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Books : Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief |
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List Price:$35.00
Our Price: $23.10
You Save: $11.90 (34%)
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Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.7092
EAN: 9781594201912
ISBN: 1594201919
Label: Penguin Press HC, The
Manufacturer: Penguin Press HC, The
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: October 07, 2008
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Sales Rank: 1746
Studio: Penguin Press HC, The
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
James McPherson, a bestselling historian of the Civil War, illuminates how Lincoln worked with—and often against— his senior commanders to defeat the Confederacy and create the role of commander in chief as we know it.
Though Abraham Lincoln arrived at the White House with no previous military experience (apart from a couple of months spent soldiering in 1832), he quickly established himself as the greatest commander in chief in American history. James McPherson illuminates this often misunderstood and profoundly influential aspect of Lincoln’s legacy. In essence, Lincoln invented the idea of commander in chief, as neither the Constitution nor existing legislation specified how the president ought to declare war or dictate strategy. In fact, by assuming the powers we associate with the role of commander in chief, Lincoln often overstepped the narrow band of rights granted the president. Good thing too, because his strategic insight and will to fight changed the course of the war and saved the Union.
For most of the conflict, he constantly had to goad his reluctant generals toward battle, and he oversaw strategy and planning for major engagements with the enemy. Lincoln was a self-taught military strategist (as he was a self-taught lawyer), which makes his adroit conduct of the war seem almost miraculous. To be sure, the Union’s campaigns often went awry, sometimes horribly so, but McPherson makes clear how the missteps arose from the all-too-common moments when Lincoln could neither threaten nor cajole his commanders to follow his orders.
Because Lincoln’s war took place within our borders, the relationship between the front lines and the home front was especially close—and volatile. Here again, Lincoln faced enormous challenges in exemplary fashion. He was a masterly molder of public opinion, for instance, defining the war aims initially as preserving the Union and only later as ending slavery— when he sensed the public was at last ready to bear such a lofty burden.
As we approach the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth in 2009, this book will be that rarest gift—a genuinely novel, even timely, view of the most-written-about figure in our history. Tried by War offers a revelatory portrait of leadership during the greatest crisis our nation has ever endured. How Lincoln overcame feckless generals, fickle public opinion, and his own paralyzing fears is a story at once suspenseful and inspiring.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - McPHERSON UNEARTHS, ASSEMBLES & DELIVERS TEASURE TROVE OF LINCOLN'S PRINCIPLES & SKILLS!
James McPherson's research & writing is unique in that he judiciously wove hundreds of key elements of proof of Lincoln's latent skills of management, negotiation, courtesy, decorum, respect, honesty & trust--- coupled with his concerns for the entire populace of the Union---into a previously unspotlighted & in some cases misunderstood side of President Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief. ["TRIED BY WAR"] is a stellar piece of work.
I draw a comparison with my former boss, mentor ... Read More
Rating: - Commander in Chief
Where does the title and the job description for "Commander in Chief" come from? If you don't know and want an interesting analysis of how this important piece of work was added to President's job description, this is your book. Written clearly and succinctly, this book will give you an even greater appreciation of the greatness of Abraham Lincoln who had to manage the Civil War "on the fly." Learn by doing? You bet!
Rating: - Tried By War - A Worthy Case Summary of One Man's Greatness
Writers, musicians, film directors and TV documentarians have chronicled Abraham Lincoln's greatness far more than four score and seven times. The latest is McPherson's Tried By War -- a concise, well-written plow that cuts into a narrow stretch of previously harvested themes, ideas and anecdotes.
With 270 pages of text, this book obviously is not meant to be comprehensive or exhaustive. Yes, there are some curious errors of omission, (Example: McPherson notes the importance of Mobile, ... Read More
Rating: - gift to father in law
The item came promptly so I am only reviewing the service, it was a book and a gift so who can review that? I trust Amazon and it's providers, Thank you. Makes shopping a pleasure, no lines, crowds, driving etc.
Rating: - Commander-in-Chief Lincoln
Professor James McPherson's book "Tried by War" is a scintillating account of what President Lincoln, the imperfect military commanders, and the people of this country faced for survival as a constitutional democracy blessed with a Constitution conceived with a flaw that allowed slavery to exist. The artistic and skillful choosing of particular words of Lincoln vivifies this genius of America who struggled with questioning himself, the Constitution, and the very existence of this nation. The description ... Read More
Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief
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