Abraham Lincoln: The Enigmatic President

    Bitterly Divided: The South's Inner Civil War by David Williams  Bitterly Divided by David Williams makes sense. If the political establishment in a bunch of states decided to secede, there would obviously be inhabitants who retained a stronger loyalty to the United States of America. After all, they had been proud U.S. citizens for their entire lives. I bet you saw a but coming. The but is that although Williams presents voluminous evidence of insurgence within the CSA, it is not clear that it materially hampered the Confederacy’s war efforts until the last year or so. The catchphrase, ‘rich man’s war, poor man’s fight,’ may have been a truism, but Southern men continued to fight until victory became hopeless or they received news from home that their families were starving. Williams contends that slaveholders masterminded the war, but, for the most part, non-slaveholders fought it. Three-fourths of southern whites owned no slaves, so arithmetic alone proves Wi...

  Mr. Lincoln’s High-Tech War: How the North Used theTelegraph, Railroads, Surveillance Balloons, Ironclads, High-Powered Weapons,and More to Win the Civil War Thomas B. Allen & Rodger MacBride Long title and a bit of a misnomer because this book also deals with the  use of technology by the  Confederate States of America. Granted, the Confederacy was limited by its scarce industrial capability, but it focused what it had on its navy, including the first ironclad in combat and the first submarine. Both were effective when let out of the barn, but neither lasted much beyond their first engagement. That’s the way it goes with military innovation; failures often precede a workable design. Most people view the American Civil War as a series of bloody battles fought with muskets and cannons. It all looks so backward from a modern perspective. In truth, the American Civil War changed warfare dramatically through technological advances. Before the Civil War, Napoleon de...

  Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution  by James M. McPherson This book is a collection of seven essays on the Civil War. Originally, these essays were lecture notes. They are well-written and thoughtful. The common theme is that the Civil War was a second revolution because it brought revolutionary transformations to the country and was followed by a counter-revolution a couple of decades after Appomattox. Each essay covers a single premise and can be read separately. Slavery divided the nation in 1787 and severed the country in 1860. Many have said that the Civil War settled the key issue that the Constitutional Convention kicked down the road. Did the Civil War finish the Founders’ work or was it in and of itself revolutionary? Read Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution and decide for yourself. Ending slavery in the United States was horrendously difficult. It took a four-year war with about 620,000 deaths. The politics were byzantine, and t...

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald Lincoln by David Herbert Donald is worthy of all the praise and awards it has received. As the cover exclaims, Lincoln was a New York Times Bestseller, the book won the Lincoln Prize, and Donald had previously won the Pulitzer Prize twice. Published in 1995, it was called the best single-volume biography of Lincoln to date and can arguably still claim that distinction. Donald’s book title indicates that he had nothing less in mind. Merely, Lincoln , with no subtitle. All of this acclaim does not mean the book is flawless. I read a trade paperback edition that was 600 pages long, with another 114 pages of back matter. I hadn’t seen paper so thin since the Bible. I constantly checked page numbers to ensure I hadn’t flipped two pages by mistake. Yes, the book is comprehensive, thorough, and encyclopedic. Yet never boring. Donald’s writing is clean and unadorned. He does not intrude on Lincoln’s story, and it is such a good story that the reader is pulled t...

  Bitterly Divided: The South's Inner Civil War by David Williams Bitterly Divided by David Williams makes sense. If the political establishment in a bunch of states decided to secede, there would obviously be inhabitants who retained a stronger loyalty to the United States of America. After all, they had been proud U.S. citizens for their entire lives. I bet you saw a but coming. The but is that although Williams presents voluminous evidence of insurgence within the CSA, it is not clear that it materially hampered the Confederacy’s war efforts until the final year or so. The catchphrase, ‘rich man’s war, poor man’s fight,’ may have been a truism, but Southern men continued to fight until victory became hopeless or they received news from home that their families were starving. Williams contends that slaveholders masterminded the war, but, for the most part, non-slaveholders fought it. Three-fourths of southern whites owned no slaves, so arithmetic alone proves Williams correct. S...

  A World on Fire, Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War by Amanda Foreman Few Civil War history books convey another country’s perspective. Amanda Foreman has done history buffs a service by offering a British perspective on our great conflict. Along with fascinating details about spy operations in Canada, Foreman supplies information on French, Irish, and German participation as diplomats, soldiers, and observers. The book may not quite depict a world on fire, but it’s eye-opening to learn how much our civil war affected other nations. A World on Fire 's greatest contribution is its insight into the issue of British and French recognition of the Confederate States of America—arguably the war's most significant political battle. Abraham Lincoln ultimately thwarted Jefferson Davis in this contest, which many considered an easy Confederate win. Had recognition been granted, the South likely would have achieved independence. A World on Fire   is a dazzling research...

Lincoln’s Sanctuary Abraham Lincoln and the Soldiers’ Home   By Matthew Pinsker Lincoln’s Sanctuary offers a fresh vantage point on Lincoln. With thousands upon thousands of Lincoln books available, pulling off something new is a feat—yet Pinsker succeeds. In this work, he explores Abraham Lincoln’s time at the Soldiers’ Home, a cottage in the heights of Washington that served much as Camp David does today. From 1862 to 1864, Lincoln and his family spent summers at the cottage to escape the heat and city pressures. To paint a vivid picture of Lincoln’s personal and political life during this period, Pinsker, a historian, draws on primary sources. The book links the cottage to key wartime events—such as the Emancipation Proclamation, the firing of General McClellan, and Lincoln’s evolving public image. Lincoln buffs looking for a revealing, intimate perspective into Lincoln’s private life and decision-making moments will find this book compelling.

  Abraham Lincoln by Lord Charnwood To get a clearer perspective on the Civil War, it helps to read books from multiple viewpoints. Lord Charnwood wrote only fifty years after the war (1916), bringing an almost contemporaneous perspective to his depictions. His biography has the advantage of proximity, but with enough time elapsed to dampen the passions of the moment. More importantly, as an English depiction, it is simultaneously a distant point of view. It is a distance of more than nautical miles. Lord Charnwood also brings his English noble bias to his descriptions.  This book is essential for understanding the diplomatic imperative for both sides. The Confederacy desperately sought European recognition of its legitimacy, while Lincoln did everything in his power to deny international recognition and suppress arms and funding from abroad. Lincoln’s success was arguably pivotal to the eventual victory. Abraham Lincoln  can be a tough read. A simple, declarative sentenc...

  Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen:  A Culinary View of Lincoln’s Life and Times Rae Katherine Eighmey A historical novel must read like a story, enriched by details about how protagonists and antagonists lived. While a writer might overindulge in specifics—food, lodging, transportation, clothing—a light touch enlivens the narrative. When I wrote Tempest at Dawn , an academic focus on daily life during the Revolution provided ample research. By contrast, similar cultural and routine details are rarer for the Civil War era. While books on common soldiers abound, my focus is the war's politics, not its battles. Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen helped fill the void. I’m not a cook, so I merely scanned the fifty-five recipes, but these are surrounded by excellent descriptions of everyday life, especially food procurement, preparation, and consumption. Each chapter covers a specific historical period, and Eighmey does a good job of sleuthing out how Lincoln lived, and she presents accu...