Briarcliff Author Explores the Civil War in a New Way

One hundred and fifty years ago, the first shots—that would determine whether the United States would remain united or be split apart—were fired at Fort Sumter.

Fifty years ago, Briarcliff Manor resident Jamie Malanowski was captivated with this iconic time period as he absorbed the historical poignancy of the Civil War by visiting Gettysburg with his family.

But, what led up to this defining moment in American history?

This year, Malanowski rewound the clock to take a look at the the tumultuous six months leading up to the beginning of the American Civil War in April of 1861 in his new book And the War Came.

"I had read a lot about the Civil War and I knew the six months between Lincoln's election and the start were extremely eventful and very dramatic," explained Malanowski. "It's not a time people knew well."

The book came about after Malanowski began penning a weekly column titled "Disunion" for the New York Times at the end of October, where he shared historical tidbits during the time leading up the war in real time accounts.

This way, he explained, "readers have a sense of the events unfolding the way we experience politics."

The whole idea began a year ago, when Malanowski decided he wanted to do something to commemorate the war's sesquicentennial.

"I basically planted myself in a chair and started reading a lot. There are so many wonderful books on the war and Lincoln—I just plunged in and mined that war into a story."

And the War Came has a historian-meets-journalist style that incorporates several original documents, newspaper articles, political cartoons, etc. into the mix.

"It just seemed like a natural way to do it," explained Malanowski, who has worked at an editor at publications including Time and Esquire. "It seemed quite natural to draw on histories and memoirs and current accounts on things, mix it all together and produce it in kind of a real time account."

The end result is a read geared toward people who enjoy history, but may not have fully understood the individual states' struggles that ultimately led to the outbreak of war.

"Each of those states had to make a decision. The arguments were dramatic," said Malanowski, who hopes readers can learn from history and explore different—and possibly more favorable outcomes—in the future by considering the decisions made by our predecessors.

"People have the power to guide the events of their lives and have to take it seriously," he expanded. "Lots of better outcomes are available if you work on it."

And the message has resonated with readers who have absorbed the book, which became available about a month ago.

"It's been so rewarding; people have been so supportive," said Malanowski. "It's very exciting."

Coming up, And the War Came will be available in print on demand, as well as in eBook form.

And the content author is now focusing on his editorial work while he contemplates another project in the near future.

Looking back, he reflected, "I always really got excited about history...and I've never really lost it."

To learn more about "And the War Came" and Jamie Malanowski, visit his website.