Abraham Lincoln: The Enigmatic President

  The Myth of the Lost Cause: Why the South Fought the Civil War and Why the North Won By Edward H. Bonekemper III The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War by Thomas J. DiLorenzo This post deals with two books on the “Lost Cause.” Thomas J. DiLorenzo presents the case for the Lost Cause in The Real Lincoln : A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War, while Edward H. Bonekemper argues against the Lost Cause in The Myth of the Lost Cause : Why the South Fought the Civil War and Why the North Won. What is the Lost Cause? The basic tenants are as follows: the War of Northern Aggression had nothing to do with slavery; the South did nothing to provoke war; the Constitution included a right to secede and the South should have been allowed to leave peacefully; antebellum life in the South was prosperous, dignified, and just; slavery was already dying; Robert E. Lee deserved deification, U. S. Grant deserved demonization, t...

  LAND OF LINCOLN: ADVENTURES IN ABE'S AMERICA by Andrew Ferguson Land of Lincoln  is a fun memoir of a modern-day search for the real Abraham Lincoln. In childhood, Andrew Ferguson had been a Lincoln buff but had developed other interests in adulthood. The enigmatic and “shut-mouth” Lincoln provided pundits an open field for speculation. As a result, a plethora of interpretations have been tossed around that purport to explain his personality, beliefs, motivations, administration, family, and even sexual orientation. Glorifying tributes stand beside hate-filled censures. Ferguson trekked across the country to get a fix on the man. He traversed the Lincoln Heritage Trail with his family, visited major and lesser-known memorials, interviewed Lincoln collectors, gawked at Lincoln impersonators, and spoke with guides, academics, and park rangers. Lincoln remained elusive, but Ferguson’s wit and lively writing style kept the quest entertaining and educational … although the reader...

  Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William T Sherman   In turns fascinating and boring. General Sherman wrote a valuable memoir for historians, but too much minutia for the casual Civil War buff. Sherman includes innumerable orders and other correspondence and describes his entire command structure every time there is a significant change or battle. Although historians, especially military historians, will find this invaluable, it can often be dull reading. Sherman frequently allows these documents to tell the story without presenting a description in his narrative. This means the reader must at least review the correspondence to gain a sense of the events. Disappointedly, Sherman seldom shares his opinions or even thoughts about significant issues. It’s sort of the Jack Webb version of his life. When Sherman does express an opinion, it’s pure gold, especially the chapter when he recounts what he believes are the military lessons from the Civil War.

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...