The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic

Reconstruction, 1860-1920

By: Manisha Sinha

Narrated by: Deepa Samuel

A groundbreaking, expansive new account of Reconstruction that fundamentally alters our view of this formative period in American history.

In The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic, acclaimed historian Manisha Sinha expands our view beyond the accepted temporal and spatial bounds of Reconstruction, which is customarily said to have begun in 1865 with the end of the war, and to have come to a close when the "corrupt bargain" of 1877 put Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House in exchange for the fall of the last southern Reconstruction state governments. Sinha's startlingly original account opens in 1860 with the election of Abraham Lincoln that triggered the secession of the Deep South states, and takes us all the way to 1920 and the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote-and which Sinha calls the "last Reconstruction amendment."

A sweeping narrative that remakes our understanding of perhaps the most consequential period in American history, The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic shows how the great contest of that age is also the great contest of our age—and serves as a necessary reminder of how young and fragile our democracy truly is.

©2024 Manisha Sinha (P)2024 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Pedantic but Important

Poor narration. Should use a professional. Many mispronounciations. Pedantic to the point of drowning the message in the detail. It's a very important story that is poorly served by this book and narrator.

Managing through narration

Wish author had gotten a pro narrator. Editor would’ve helped but this isn’t first author whose book ruined by their own narration. Mainly it’s like sitting in her class as she moves through her outlines, clipped and rapidly. She’s clearly knowledgeable in her field but delivery is right out of school or maybe conference. Ugh. Found myself tuning in & out though I’d been excited to read after a review . It will be good for ppl not familiar with subject and after first 2 chapters she can get into more interesting and obscure facts of American history that have been forgotten or swept under the carpet. But again I had to really work to stay with the book as so annoyed by reader, less so by some repetitions not caught. I’ve been out of grad school for decades yet kept expecting should be taking notes for test coming. No real narrative, rather a compendium of historical events with many names, dates, places in same tone throughout. Just like a seminar. Ruined for me a subject I’m interested in.

Great overview of often overlooked history

I really appreciated the author’s depth and analysis each of the concepts of this incredibly important era of American history. I also like how the author continuously checked in on abolitionist and their viewpoints of these other issues which were occurring within this era. It really brings it all nicely together. Sinha does a nice job really encapsulating why it all mattered.

Valuable history, poorly edited and performed

This is an important period in our nation’s history which deserves far more attention than it has received. this account benefits from exhaustive research but is seriously burdened by wildly excessive detail and a strident presentation

Good Topic, Poor Writing/Performance

Reconstruction is a crucial topic, but this book fails to do much more than monotonously catalogue its events. I don't disagree with its premise or believe it is inaccurate, but it seems unoriginal and, at points, it's almost offensively bland.

Likewise, the reader gives a technically proficient performance that is like listening to an overly ennuciated rack of nails on a chalkboard.