... excellent ... illuminates how Lincoln’s personal growth and travails enabled him to lead a nation along a fitful evolution toward freedom despite a catastrophic rebellion that denied it ... Meacham expertly peels back the historic to reveal the familiar in his coverage of the swirl of politics, largely unchanged to this day ... The author girds his analysis with a comprehensive survey of the variety of social, political and theological writings that influenced Lincoln and resonate across his career.
... an account of the life of the United States’ 16th president that is worldly and spiritual, and carefully tailored to suit our conflict-ridden times ... Meacham’s new Lincoln is not just a text; it is an event. The book aims to recraft a usable mythology of Lincoln for political leaders in the 21st century, when dissension and loose talk of civil war have returned. It is thoroughly researched and highly readable, written with all the artful craftsmanship of a veteran writer and editor. The book is not especially long for a contemporary biography; it clocks in at just over 400 pages of text. But it boasts more than 200 additional pages of endnotes and bibliography in support of an interpretation of Lincoln that focuses on the moral life of the politician and statesman ... Meacham’s lucid account nicely captures the religious framework with which Lincoln approached the most difficult decisions of his presidency ... stands for the claim that the demigods of American historical mythology, Lincoln foremost among them, can help us carve paths through our forbidding 21st-century wilderness. But can Lincoln do the work Meacham sets for him? Can a man who took part in the final genocidal clash of White settlers with Indians east of the Mississippi rally a multiethnic democracy to the flag? Can a man who opposed Black citizenship until the end of his life mobilize a diverse coalition of voters? What, moreover, does Lincoln’s moral North Star — the Declaration’s ringing promise of equality for all — mean today? Does it mean higher progressive tax rates for the 1 percent, or perhaps more student debt relief? Does it mean an end to race-based government action, or a rededication of the nation to the principle that Black lives matter? Is the next Lincoln a teenager who wants action on climate change — but is prepared to make compromises in bringing the world closer to carbon neutrality? Faced with such challenges, we owe it to one another to pray we do our best. And that is Meacham’s deadly serious point.
... will fit comfortably onto the Lincoln bookshelf, joining these other luminous volumes, complementing them and in some ways displacing them, perhaps nudging them an inch-and-a-quarter to the right to make room for it at the forefront of the Lincoln canon ... here is Lincoln in all his familiar complexity — and yet freshly conceived ... what sets Meacham’s book apart is how he places Lincoln in one continuum after another.
This fascinating biography shows that Lincoln was a man with vices as well as many virtues. Meacham’s writing is illuminating, and his sources help with that ... Why another book on Lincoln now? The author answers this question by giving readers a full understanding of the fractured state of the Union in mid-19th century America, contrasting it with the current divisive political situation in the United States of the 21st century ... A scholarly book on the life, triumphs, and heartbreaks of Abraham Lincoln’s life, but general readers may enjoy it too. This is a title that will likely be a fruitful one for all levels of book discussion groups.
Sweeping, elegantly written ... Meacham is clear-eyed on Lincoln’s shortcomings, even as he notes that they were often consistent with the dominant climate of the times.
Meacham’s expert biography enlarges the view of Lincoln’s life by vividly rendering mood and setting. Readers will feel menace hovering over Lincoln as he travels to Washington, D.C., for his first inauguration and imagine that they are in the crowd, mud, and sudden burst of sunlight at his second. Meacham’s portraits of Lincoln’s family and contemporaries include a more balanced view of Mary Lincoln than is usually offered and startling and unsettling examples of Andrew Johnson’s racism and drunkenness. Meacham’s clear, compelling, and detailed accounts of Lincoln’s childhood and the campaign for the 1864 election illuminate key aspects of his life that are not always covered. Meacham also greatly emphasizes Lincoln’s religious beliefs at every stage and shares some Lincoln witticisms not found elsewhere. The book is well-researched and up-to-date, and its informatively captioned maps, paintings, and photographs enhance the narrative. In the epilogue, Meacham traces Lincoln’s legacy to the present and concludes this fresh and revealing addition to the vast Lincoln canon with some of the best last words in any book.
... deeply researched ... The author provides in-depth analysis of Lincoln’s career as president and on how his thoughts on the issues of slavery and the status of African Americans changed during the course of the war, right up to the Union victory ... While there are countless books on Lincoln, one of the most studied and written-about figures in history, Meacham’s latest will undoubtedly become one of the most widely read and consulted ... An essential, eminently readable volume for anyone interested in Lincoln and his era.
Meacham more than justifies yet another Lincoln biography in this nuanced and captivating look at the president’s 'struggle to do right as he defined it within the political universe he and his country inhabited' ... Richly detailed and gracefully written, this is an essential reminder that 'progress can be made by fallible and fallen presidents and peoples.'
