Robert Cwiklik is the author of House Rules, which chronicles a year in the life of a freshman congressman, as well as several books for children and young adults. He was an editor at the Wall Street Journal for more than fifteen years and lives in Philadelphia.
"""In Sheridan's Secret Mission Robert Cwiklik describes in often chilling detail how the South may have lost the Civil War, but it won the next one, a guerrilla war to derail Reconstruction and hold blacks back another hundred years. It's as enlightening as it is appalling."" -- John Strausbaugh, author of City of Sedition: The History of New York City During the Civil War ""Cwiklik's fast-paced narrative takes us on a harrowing journey into the aftermath of the Civil War, a largely forgotten period when the White League and other Klan-like organizations dominated the South. It was a time when threats and intimidation gave way to violence and murder as the nation, weary of Reconstruction, averted its eyes from the disenfranchisement and outright persecution of former slaves. It's a story of horrifying atrocities, arrogant villains, and compelling and tragic heroes. A stunning read."" -- Ben Cleary, author of Searching for Stonewall Jackson ""Anyone who thinks polarization is a recent phenomenon in American history ought to read this searing, necessary book. We have been taught that Reconstruction was a failure. In fact, it succeeded so well in bringing formerly enslaved Black people toward equality that it led to a racist backlash that has never ended. In calm, dispassionate prose, Cwiklik zeroes in on one episode of violence and the efforts of the federal government to right horrific wrongs. . . . the story told in Sheridan's Secret Mission, and the ultimate failure of that mission, points toward the political turmoil we face today."" -- Russell Shorto, author of The Island at the Center of the World and Revolution Song ""With propulsive storytelling and quiet conviction, Cwiklik throws open a door on an essential but little-known moment in American history. Better angels in New Orleans tried to protect the rights of freed blacks after the Civil War, only to see the movement crushed by a savage surge of white supremacy. This is history at its best: passionate, surprising, blazingly relevant, and contagiously readable."" -- Neil King, author of American Ramble ""Meticulous and propulsive. . . . Readers will be engrossed."" -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)"