In this wide-ranging, brilliantly researched work, David S. Reynolds traces the factors that made Uncle Tom s Cabin the most influential novel ever written by an American. Upon its 1852 publication, the novel s vivid depiction of slavery polarized its American readership, ultimately widening the rift that led to the Civil War. Reynolds also charts the novel s afterlife including its adaptation into plays, films, and consumer goods revealing its lasting impact on American entertainment, advertising, and race relations. A splendid and subtle history. Fergus M. Bordewich, Wall Street Journal Consistently enlightening… . Mightier than the Sword deftly explores the social-intellectual context and personal experience out of which Stowe s novel evolved into a grand entertainment and a titanic engine of change. Dan Cryer, Boston Globe Reynolds has given us another cultural history of assured mastery, a history that combines deep erudition, lightly worn, with a lively and readable style. Tim Redman, Dallas Morning News