1 comments about Telegraph: A History of Morse's Invention and Its Predecessors in the United States.

1. A very detailed history of the telegraph in the US. I covers the first "data" network in the US. You can understand how telegrams were sent, and passed around, and how much it costs to send the earlest "electronic" messages.

2 comments about Lee's Maverick General: Daniel Harvey Hill.

1. Daniel Harvey Hill had two key faults. First, he was a very perceptive officer. Second, he always spoke his mind. D.H. Hill was not the only general officer to find himself on the outs with Jefferson Davis during the Civil War but he was one of the very few who was consistently shunned after his fall from grace.

   Hot tempered and unusually outspoken, he stormed his way through the Civil War, fearlessly leading Confederate soldiers at Malvern Hill and Antietam while continuously stepping on the toes of his superiors. Ultimately, he was made the scapegoat for the mutiny of almost all the general officers serving under Braxton Bragg after the confusing victory of the Army of Tennessee at the Battle of Chickamauga. This mutiny was so pervasive that Jeff Davis was required to leave Richmond and visit the battlefield in order to put down the revolt against Bragg, a Davis favorite. Amazingly, Davis retains Bragg against the wishes of almost every general officer who participated in this engagement.

   This is a very interesting book, providing insight into why the Confederacy ultimately lost middle Tennessee, thereby opening the way for the Federal advance on Atlanta.




2. Sometimes a person's personality really hurts their career. Lee and many others called D.H. Hill a malcontent etc... because he questioned the ANV's strategy, found many of his fellow officers wanting in even basic military skills and wondered how the south could win with poor arms and ammunition. People always say it was too bad Jackson wasn't at Gettysburg but there was nothing to do about it. DH Hill was in exile at that time when Lee's army was saddled with many incompetent commanders like Pickett and Heth.

1 comments about The Grand Old Man of Maine: Selected Letters of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, 1865-1914 (Civil War America).

1. While some in the Civil War community complain of "Chamberlain fatigue," it is difficult to gripe about this marvelous new collection of postwar correspondence from one of the most articulate officers on either side of the conflict.
   
   Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain survived the Civil War - including a horrible wound at Petersburg - to become one of Maine's most prominent citizens. His postwar career included four terms as governor of Maine, a stint as president of Bowdoin College, numerous business enterprises, and perhaps most importantly, many years as a writer and lecturer on his Civil War experiences.
   
   The correspondence included by editor Jeremiah Goulka covers nearly every aspect of Chamberlain's personal and professional life. Chamberlain's heartfelt letters to his family, especially those to his wife Fannie, reveal him to be a loving, thoughtful husband and father. His relationship with Fannie, stormy and difficult though it was for many years, survived numerous crises until Fannie's death in 1905.
   
   Chamberlain's Civil War experiences transformed him, and his separation from the army often left him feeling restless. In 1870, Chamberlain wrote to the King of Prussia and offered his services in Prussia's war with France. In 1898, Chamberlain contacted the Secretary of War to volunteer for the Spanish-American War. Even with all his postwar positions and projects, Chamberlain never quite filled the space in his soul left empty by the end of the Civil War.
   
   Critics of Chamberlain, in his lifetime and in our own time, claim that he inflated his role at Little Round Top in an attempt to horde the glory of that important engagement. At least one letter included in this volume refutes this criticism. In a January 1910 letter to Union veteran and author Oliver W. Norton, Chamberlain says of his brigade commander, Strong Vincent, "He was a noble man, and I have not known an abler commander in his grade. Nothing could exceed his skill and energy in taking the position on Little Round Top and the confidence he inspired in his subordinates. To this the result of the fight on the left at Round Top is very largely due [emphasis added]."
   
   The correspondence also clarifies an often incorrectly reported fact concerning the July 1913 fiftieth anniversary reunion at Gettysburg. Chamberlain, while he visited Gettysburg in May as a member of the planning commission, did not attend the July reunion. Chamberlain's doctor strongly urged him not to go due to his declining health, and he stayed behind in Maine.
   
   Rather than being castigated for his prolific eloquence, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain deserves the timeless thanks of everyone who studies the Civil War. Jeremiah Goulka deserves thanks as well, for his skillful editing, and for giving us a deeper understanding of a genuine American hero.

2 comments about The Citizen-Soldier: The Memoirs of a Civil War Volunteer.

1. This soldier's journal from the American Civil War is a delight to read, beautifully written and insightful throughout. John Beatty was sensitive to the horror of war, but also to the humor of it. History has been kind to an author who, in writing this book, was very kind to history.



2. John Beatty intended to speak from the grave to future generations and did so with clarity, humility and with a poignant reminder of the failings of politics and those in power. The magnetic pull of the romance of war and adventure for young men soon morphed into campside remembrances of home and hearth. The diary format made it an easy read quickly drawing you into the life of that period.You can almost smell the adrenalin of the young untried soldiers chomping at the bit to get into a skirmish. Later to sense their fear,hurt,shock and ultimately their inexperience with the harshness of war...after seeing friends disembowled and crying for help...The political passions of that period were at a fever pitch which makes it all the more remarkable given the abscence of CNN and other 24/7 news channels beating the political drums...150 years later and we seemingly have devolved..."Civil War"? the ultimate oxymoron...how can any war be "Civil"...John Beatty scrapes it close to the bone in his revelations about the inefficieny of war...a worthy and very interesting visit to the past!

5 comments about One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment/Movie Tie in to the Movie "Glory".

1. Matthew Broderick portrayed Robert Gould Shaw, in the movie "Glory," as shy, idealistic, tenacious. In real life he was all these things and more: more complex, more a product of his age and social class (what we today call "classism" was universal then), struggling to escape the iron grip of his abolitionist mother, wrestling with notions of race which we today would call "racism." Burchard's book is still the best for bringing him back to life: sharing army life with his friends, courting his future wife, organizing and forming the first black regiment to serve as a regiment of the line (the rest were mostly used for bushwhacking or manual labor). He surely knew before accepting the job that he would face unpopularity, uncertainty, and execution if captured. Twenty-five-year-old Robert showed awesome moral courage in taking it on, and one of the virtues of this book is that it makes Robert's record believable, first in his choice, and then in sticking with loneliness, exhaustion, discouragement, fear of death, and obstacle after obstacle, to prove that "Black Men can fight as well as White Men" and therefore can meet the coming demands of citizenship. Another virtue, for older students maybe, lies in its portrayal of the "classism" and "racism" which formed the unexamined background of most Americans in the 1860's, against which we can measure how far we've really evolved since then. All in all, an excellent book for young people in American History courses, to supplement the movie "Glory" which is often used to illustrate the Civil War and its human side.



2. Having seen the movie Glory for the first time this past weekend, I couldn't help but wonder about the 54th and its Colonel Shaw. So, when I got my hands on this book I had very high expectations. I have to say that I was very happy with the quality of this book. It has just enough sentiment for Colonel Shaw and his family, yet it also portrays the 54th as the heroes I believe they were. I would recommend this to any history buff, or to anyone who finds that they had the same thirst as I after seeing Glory on television. Great book..



3. This book was at least partially the basis for the movie Glory, which starred Morgan Freeman, Cary Elwes, Matthew Broderick, and Denzel Washington (who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor). The movie is reasonably historically accurate, though there are parts where they took liberties with the truth. The book sets the record straight in a number of ways.

   The book, however, is largely a biography of Robert Gould Shaw. Shaw was born a child of privalege, and raised to be an abolitionist and a devout Christian. When the war started, he saw it as his duty to enlist, first serving in the ranks of a New York regiment, and later securing appointment as a Captain in the 2nd Massachusetts Infantry. When the Emancipation Proclamation was announced and the recruiting of Black soldiers began (this was part of the actual proclamation) the governor of Massachussetts decided to recruit his own regiment of Blacks, and appointed Shaw to be the colonel. The regiment served briefly in the siege of Charleston, South Carolina, before leading the charge on Fort Wagner, to the south of the city, in which Shaw was killed and the regiment decimated.

   This book, as I said, is mostly a biography of Shaw. Since he wasn't anyone particularly prominent, and since he only lived to be 25, there's not a lot to say, and the book is as a result rather short, about 150 pages. Shaw comes off as committed, intelligent, perhaps a bit naive, but brave and skilled. It's an interesting character study, and an interesting but brief account of this one action in the siege of Charleston. There isn't, however, much else to the book, so be warned, it's rather thin. If that's what interests you, however, it's worth the effort.




4. A good fundamental book for understanding how Robert Gould Shaw came to command the Massachusetts 54th, but one that offers little about his relationship with the regiment or the issues that shaped its legends. Because this book (and point of view) formed the basis for the motion picture "Glory," many of its shortcomings were repeated in the movie and in subsequent public perceptions about the composition, behavior, and fate of the first all-volunteer African-American regiment formed in the American Civil War.
   
   I strongly endorse this as a starting point for Americans interested in the life of Robert Gould Shaw but recommend they continue to "Blue Eyed Child of Fortune," a collection of his personal correspondence. "One Gallant Rush" tends to portray Shaw as a sort of doomed saint rather than a complex character succumbing to the moral and political aspirations of his family, his own ambition, and the then-prevailing attitudes about the worth and importance of African American soldiers (and men).



5. is the most moving account of the 54th Massachusetts Vol. Inf. To have waded through the regimental histories, 'Robin's' own letters home, newspaper accounts, to pull this glorious moment in history together so that multitides can share is so important.

No comments about Civil War to the Bloody End: The Life and Times of Major General Samuel P. Heintzelman.

2 comments about The Life of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston: Embracing His Services in the Armies of the United States, the Republic of Texas, and the Confederate States.

1. This life of General Albert Sidney Johnston was written by his son about twenty years after the War Between The States. It covers his entire career, while concentrating upon the events surrounding the fall of Fort Donelson and the battle of Shiloh. It is obviously designed to prove that Gen. Johnston was not to blame for the fall of Fort Donelson, and that he deserves credit for a great strategic success at Shiloh, which was spoiled by his untimely death. Despite the propaganda, I quite enjoyed the book. Gen. Johnston was highly regarded by President Davis. Many thought him to be the equal (or superior) to Lee and that his death was a great tragedy to the Confederacy. The book is somewhat dense reading, containing numerous letters to support the author's case. Many were solicited from the surviving participants after the war.



2. Albert Sidney Johnston is one of the most interesting generals of the Civil War. Johnston already had an extensive military record when the war began, and President Jefferson Davis (his old West Point classmate) personally saw to it that Johnston was given command of an entire army (the Army of the Mississippi, later the Army of Tennessee).
   
   The problem with this was that Johnston had never commanded an army before, and now he was faced with defending a 500-mile-long border stretching from eastern kentucky to western Missouri. He had less than 50,000 "available" troops, and many were poorly armed and equipped (some units didn't have any weapons at all!).
   
   The Union capture of Forts Henry and Donelson in February 1862 paved the way for the fall of Nashville, and soon nearly all of Tennessee was in Union hands. Desperate to reclaim Tennessee for the Confederacy, Johnston planned a bold strike on the Union forces gathered around Shiloh Church in southwest Tennessee.
   
   On the morning of April 6, 1862, the Confederates charged into the surprised Union camps and for the rest of the day pushed them back towards the Tennessee River. But the Confederate assault had eventually come to a stop, thanks to the strong Union artillery position as well as an exhaustion of ammunition.
   
   It was the first day of the Battle of Shiloh where Gen. Johnston was killed, the enemy bullet severing his femoral artery in his right leg. Isham Harris, the Confederate governor of Tennessee, was by his side as the general lay dying. Johnston had ignored the wound and had continued directing his troops, but within minutes he bled to death.
   
   In his "Personal Memoirs", Gen. Ulysses S. Grant wrote, "I do not question the personal courage of General Johnston, or his ability, but he did not win the distinction predicted for him by many of his friends. He did prove that as a general he was over-estimated."
   
   Had he survived the Battle of Shiloh, Gen. Johnston might have proven otherwise, but for the relatively short time he commanded the Army of the Mississippi he proved to be a brave yet unreliable leader. This book strongly defends his actions and is an in-depth look at his life and long military career. It is highly recommended for those who want to learn more about the first year of the Civil War in Tennessee, and for those wanting to know more about this interesting general.

3 comments about The Bishop of the Old South: The Ministry And Civil War Legacy of Leonidas Polk.

1. In Luke chapter 18, we learn of a rich young man who turned away from following Christ. What would have happened had he followed Jesus? This book gives one possible answer. This is one of the two or three finest books I've ever read, not just Civil War Books. It is the story of Leonidas Polk, the son of a very wealthy North Carolina plantation owner, who was converted to Christianity while at West Point, and entered the Episcopal ministry. While continuing to run a successful plantation, he was a priest, then a missionary Bishop, then presiding Bishop of Louisiana. This book gives a wealth of Church history during the years 1830-1860, including much detail of Polk's founding of the University of the South. Accepting the offer of a commission tendered by his old friend Jefferson Davis, Polk became a Lieutenant General in the Army of Tennessee.
   
   While the book gives more space to the "Bishop" than to the "General", there is plenty of information about Polk's military campaigns. His problems as a General are not glossed over, including less than perfect coordination during the Kentucky campaign of 1862, and his difficulties with General Bragg are well reported. [Bragg could be difficult, and the Bishop was not the only General who held a dim view of him] General Polk was killed at Pine Mountain, GA on June 14, 1864; not long before his death, he baptised Generals Hood and Joe Johnston. This would be a fitting end to a book that is a superb combination of Church and Military history. But, of course, the story of a successful Minister never really ends; numerous Churches consecrated by Bishop Polk are still in service, and the world class University he founded continues to train young people for Christian service. The life and career of Leonidas Polk remains a problem for some. How could a Christian man and Priest own around 500 slaves? He was a man of his time and place, and saw no conflict. On the record, his slaves were as well treated as any in the South. Whether we are discussing Bishop Polk, Thomas Jefferson, or even FDR, it is dangerous to project our values onto a man from a different age. Perhaps not a book for the general reader, but get this one, and read it. You won't be sorry.



2. Dr. Glenn Robins captures the multiple nature of Leonidas Polk's life. He was a man of God, educator and lieutenant general and Corps commander in the Army of Tennessee. This book develops the theological aspect of Polk better than its predecessors by Joseph Parks and Polk's son, William Mecklenberg Polk. Drawing from a rich bibliography, Dr. Robins explains Polk's theology and his impact on the mid-nineteenth century Episcopal Church, clearly and precisely. Unfortunately, for the Civil War reader, Polk was at best a mediocre general,who performed poorly in command of a very important corps in the Army of Tennessee. I have been conducting research on General Polk for an article I hope to get published during the next year. Robins' book has been invaluable in helping to understand this very complex, remarkable man. The Episcopal Church has even had difficulty with the Episcopal school, The University of the South, celebrating the life of a man who owned so many slaves. For those interested in learning more about Polk, I recommend looking at the Leonidas Polk website at www.leonidaspolk.org. This biography is a great read. I highly recommend it.



3. Robins' biography of Leonidas Polk, Episcopal bishop and Confederate general, reveals little about the inner life and personality of its subject. The reader is left wondering about his motives and about Polk's interaction with the most important people in his life: his wife, family and close friends. The book is a general overview of the life of this conflicted figure who has been portrayed both as a traitor to his role as a Christian leader and as some kind of latter-day Christian knight. Still, I was left wondering which he really was.

5 comments about Firestorm at Gettysburg: Civilian Voices.

1. If I had read first reader's review (above) I'm sure I would have been less likely to begin reading, much less finish, this book. But for all of the inconsistencies, mistakes, and other problems, this is an entertaining, usually interesting, and often moving book presented in a contemporary, TV-like style. I suppose the multitude of (mainly) amateur historians and Civil War buffs will find the scholarship sloppy but, frankly, there are very few Bruce Catton's and James McPherson's out there who have the rare capability of making sense out of the chaos of war while mainiging high literary and academic standards. Oh, well. The Civil War is a passion that many have staked out as their speciality, resulting in people who guard their area of "expertise" like a junkyard dog. I'm reminded of the cliche that they can't see the forest for the trees. And I believe that is the case here. Authors Slade and Alexander have (like most amateur history students) brought their love and fasination for Gettysburg and tried to see it from the vantage point of those who lived there, the average man, woman, and child. We read of the impending battle in the diaries and letters and follow events -- some humorous, some tragic, some mundane -- but all compelling -- through to the anticlimactic ending and beyond. I especially enjoyed the juxtapositioning of the photos with the text exerpts, putting faces with the voices, so to speak. So much history, especially that associated with the Civil War, is badly written, narrowly focused, trivial, grossly sentimental, and, well, the criticism could go for as long some of those endless tomes that crowd the shelves of your neighborhood bookstore. This book deserves to be on those shelves, but, perhaps not next to Bruce Catton!



2. This tremendous book provides a compelling account of the events that transpired during the battle and beyond in the most human of terms. Never mind the military maneuvers, the body counts, and other minutia so entrancing to some. Here are real accounts of real people acting heroically to protect those they love and the wounded thrust upon them. Never before has such a story been told about Gettysburg. The day by day recounting, allowing each person to relate what they saw and felt is amazing. I only wish more "professional" historians wrote this well. This is a must read for everyone who really wants to know what happened at Gettysburg.



3. "Firestorm at Gettysburg" provided an often fascinating account of the Battle of Gettysburg from the point of view of some of the town's residents. Usually, most accounts focus on the famous events such as the battle on Little Round Top or Pickett's Charge, but this book focuses on the chaos created in the town itself, especially as the Union troops stampeded through town and up Cemetery Hill at the end of the first day of fighting. We read how people cowered in their cellars, watched the battle from the fields or rooftops, took in wounded friend or foe, and sometimes foolishly ventured outside.

   "Firestorm" also describes the battle's aftermath in horrific detail, not allowing the reader to forget the carnage that the townspeople had to deal with long after both armies had marched away. The town was overwhelmed by all of the dead and wounded left behind, and the suffering that many of the soldiers endured not only because of their wounds but also because of the conditions they were hospitalized under was truly appalling, even sickening.

   The book grabbed me for many reasons. Several accounts described soldiers, from both sides, behaving despicably, or nobly, or foolishly, or patiently, or stoically, or oddly, or in a variety of other ways. Accounts of conversations between townspeople and the Confederate soldiers occupying the town intrigued me. It was good to be reminded that individuals fought this battle, not just armies.

   Obviously, the residents were in the dark as to the overall progress of the battle since they were primarily concerned with keeping safely out of harm's way. The authors wisely inserted summaries of the battle periodically so the reader could compare the impressions of the residents to the actual progression of the battle.

   Other accounts of events that occurred in the town captivated me. A resident's narrow escape from the bullets of a sharpshooter, the capture of Union soldiers who refused to endanger the residents of a house, the selflessness many displayed as they took wounded soldiers into their homes...there were numerous little incidents which, taken together, painted a vivid picture of the confusion, fear, tragedy, and the complexity of the Battle of Gettysburg. Overall, I enjoyed the book a great deal.

   Unfortunately, this book is full of technical errors. Who proofread this? One of the other reviewers already listed several factual contradictions present in the book, contradictions that I too noticed and grumbled about. There were also numerous typographical and even formatting errors that would draw the wrath of any English teacher. These errors really annoyed me and dampened my enthusiasm for the book noticeably. How much? I'll put it this way. I read this book after borrowing it from a friend, trying to decide whether or not to buy it. I'll buy it in a heartbeat...AFTER the next edition, complete with factual and typographical corrections...comes out.




4. The subject of "Firestorm at Gettysburg" by Jim Slade and John Alexander (1998) is civilian life in the town of Gettysburg before, during, and after the great battle of July 1-3,1863. The book describes well the impact of the battle on the local population of Gettysburg. This is an important and sometimes overlooked component of the history of the Battle of Gettysburg.

   In many respects, this book is good and informative. Slade and Alexander draw broadly on contemporary accounts of the effect of the Battle of Gettysburg on civilians. The book opens with a good summary "Gettysburg and Some of her Citizens" which introduces the reader to many of the residents of the town who left accounts of their experiences during the Battle. The book describes briefly the pre-Civil War history of Gettysburg, its demographics, and its economic base. Again, this is an often neglected subject and I found the treatment of it here brief but informative. The book covers the Gettysburg campaign, including Jubal Early's foray through Gettysburg one week before the Battle of Gettysburg itself commenced. It then covers each of the three days of the battle and follows- up the battle with a treatment of events in the town during the Confederate retreat and its aftermath. Its discussion of the hardships involved in burying the dead and of the efforts of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions to take care of the wounded in the months following the battle was for me the most informative part of the book.

   I thought the book helped me to get to know the people of Gettysburg and to see how they interacted with the Union and Confederate military forces during the Battle. The book paints a picture of fear -- understandable given the horrors of the battle - and of the real dangerc faced by the civilian populace during these tumultous days. But there are also many scenes showing how the soldiers and the townspeople learned to cooperate with and at least try to understand one another in the difficult situation that was thrust upon both the soldiers and the civilians.

   There are many photographs in the book, of the battle,military leaders, civilians and of places in Gettysburg and its environs that help the reader visualize the town of Gettysburg in the 1860s and that will give the imaginative reader a feel for the town and for the impact of the Battle.

   The major problems with the book are the many errors of fact it contains and the many typographical errors which suggest carelessness and unreliability. Most of these factual errors and typos are individually small but, as often happens, the reader with some familiarity with Gettysburg will find them distracting. Some photographs in particular are misidentified. Many pictures of dead soldiers following the battle are identified in the book as deriving from McPherson's Ridge, the site of the fighting on July 1. In fact, recent scholarship places the sites of these photographs at Devil's Den or the Rose Farm on the opposite side of the battlefield, several miles away from McPherson's Ridge and the scenes of major fighting on July 2. This again is not a large point in itself, given the theme of the book; but it does tend to suggest a lack of familiarity in the authors with recent Gettysburg studies. It weakens the value of the book as a source rather than as a casual read.

   Slade and Alexander don't seem to have looked at their subject critically. The book basically consists of a patching -together of various eyewitness reports with no effort to synthesize or explain. Because of the episodic nature of the presentation, it is sometimes difficult to follow a character from one scene to the other. The book doesn't offer a good narrative flow or allow the reader to think through to any conclusions from the material presented.

   In summary, this book has its merits and will encourage the reader to focus on the human side of the Battle of Gettysburg rather than simply on the events of the combat. The book is good for casual reading and the many photographs will stimulate reflection. The book, unfortunately, is inadequate as a historical account. It will not serve well the reader interested in a detailed, accurate treatment of the Battle of Gettysburg and the local civilian population.




5. After reading the good and bad reviews of this book I felt I had to add my two cents, for what it's worth.
   This is a very personal look at what was certainly a very nerve-wracking time for the poor folks living in the town of Gettysburg during the period of the Rebel invasion of late June / early July 1863. While the soldiers were fighting in the nearby fields, the civilian citizens were in the midst of their own invasion - first the Rebels, then the Yanks, then the leftovers of the dead and wounded.
   What makes this book so intriguing is that it is almost exclusively in the words of those who were there, either taken from the diaries and journals of the citizens, or from the newspaper accounts, or from the memories of some of the folks a few years after. This makes for very intimate reading that brings the reader face to face with not only the folks of Gettysburg but up close to the horror and 'excitement' that they felt.
   The photographs and lite biographies of many of the residents included help to bring it all home. In fact, this book would make a phenomenal movie (anybody listening out there?).
   The reason I did not give this book a score of five was because of the typos and some of the misinformation written by messrs. Slade and Alexander. But, don't let that stop you from purchasing it - there are not that many mistakes (not that I condone these mistakes). Knowing that the majority of the words herein are the first hand accounts of the actual eyewitnesses of the insanity (and it WAS insane!) of the town of Gettysburg while the majority of soldiers fought only a short distance away on the battlefields should make any Civil War history buff crave a book such as this (as well as "Days of Uncertainty and Dread" - another Gettysburg civilian book that goes hand in hand with "Firestorm").
   Through "Firestorm at Gettysburg: Civilian Voices," the citizens of Gettysburg deservedly live once again. Well worth the money.

5 comments about Abraham Lincoln: A Biography.

1. This was an excellent historical record of probably the greatest American that ever lived. However, it has long, complex, diffcult to read wording that makes it somewhat labor-intensive reading. The content is great, but there are far easier to read (and understand) books about Lincoln.



2. Though it is dated in some of its facts and assessments,Lord Charnwoods classic study of Lincoln remains one of the dozen or so greatest books ever written about our greatest President.What sets it apart from most other studies of the sixteenth President is the attention it gives the intellectual and spiritual underpinnings of Lincoln's life and actions. It is, in short a work of philosophical history, not a dry recitation of facts. Charnwood is interested in the moral meaning of democracy and the scope and limits of democratic leadership. He performs his task beautifully. I , for one , found his old-fashioned Victorian prose a joy to read, and a relief from the cliche' ridden jargon that too often passes for literate prose today. A great book by a foriegn observer of America, fully worthy of being placed beside Tocqueville and Bryce.



3. There is something about the British and their outlook towards American politics which is quite enjoyable. They bring a refreshing civility and admiration for political thought and history that is more often than not absent in today's North American biographers. In this biography of Lincoln Charnwood delves deep into the political atmosphere in which Lincoln rose to power and saw America through one of its most trying hours. The author delivers a deep sense of what a thoughtful and kind man that Lincoln was. It is an an unflinching look at Lincoln's spiritual side in which in comparison to today's commander-in-chief is quite startling for their similarities and differences.
   His dissection of the politics of the era is simply fascinating. This is a book for anyone who has a keen apreciation of politics and history. Charnwood's unflinching directness in his portrayal of Lincoln leaves the reader with the sense that not only does the author have the deepest respect for Lincoln but that that Lincoln deserved every bit of it. My copy of this book is a beat up 1950's paperback I found in a thrift store to accompany me on a trip to Louisiana and I would recommend to anyone who can get their hands on one.



4. I guess it was fluke, but I have tried two (2) copies of this book and in both copies pages 233-264 were missing and pages 265-296 are repeated twice. Too bad because it cuts off right at an interesting part leading up to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation and Lincoln's effort to keep the border states in the Union.
   
   Apparently the missing pages situation was not the case with the copies had by the other reviewers here, or........they didn't read far enough into the book to notice. None makes any mention of the problem.
   
   I give it five stars for the content that was contained in my copy anyway, but no stars at all to the printer.



5. Lord Charnwood's 1916 volume remains one of the finest portraits of Abraham Lincoln yet produced. Charnwood offers nuanced insight into Lincoln's mind and his character, probing much deeper and more convincingly than later authors were able. Charnwood's brief treatment of Lincoln's complicated religious faith (tied in with the section on the Second Inaugural Address) was particularly poignant.
   
   I suggest William E. Gienapp's "Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America" (2002) for learners who are new to Lincoln or have lost touch with him since 9th grade history class. Gienapp synthesizes all the latest research and criticism within Lincolnian studies into a brief yet surprisingly thorough 240-page book.
   
   After that, step up to Charnwood. It is truly great historical writing (almost literary in moments) and one of the best character studies published of a truly incredible human being.