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Lincoln Lessons: Reflections on America's Greatest Leader
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Product Description
In Lincoln Lessons, seventeen of today’s most respected academics, historians, lawyers, and politicians provide candid reflections on the importance of Abraham Lincoln in their intellectual lives. Their essays, gathered by editors Frank J. Williams and William D. Pederson, shed new light on this political icon’s remarkable ability to lead and inspire two hundred years after his birth.
Collected here are glimpses into Lincoln’s unique ability to transform enemies into steadfast allies, his deeply ingrained sense of morality and intuitive understanding of humanity, his civil deification as the first assassinated American president, and his controversial suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War. The contributors also discuss Lincoln’s influence on today’s emerging democracies, his lasting impact on African American history, and his often-overlooked international legend—his power to instigate change beyond the boundaries of his native nation. While some contributors provide a scholarly look at Lincoln and some take a more personal approach, all explore his formative influence in their lives. What emerges is the true history of his legacy in the form of first-person testaments from those whom he has touched deeply.
Lincoln Lessons brings together some of the best voices of our time in a unique combination of memoir and history. This singular volume of original essays is a tribute to the enduring inspirational powers of an extraordinary man whose courage and leadership continue to change lives today.
Contributors
Jean H. Baker
Mario M. Cuomo
Joan L. Flinspach
Sara Vaughn Gabbard
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Harold Holzer
Harry V. Jaffa
John F. Marszalek
James M. McPherson
Edna Greene Medford
Sandra Day O’Connor
Mackubin Thomas Owens
William D. Pederson
Edward Steers Jr.
Craig L. Symonds
Thomas Reed Turner
Frank J. Williams
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #834816 in Books
- Published on: 2009-01-02
- Released on: 2008-12-11
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 192 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
Coeditors Williams (chief justice, Supreme Court of Rhode Island; Judging Lincoln) and Pederson (director, International Lincoln Ctr., Louisiana St. Univ., Shreveport; Grassroots Constitutionalism) hit upon an intriguing idea by asking various prominent Lincoln scholars (e.g., Doris Kearns Goodwin, James M. McPherson) and other notables who have studied him closely (e.g., Sandra Day O''Connor, Mario M. Cuomo) to relate how they first "met" Lincoln and how they''ve approached him. The result is a book that combines, in varying degrees, autobiography and argument. If a thematic thread runs throughout, it is that Lincoln demanded explanation, for he stood at the center of so many essential questions about America-the purpose and prospects of freedom, the nature of democracy, the qualities of great leadership, the limits of government, and America''s place in the world. Some of the arguments here are distillations of ideas presented in fuller form elsewhere, and none of them will surprise any close student of Lincoln. Still, together, they remind us why Lincoln has such a powerful grip on the American imagination. (Randall M. Miller Library Journal )
About the Author
Frank J. Williams is chief justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, cofounder of the Lincoln Forum, and a member of the executive committee of the U.S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. He is the author of Judging Lincoln. William D. Pederson is American Studies Endowed Chair in Liberal Arts, a professor of political science, and director of the International Lincoln Center at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He is the author, coauthor, editor, or coeditor of more than twenty-five books on law, politics, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
Customer Reviews
Enjoyable Essays on The Great Emancipator
An enjoyable small book (174 pages) featuring seventeen short essays on The Great Emancipator. Essays are provided by politicians - Mario Cuomo, Legal Eagles - Sandra Day O'Connor, Historians - Doris Kearns Goodwin and many others who have been influenced by Lincoln.
As with most books on Lincoln, the material is hagiographic and rarely critical. Kearns Goodwin encapsulates her fine book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln in a few short pages, although I think she has zero sense of objectivity about the man.
Sandra Day O'Connor's essay on the Suspension of Habeas Corpus in clear layman's English is interesting and suggests that even in the direst situation that Lincoln only used it for military purposes and not to dispose of political enemies.
The most interesting essay is on Mary Lincoln. Historian Jean Baker dispels myths about a woman long presented as an eccentric, over-spending, cold-hearted woman. While she was no angel, she was badly served by a nation and particularly her son Robert who had her committed to a mental institution with little justification.
If you are looking for a number of different reflections by Lincoln authorities, this is the book for you. However, don't expect a high degree of objectivity.
