful days surrounding the launch of my new book, American Emperor, and I have enjoyed several excellent books in this stretch. Adam Goodheart’s 1861 offers a terrific view of how a nation goes to war, assembling fascinating scraps of social history into a powerful mosaic. I’ve read a lot of Civil War history, but 1861 taught me a great deal I did not know.Among the early praise for American Emperor:
Three other recent books have focused on America at the turn of the last century. James McGrath Morris’s Pulitzer gives a fascinating, three-dimensional look at that brilliant, hopelessly...[read on]
“Talk about a page turner! David O. Stewart has written a riveting account of Aaron Burr’s swashbuckling adventures in the American West.”Learn more about the book and author at David O. Stewart's website and blog.
--Douglas Brinkley, author of The Wilderness Warrior, Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America
“A fresh, vivid exploration of the exploits and trial of Aaron Burr (1756–1836), the most notorious figure of the early American republic. . . Stewart works the miracle of making even early-19th-century legal opinions and argument accessible and vital to modern readers. Two parts adventure story and one part courtroom thriller, Burr’s saga unfolds in “a North America of possibilities, not certainties,” . . . The author . . . lays out this complicated story with admirable clarity, while also explaining the long-term significance of its outcome for individual rights, the judiciary and the stability of the young nation. A persuasive, engaging examination.”
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Stewart’s American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America is a rattling tale . . . The author, who has written two other compelling works of American history, is that rare commodity: a lawyer who writes well. . . .The complexity of his topic does not inhibit his narrative in the least. He depicts his subject in all his eccentric vainglory.”
--David Holahan, Christian Science Monitor
Stewart's books include the highly acclaimed The Summer of 1787, the bestselling account of the writing of the Constitution, and Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy.
The Page 99 Test: Impeached.
My Book, The Movie: American Emperor.
Writers Read: David O. Stewart.