Cry Havoc! Audiobook By Nelson D. Lankford cover art

Cry Havoc!

The Crooked Road to Civil War, 1861

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Cry Havoc!

By: Nelson D. Lankford
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
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In early March 1861, civil war loomed. By late April, Americans had begun to kill their fellow citizens. Cry Havoc! recounts in riveting detail the events that divided the states and reveals how quirks of timing, character, and place all conspired to transform the nation into a battlefield. Nelson Lankford chronicles the eight critical weeks that began with Lincoln's inauguration through the explosion at Fort Sumpter and the president's fateful response to it. Before Fort Sumpter, the balance could have tipped in favor of a peaceful resolution. But the groundswell of patriotic fervor that followed convulsed the political and military landscape in ways unimaginable just weeks before. This book addresses the many might-have-beens, both familiar and lesser known. What if Lincoln had shown restraint over Fort Sumter? What if he had delayed the proclamation calling for troops? Could wavering unionists in the upper South have held the line? A must-read for all who wish to understand the birth of the modern United States of America, Cry Havoc! probes the fateful series of events and analyzes each of the failed possibilities that hindsight affords.©2007 Nelson D. Lankford (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc. American Civil War Military Politics & Activism Presidents & Heads of State Wars & Conflicts Abraham Lincoln Civil War War

Editorial reviews

Civil war junkies will thrill to hear this unusual audiobook, which takes a unique tack in examining the events which led two regions of the United States to take arms against each other in 1861. In Cry Havoc! Nelson D. Lankford tracks the country's path to civil war over the course of two months, asking the whole way what could have gone differently - how the war could have changed, or even been avoided, if small and large decisions both had been altered even slightly amidst the heat of prewar patriotic sentiment.

Voice actor Michael Prichard does justice to Lankford's vivid prose in his strong performance, his rough voice driving home the what-ifs that define this compelling work of historical speculation.

Critic reviews

"Might-have-beens haunt this absorbing study of the opening act of the Civil War....A lucid, often dramatic account." (Publishers Weekly)
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I really love this book. I am a Civil War buff, but I am more interested in the political drama leading up to the war than the military conflict. This book was perfect to me.

The Narrator Michael Pritchard was great as always. I seek out books where he is the performer.

Wonderful!

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This was a very good book overviewing the causes of the civil war. I am a beginner civil war buff. The book was easy to listen to and to follow.

Great Book

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This book would be better read than listened to. There are parallels to our own time, but the narration is so stiff and poorly down that it is a difficult listen.

Good book, poor narrator

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