Lincoln

Starred review from November 21, 2005
The heart of this powerful book details Lincoln's election to and years in the White House. In describing his campaign for president, Oxford historian Carwardine (Evangelicals and Politics in Antebellum America
) recreates the intense party politics of the mid-19th century. The newly formed Republican Party was home to Americans with many different political agendas, and Lincoln's "blend of constitutional conservatism and high-minded... moralism" was a good basis for coalition. Carwardine pays careful attention to Lincoln's religious views, arguing that war brought him into close contact with evangelicals, who argued that the president would only succeed in reuniting the country if he obeyed God's word. Carwardine also traces the evolution of Lincoln's thinking about slavery—though he embraced emancipation first because winning the war required it, by the time he was killed Lincoln had edged toward black men's suffrage. One closes this powerful biography wondering how postbellum politics might have been different were it not for that fateful gunshot on April 14, 1865. Cawardine's Lincoln Prize–winning study is not only analytical and smart, it's also delightfully readable—and it will surely emerge as one of the most important Lincoln books to be published this decade. 74 b&w photos, 3 maps.

January 15, 2006
This new book on Lincoln is defined by its author as a study of Lincoln's political career by a British historian able to view the 16th president with more emotional neutrality than Americans can maintain. Carwardine (American history, Oxford Univ.; Evangelicals and Politics in Antebellum America) traces Lincoln's political struggles and machinations from his early days as an Illinois state legislator through his final days in the presidency. He describes Lincoln as believing in the United States as a meritocracy where each person might rise in society based on his own intellect, skills, and hard work (as Lincoln himself had done). Lincoln's belief that slavery was morally wrong, coupled with his conviction that a house divided against itself couldn't stand, solidified his antislavery position. Throughout his narrative, Carwardine recounts the maturing of Lincoln's political philosophies while introducing the people on whom Lincoln depended to shape his thought and advance his political career. The result is a detailed political account that explores Lincoln's moral relationship with power in a style best suited for academic audiences. Large public libraries that collect Lincoln monographs extensively may also wish to consider." -Grant A. Fredericksen, Illinois Prairie Dist. P.L., Metamora"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2006
Adult/High School -For all that has been written about the 16th president, Carwardine has found an aspect worthy of closer focus: Lincoln as the man who discovered and developed a political agenda, worked to advance it, and led both the nation and himself to new heights. The author discusses his subject -s background, both personal and political; how Lincoln -s principles led him to the Whig party and then on to the Republicans; and how these principles helped him reach his status as savior of the Union and the Great Emancipator. This is a fascinating tale of the 19th-century politician who became popularly identified as America -s greatest president." -Ted Westervelt, Library of Congress, Washington, DC"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2006
A study of the sixteenth president's political career is nothing new, but one written by a non-American historian is. An Oxford professor, Carwardine imbues his work with praise for Lincoln's political acumen, anchoring his judgment on what he regards as Lincoln's greatest achievement. Would that be the Emancipation Proclamation? Winning the Civil War? Carwardine's meticulous narrative contends that these stem from Lincoln's acute perception of public opinion, particularly his ability to anticipate and influence its direction, above all in redefining the purpose of the Civil War from preserving the U.S. to abolishing slavery. A vital instrument in Carwardine's case is Lincoln's relation to political parties. Carwardine's emphasis on this dry but crucial aspect of the Lincoln story supports the author's thesis that Lincoln's immense historical stature as a moral leader grows out of his ascent within the context of stump-speaking, face-to-face democratic politics. Illustrating affairs with Lincoln's management of his party's factions (the subject of Doris Kearns Goodwin's best-selling " Team of Rivals," 2005), Carwardine strongly and effectively counterbalances theses that derogate Lincoln.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)