Reconstruction Updated Edition

America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877

By: Eric Foner

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

From the ""preeminent historian of Reconstruction"" (New York Times Book Review), the prize-winning classic work on the post-Civil War period that shaped modern America.

Eric Foner's ""masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of American history"" (New Republic) redefined how the post-Civil War period was viewed.

Reconstruction chronicles the way in which Americans—black and white—responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery. It addresses the ways in which the emancipated slaves' quest for economic autonomy and equal citizenship shaped the political agenda of Reconstruction; the remodeling of Southern society and the place of planters, merchants, and small farmers within it; the evolution of racial attitudes and patterns of race relations; and the emergence of a national state possessing vastly expanded authority and committed, for a time, to the principle of equal rights for all Americans.

This ""smart book of enormous strengths"" (Boston Globe) remains the standard work on the wrenching post-Civil War period—an era whose legacy still reverberates in the United States today.

Needs a professional voice actor.

Could be a great book. Unfortunately it's hard to tell over the flat tone of the reader. It is excellent if you want to fall asleep quickly. Buy the print version.

Detailed and Thorough

I enjoyed this book! Any history enthusiast would be spellbound by how detailed and well researched this book is. Eric F

Great narrator, typical ivy, league Northern bias

1). fantastic performance by Grover Gardner.
2). Strong Ivy League, northern bias, present in this work (most of them) I listened in hopes that I would get some academic detail. Which I did.
3). The suffering that average Southerner endured not only during Sherman and other northern generals in invasions, but after the Civil War are not mentioned at all. This work is completely biased and one-sided.
4). The destruction, lawlessness and chaos that led to the formation of the Ku Klux Klan is not mentioned at all. Yes… They did horrible, terrible things in some places for no good reason. But the overall suffering mentioned earlier in this review that led to the creation of Clux is not mentioned.
One suspects that if it was written about fairly and objectively- it might’ve destroyed this Ivy League author’s career, hence could not be published, -even if he ‘was’aware of it.
-But that is speculation on my part.

TL:DR
If you’re interested in academic detail about the tumultuous era of reconstruction.… This is a worthwhile read.
BUT, If you are interested in a completely unbiased and factual narrative of the period- this is not for you.

Child of SC

As a child of SC schools in the ‘60s I find I was misinformed about Reconstruction. This book goes into great detail to show what really transpired during this period. I highly recommend this book to all listeners to gain a better understanding of race relations in the South and SC in particular.

Clear, Concise, Compelling

Easier to stay engaged with than W.E.B. Dubois’ Black Reconstruction. Very well written and very convincing.