The Approaching Fury, Stephen B. Oates
The Approaching Fury, Stephen B. Oates
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The Approaching Fury
Voices of the Storm, 1820-1861

Author: Stephen B. Oates

Narrator: Susan Ericksen, David Colacci, David Sadzin

Unabridged: 22 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/11/2021


Synopsis

Biographer and historian Stephen B. Oates tells the story of the coming of the American Civil War through the voices and perspectives of thirteen principal players in the drama, from Thomas Jefferson and Henry Clay in the Missouri crisis of 1820 down to Stephen A. Douglas, Jefferson Davis, and Abraham Lincoln in the final crisis of 1861. This innovative approach shows the crucial role that perception of events played in the sectional hostilities that pushed the United States irreversibly toward a national calamity.

Nat Turner, William Lloyd Garrison, John C. Calhoun, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, George Fitzhugh, John Brown, and Mary Boykin Chesnut also provide perspectives. Each character takes a turn onstage, narrating critical events in which he or she was a major participant or eyewitness. For the dramatic monologues, Oates draws on the actual words of his speakers—in letters, speeches, interviews, recollections, and other recorded utterances—and then simulates how, were they reminiscing aloud, they would describe these events in which they were the principal actors or witnesses. All the events and themes reflect the historical record.

About Stephen B. Oates

Stephen B. Oates is the author of many books, including The Approaching Fury, With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln, and Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr., the latter two books winning, respectively, the Christopher Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Book Award. Oates was a consultant and "talking head" in Ken Burns's Civil War series on PBS, and is a recipient of the Nevins-Freeman Award of the Chicago Civil War Round Table for lifetime achievement in the field of Civil War studies.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Colleen

I loved the format of this book. Through extensive research and with great care, Oates, one of the preeminent Civil War historians, speaks in the first person in the voices of thirteen of the people involved in the events leading to the War. From Jefferson to Fitzhugh; from Clay to Douglass and Doug......more

Goodreads review by David

i have deeply desired historical nonfiction to give rich context said momentous events. Oates acheives this in such an exhilarating manner.i love this approach. I would have liked to hear some more from women. particularly those in the north who supported OR did not support abolition. Thank you Mr Oa......more

A unique method of looking at the prelude to the American Civil War: through the words, in narrative form of over a dozen major figures that played a crucial role in the period.......more

Goodreads review by Oliver

Using an innovative method, having major participants in the culture and politics of early to mid-nineteenth century narrate their perception of events leading the the Civil War, the book makes clear that the issue of slavery was the central flashpoint leading to conflict. Eerily, the book also unwi......more