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4.41 AVERAGE
4.41 AVERAGE
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
slow-paced
“Lincoln’s life shows us that progress can be made by fallible and fallen presidents and peoples — which, in a fallible and fallen world, should give us hope.”
This line from Meacham’s epilogue captures the theme of this honest portrait of the real Lincoln instead of another deification. He was not a perfect man — in fact by modern standards, he was a racist man. During his presidency, his priority was not the ending of slavery but the preservation of the Union.
But Meacham charts the course of Lincoln’s development of a strong moral conviction against slavery which informed his pragmatic politics. Once Lincoln moved toward abolition he stayed the course and saw it done, despite easier and more politically advantageous paths being available to him. He was not a perfect man, but he was the the man who rose to the moment and became what the nation needed him to be when perhaps no other could have done it.
That such a disastrous and deeply racist man as Andrew Johnson followed him and undid so much of what he started is a tragedy and directly led to where America is today.
And to those who say America has never been more broken or divided or that the lies and attempts to disenfranchise voters have never been worse- I would point them to this book as just one proof point that we’ve always been this way and at times have been worse. In just one jarring example Meacham lays out how pro-slavery state legislatures seeking to defeat Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election changed laws to block Union soldiers fighting in the South from voting absentee, or at all.
This line from Meacham’s epilogue captures the theme of this honest portrait of the real Lincoln instead of another deification. He was not a perfect man — in fact by modern standards, he was a racist man. During his presidency, his priority was not the ending of slavery but the preservation of the Union.
But Meacham charts the course of Lincoln’s development of a strong moral conviction against slavery which informed his pragmatic politics. Once Lincoln moved toward abolition he stayed the course and saw it done, despite easier and more politically advantageous paths being available to him. He was not a perfect man, but he was the the man who rose to the moment and became what the nation needed him to be when perhaps no other could have done it.
That such a disastrous and deeply racist man as Andrew Johnson followed him and undid so much of what he started is a tragedy and directly led to where America is today.
And to those who say America has never been more broken or divided or that the lies and attempts to disenfranchise voters have never been worse- I would point them to this book as just one proof point that we’ve always been this way and at times have been worse. In just one jarring example Meacham lays out how pro-slavery state legislatures seeking to defeat Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election changed laws to block Union soldiers fighting in the South from voting absentee, or at all.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Wonderfull reflective book that mirrors today's tensions.
Meacham belongs in that narrow field of history authors who can cite primary sources like the historian that he is while also narratizing history so well that it reads like a fiction novel that will be eaten up by the masses (McCollugh, Chernow, and Edmund Morris are also in this club). His latest book, a Lincoln biography (yes, another Lincoln biography) is no different.
The thrust of this biography is about the spiritual, ethical, and moral life of Abraham Lincoln and how that life evolved over the course of the Civil War. Meacham presents young Lincoln as a cynic who is deeply distrustful of religion, a pragmatic politician who opposed slavery but still considered black inferior (and even used the N-word on occasion), and a war leader who was more concerned about the preservation of the Union than the fate of the enslaved. However, following the deaths of two sons, the death of a beloved brother-in-law, and a bloody Civil War, Lincoln came to see himself as an instrument of God who was put in a place to heal the nation and set the captives free.
This was a long read, but well worth the effort.
The thrust of this biography is about the spiritual, ethical, and moral life of Abraham Lincoln and how that life evolved over the course of the Civil War. Meacham presents young Lincoln as a cynic who is deeply distrustful of religion, a pragmatic politician who opposed slavery but still considered black inferior (and even used the N-word on occasion), and a war leader who was more concerned about the preservation of the Union than the fate of the enslaved. However, following the deaths of two sons, the death of a beloved brother-in-law, and a bloody Civil War, Lincoln came to see himself as an instrument of God who was put in a place to heal the nation and set the captives free.
This was a long read, but well worth the effort.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Type the words "Lincoln Biography" in this site's Search box and you'll get 269 results (If you type just "Lincoln," you'll get over 22,000 results). Safe to say a lot of historians have something to say about Honest Abe. Now comes Jon Meacham with the latest word(s) on our 16th president. And it's one of the best yet.
As the subtitle tells us, this book examines the "American Struggle"...the one faced by Lincoln and the country throughout the prelude and fighting of the Civil War. Although Lincoln's life is sketched out in some detail, this is not primarily a biography. And you'll want to look elsewhere for the story of the Civil War on the battlefield. Instead, Meacham highlights the violent religious and moral struggle over slavery that surrounded Lincoln and divided an angry country in the 1850s and 1860s. This focus on universal issues does a great job of putting you in Lincoln's (extremely large) shoes and he suffers the slings and arrows of that terrible time.
Meacham is a wondeful storyteller who combines fascinating detail (many new to this Lincoln buff) with a close examination of the painful national debate. Some of the issues might seem familiar. For instance, there was a great deal of pressure on Vice President John Breckinridge to nullify the Electoral College results when the time came to certify Lincoln's 1860 election win. And troops were massed at the Capitol expecting a violent disruption of Lincoln's inauguration. To his credit, Meacham draws no direct comparisons but the facts are made plain.
Even if you're one of those folks who think they just can't handle an0ther Lincoln book, this is an important, insightful and terrific read!
As the subtitle tells us, this book examines the "American Struggle"...the one faced by Lincoln and the country throughout the prelude and fighting of the Civil War. Although Lincoln's life is sketched out in some detail, this is not primarily a biography. And you'll want to look elsewhere for the story of the Civil War on the battlefield. Instead, Meacham highlights the violent religious and moral struggle over slavery that surrounded Lincoln and divided an angry country in the 1850s and 1860s. This focus on universal issues does a great job of putting you in Lincoln's (extremely large) shoes and he suffers the slings and arrows of that terrible time.
Meacham is a wondeful storyteller who combines fascinating detail (many new to this Lincoln buff) with a close examination of the painful national debate. Some of the issues might seem familiar. For instance, there was a great deal of pressure on Vice President John Breckinridge to nullify the Electoral College results when the time came to certify Lincoln's 1860 election win. And troops were massed at the Capitol expecting a violent disruption of Lincoln's inauguration. To his credit, Meacham draws no direct comparisons but the facts are made plain.
Even if you're one of those folks who think they just can't handle an0ther Lincoln book, this is an important, insightful and terrific read!