false 2898564 6 <B>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</B>.<BR><BR> 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.<BR><BR> 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.<BR><BR> 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.<BR><BR> 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. <I>Tried by War</I> 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. 2925154 7 10 2008 Tried by War : Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief total:176|5:50|4:80|3:36|2:9|1:1| 176 697 371 77 0 1 false false Tue Feb 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 01:03:01 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 01:06:46 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Jan 08 21:05:25 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 22:00:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 05:10:20 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 05:14:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Dec 04 10:50:52 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 10:58:17 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 18 09:19:58 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 09:21:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 08:57:11 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 27 14:19:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Mar 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 07:24:02 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 10:58:43 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Dec 21 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 13:38:57 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 13:34:13 -0800 2008
Like the previous Lincoln book I read (about Lincoln's use of the telegraph as near-instant communication to project his leadership and collect information), this one sets out a focused objective . . . then loses its way in a more general tell...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 08 06:00:27 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 06:00:27 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Nov 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Nov 05 16:50:48 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 02 13:48:06 -0800 2008 the Civil War historian. I picked this up the morning after Obama was elected, figuring it would be at least as relevant as Team of Rivals to understanding some of the historical parallels between Obama's and Lincoln's inaugur...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Dec 31 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 27 19:48:15 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 02 16:50:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Jul 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 29 18:22:47 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 22:07:52 -0700 2009
By modern standards,...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 08:01:57 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 08:17:47 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Apr 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 15:17:31 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 16:02:40 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Oct 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 17:16:32 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 17:25:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Feb 05 17:59:48 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 18:08:24 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Feb 19 18:37:41 -0800 2009 Mon Jun 22 12:10:02 -0700 2009
That aside...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 18 18:13:51 -0800 2009 Mon Jun 15 15:02:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Feb 24 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 13 10:01:52 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 24 18:56:21 -0800 2009 A Team of Rivals, which I thought was GREAT, which dealt somewhat with the war and how President Lincoln dealt with all the issues of the war bu...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 07:15:44 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 07:18:56 -0700 2009 more...]]>