Abe
Abraham Lincoln in His Times
David S. Reynolds
- **Now
- an
- Apple
- TV+
- documentary,
- Lincoln's
- Dilemma,
- airing
- February
- 18,
- 2022.One
- of
- the
- Wall
- Street
- Journal's
- Ten
- Best
- Books
- of
- the
- Year
- |
- A
- Washington
- Post
- Notable
- Book
- |
- A
- Christian
- Science
- Monitor
- and
- Kirkus
- Reviews
- Best
- Book
- of
- 2020Winner
- of
- the
- Gilder
- Lehrman
- Abraham
- Lincoln
- Prize
- and
- the
- Abraham
- Lincoln
- Institute
- Book
- Award"A
- marvelous
- cultural
- biography
- that
- captures
- Lincoln
- in
- all
- his
- historical
- fullness.
- .
- .
- .
- using
- popular
- culture
- in
- this
- way,
- to
- fill
- out
- the
- context
- surrounding
- Lincoln,
- is
- what
- makes
- Mr.
- Reynolds's
- biography
- so
- different
- and
- so
- compelling
- .
- .
- .
- Where
- did
- the
- sympathy
- and
- compassion
- expressed
- in
- [Lincoln's]
- Second
- Inaugural—'With
- malice
- toward
- none;
- with
- charity
- for
- all'—come
- from?
- This
- big,
- wonderful
- book
- provides
- the
- richest
- cultural
- context
- to
- explain
- that,
- and
- everything
- else,
- about
- Lincoln."
- —Gordon
- Wood,
- Wall
- Street
- JournalFrom
- one
- of
- the
- great
- historians
- of
- nineteenth-century
- America,
- a
- revelatory
- and
- enthralling
- new
- biography
- of
- Lincoln,
- many
- years
- in
- the
- making,
- that
- brings
- him
- to
- life
- within
- his
- turbulent
- age**David
- S.
- Reynolds,
- author
- of
- the
- Bancroft
- Prize-winning
- cultural
- biography
- of
- Walt
- Whitman
- and
- many
- other
- iconic
- works
- of
- nineteenth
- century
- American
- history,
- understands
- the
- currents
- in
- which
- Abraham
- Lincoln
- swam
- as
- well
- as
- anyone
- alive.
- His
- magisterial
- biography
- Abe
- is
- the
- product
- of
- full-body
- immersion
- into
- the
- riotous
- tumult
- of
- American
- life
- in
- the
- decades
- before
- the
- Civil
- War.It
- was
- a
- country
- growing
- up
- and
- being
- pulled
- apart
- at
- the
- same
- time,
- with
- a
- democratic
- popular
- culture
- that
- reflected
- the
- country's
- contradictions.
- Lincoln's
- lineage
- was
- considered
- auspicious
- by
- Emerson,
- Whitman,
- and
- others
- who
- prophesied
- that
- a
- new
- man
- from
- the
- West
- would
- emerge
- to
- balance
- North
- and
- South.
- From
- New
- England
- Puritan
- stock
- on
- his
- father's
- side
- and
- Virginia
- Cavalier
- gentry
- on
- his
- mother's,
- Lincoln
- was
- linked
- by
- blood
- to
- the
- central
- conflict
- of
- the
- age.
- And
- an
- enduring
- theme
- of
- his
- life,
- Reynolds
- shows,
- was
- his
- genius
- for
- striking
- a
- balance
- between
- opposing
- forces.
- Lacking
- formal
- schooling
- but
- with
- an
- unquenchable
- thirst
- for
- self-improvement,
- Lincoln
- had
- a
- talent
- for
- wrestling
- and
- bawdy
- jokes
- that
- made
- him
- popular
- with
- his
- peers,
- even
- as
- his
- appetite
- for
- poetry
- and
- prodigious
- gifts
- for
- memorization
- set
- him
- apart
- from
- them
- through
- his
- childhood,
- his
- years
- as
- a
- lawyer,
- and
- his
- entrance
- into
- politics.No
- one
- can
- transcend
- the
- limitations
- of
- their
- time,
- and
- Lincoln
- was
- no
- exception.
- But
- what
- emerges
- from
- Reynolds's
- masterful
- reckoning
- is
- a
- man
- who
- at
- each
- stage
- in
- his
- life
- managed
- to
- arrive
- at
- a
- broader
- view
- of
- things
- than
- all
- but
- his
- most
- enlightened
- peers.
- As
- a
- politician,
- he
- moved
- too
- slowly
- for
- some
- and
- too
- swiftly
- for
- many,
- but
- he
- always
- pushed
- toward
- justice
- while
- keeping
- the
- whole
- nation
- in
- mind.
- Abe
- culminates,
- of
- course,
- in
- the
- Civil
- War,
- the
- defining
- test
- of
- Lincoln
- and
- his
- beloved
- country.
- Reynolds
- shows
- us
- the
- extraordinary
- range
- of
- cultural
- knowledge
- Lincoln
- drew
- from
- as
- he
- shaped
- a
- vision
- of
- true
- union,
- transforming,
- in
- Martin
- Luther
- King
- Jr.'s
- words,
- "the
- jangling
- discords
- of
- our
- nation
- into
- a
- beautiful
- symphony
- of
- brotherhood."Abraham
- Lincoln
- did
- not
- come
- out
- of
- nowhere.
- But
- if
- he
- was
- shaped
- by
- his
- times,
- he
- also
- managed
- at
- his
- life's
- fateful
- hour
- to
- shape
- them
- to
- an
- extent
- few
- could
- have
- foreseen.
- Ultimately,
- this
- is
- the
- great
- drama
- that
- astonishes
- us
- still,
- and
- that
- Abe
- brings
- to
- fresh
- and
- vivid
- life.
- The
- measure
- of
- that
- life
- will
- always
- be
- part
- of
- our
- American education.
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