1858

January 28, 2008
Former journalist Chadwick (The General and Mrs. Washington
) deals with much more than the previously underappreciated year of 1858 in this engagingly written book. By focusing on the men who drove crucial historical events, Chadwick provides plenty of pre-1858 background to make his case that the events of that year “changed the lives of dozens of important people” and “within a few short years, the history of the nation.” Chadwick examines the lives of six who would become the biggest players in the Civil War: Lincoln, Davis, Sherman, Lee, Grant and William Seward, and two others—John Brown and Stephen Douglas—whose actions helped precipitate the conflict. He also offers an insightful look at the enigmatic, eccentric man who was in the White House in 1858, Democrat James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. Chadwick shows clearly how Buchanan dithered—on the slavery issue and in foolish foreign adventures in Paraguay, Mexico and Cuba, among other things—while Rome was about to burn. Buchanan, Chadwick correctly notes, “was certainly not the sole cause of the Civil War,” just “one of many, but his ineffectiveness as chief executive dealt a crippling blow to the nation.”

March 1, 2008
In Chadwicks view, 1858 was a critical year that pushed the U.S. inexororably down the path to the Civil War. To illustrate his argument, Chadwick eschews a chronological narrative; instead, he has utilized separate historical portraits of several key individuals and chronicles their roles in some of the important events of that year. His examinations of the character and careers of these men are consistently interesting, and some are likely to stir controversy. James Buchanan, for example, is seen here as not merely ineffectual but a cold and even malignant figure who abused his subordinates and probably interfered in the Dred Scott case before the Supreme Court. On the other hand, he views Jefferson Davis as an admirable, principled man, despite his primitive views on race and slavery. One of the more interesting tidbits provided concerns the unlikely friendship between Davis and William Seward. Although Chadwicks portraits and conclusions are not always convincing, this well-written work will be a good addition to Civil War collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

December 15, 2007
"The Civil War began in April 1861," begins Chadwick ("The General and Martha Washington"), who then goes on to say that "this book explores the events and personalities of that single year." Huh? His remark to the contrary, this work is about the year in the title. Chadwick has a penchant for anachronisms, e.g., referring to Douglas and Lincoln in 1858 as "The Prince and the Pauper" 23 years before Twain coined the title, referring to Buchanan's "White House" when it was still commonly called (on its own stationery no less) the "Executive Mansion," and calling Buchanan "paranoid." The book aims to bring the sectional turmoils of 1858 to light for general readers, but be forewarned. An optional purchase.

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