Eleven books about how impeachment works

Jeff Somers is the author of Writing Without Rules, the Avery Cates series, The Ustari Cycle, Lifers, and Chum (among many other books) and numerous short stories.

At the B&N Reads he tagged eleven books to help you make sense of the impeachment process, including:

Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy, by David O. Stewart

Stewart offers a deeper dive into the party politics involved in Johnson’s impeachment—and offers few inspiring portraits, concluding ultimately that the impeachment proceedings against our 17th president were corrupt and poorly handled from the jump. It’s easy to imagine that our current political situation is uniquely depressing, but Stewart makes it clear that in 1868, the question of impeachment was just as fraught, the politicians were just as self-interested, and the machinery of the government was just as arcane. While this might be cold comfort for all of us as we live through another chapter of tumultuous history, Stewart provides plenty of insightful takeaways that apply to what’s happening in Washington right now.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Page 99 Test: Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy.

--Marshal Zeringue