In 'The Impeachers', Brenda Wineapple delivers a penetrating account of the time when the fate of American democracy hung in the balance. Andrew Johnson, thrust into the presidency after Lincoln's assassination, sought to impede the progress wrought by the Civil War. Championing anti-reformist policies, he faced the righteous fury of visionaries like Thaddeus Stevens and Frederick Douglass, resulting in the historical first impeachment of a sitting US president. Piecing together the tumultuous events from a period marred by division and strife, Wineapple deftly narrates the monumental battle to uphold the Civil War's egalitarian ideals against a president veering towards despotism. The book serves as both a gripping historical drama and a timeless reflection on the powers and perils of the presidency.