Author Adam Goodheart Teaches Us About "1861"

Adam Goodheart is the author of the “New York Times” bestseller, “1861,” and the forthcoming “1865, two books that capture the stories that give us tremendous insight into the real people who fought and lived during the Civil War.

A historian, essayist, and journalist, Goodheart’s articles have appeared in National Geographic, Outside, Smithsonian, The Atlantic, and The New York Times Magazine, among others. He is a regular columnist for the Times’ acclaimed Civil War series, “Disunion.” He lives in Washington, D.C., and on the Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where he is director of Washington College’s C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.

In today’s podcast, we learn:

• What inspired Goodheart to write “1861?
• What makes this war so important to understand— especially for kids
• Some of the Civil War heroes who may have inspired you in some way
• What role women like Jessie Freemont played in the war
• How and when he developed his liking for American history
• Why today’s kids don’t know much of history
• What he thinks we can all do to help pass on our enthusiasm for the founders to kids in k-12
• And, Goodheart leaves us three fascinating facts about the Civil War that our listeners can talk tonight about at the dinner table.