The Caning of Charles Sumner: Honor, Idealism, and the Origins of the Civil War Book

A concise and engagingly written book, heavy on fact and with just enough commentary and conclusion to straddle the line between academic belief-pushing and helpful analysis and conjecture. I nearly gave it four stars, but much of Chapter 5's analysis was belaboring the point Hoffer had already very clearly made in telling the tale. It could've been cut in half and served the same purpose with better effect, which was kind of a let down.

That said, the Epilogue did address what few remaining points I needed for satisfaction, so I'd definitely recommend it. It's accessible to the lay reader and historian alike, and it'd be hard to find more interesting subject matter in American History. I think Hoffer does it justice. Worth every penny.