“Lincoln”, by David Herbert Donald

714 pages, Simon & Schuster, ISBN-13: 978-0684808468

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald is a remarkable look at Abraham Lincoln as he advanced from extremely poor, rural roots into both the Illinois legislature and the U.S. Congress for one term, through a career as a self-taught lawyer, and finally to the presidency. The author has extensively researched Lincoln’s movements, first-hand accounts of his utterances, his formal speeches and writings, as well as official records kept in the discharge of his various duties and offices. It is a fascinating look at the evolution of the character and personality of a man of meager origins and virtually no formal education. Lincoln was driven to make something of himself, best seen in his insatiable desire to at self-education. Beyond this, Lincoln had an inherent ability to relate to others, displayed through his combined humility with a great ability to tell stories. This ease among his fellow citizens led to his being elected to the Illinois legislature at a fairly young age and to a reasonably successful career as a lawyer.

Lincoln began as a Whig and devotee of Henry Clay and his American system of internal improvements, but it would be wrong to regard Lincoln as mostly an opportunistic politician. Manipulating a political view to get elected would have never occurred to Lincoln; furthermore, Lincoln was a man of his word, as shown when elected to Congress in 1846, he returned home after one term as he promised, though undoubtedly he could have been re-elected. However, the author shows that Lincoln became very astute politically with a substantial network of political friends both at the state and national levels. Early in Lincoln’s career, slavery was seldom a major issue, but by the mid-1850s slavery had come to dominate the political and social life of the country. Lincoln, though clearly antislavery, was not an abolitionist, and in his famous debates with Stephen Douglas in 1858 and on his way to being elected president in 1860, Lincoln articulated, often eloquently, a moderate position on slavery that resonated with a large segment of Northern voters. The extension of slavery to new territories became the foremost issue of the day as compared to eradication.

Lincoln was probably not technically qualified to be president; he had never held an administrative post of any importance, nor did he have hundreds of high-level administrative assistants to perform most of his duties, as is the case in the modern era. In addition, Lincoln faced the greatest challenge that any president in our history ever has: the secession of the Southern states that precipitated the Civil War. Not only did Lincoln have to deal with radical and moderate Republicans and War and Peace Democrats, but also his own cabinet, populated with some of his political rivals, exhibited the same sort of splits. Militarily, the U.S. was totally unprepared to put down a rebellion, as Lincoln called it, of the size that the Confederacy represented. He was often driven to the edge of his patience in dealing with a series of incompetent generals that cost the Northern armies defeat after defeat in the early years of the War.

The author captures the immense pressures on Lincoln during his presidency. His ungainliness was fodder for the various political factions that publicly labeled Lincoln as an “imbecile” or a “baboon”. Though the presidency took a tremendous toll on Lincoln, he retained his generally good humor, even seeing countless numbers of nameless citizens straight from the streets in his office. He functioned at a high level of awareness, navigating the political minefields of the day, in making difficult decisions. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 was just such a decision, a typically moderate Lincoln response to the antislavery and unionist extremists. When Lincoln was shot at the beginning of his second term, he had prevailed and brought the country through a terrible experience through the sheer strength and flexibility of his intellect and personality. One doubts whether there existed another individual in the country at that time, who could have dealt with all of the issues that Lincoln did with the same degree of success.

Though the author is favorably deposed towards Lincoln, he does not push Lincoln on the reader – he does not have to. He does a great job of letting the reader closely watch Lincoln in action for about forty years. It is an incredible story.

“The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Imperial Rome 318 B.C. – A.D. 476”, by Michael Grant

367 Pages, Barnes & Noble Books, ISBN-13: 978-0760700914

The subtitle of this book says it all: this is not a history of the Roman Empire but, rather, is a series of short biographies of the Roman emperors, from Augustus to the last western emperor, Romulus Agustulus (the Eastern Roman Emperors who reigned concurrently with those of the west are also covered, but as the book ends in 476, so succeeding eastern emperors, such as Justinian I, are not covered). The biographies range from one to eight pages. With each containing a photograph of a statue or coin depicting the emperor. The book is in keeping with Michael Grant’s high level of scholarship, but being a collection of short biographies, the overall flow of the text is compromised, making the material factual but very dry. Grant has also toned down some of the more salacious stories; for instance, while some of the outrageous actions ascribed to Caligula are mentioned, they are not dwelled upon, making him appear much less of the monster described in most other books. This is definitely NOT the book to read if you are interested in the tabloid history of the emperors of Rome.

I realize that this is a book of biographies and on that score it delivers as promised, but I feel that the book could have been improved by the addition of a bit more material. I would have liked to see a discussion of the Roman government and army and its evolution from the republic to the empire; I would also have liked to see some narrative material that tied the biographies together. For instance, the biographies of 15 emperors (some of who reigned for only a few months and one for only 17 days) are given for the period of 235-270 AD, resulting in biographies that tended to blur together. The book became very repetitious, as the biographies of many of the emperors cover much the same ground (as they should since they all were involved with each other). I would have liked a brief summary to tie things together, with more background details in addition to the individual biographies, but if you want to know more about Gordian I, Gordian II, Gordian III, Trebonianus Gallus, Maximinus II Daia, or Severus II this is the place to go. While this book is also a good source for information about the most important emperors such as Diocletian, Constantine the Great and Theodosius II, in addition to the less well known ones, there are other sources that cover the most important emperors in much more detail.

While I acknowledge that it is meant to be a general reference book, it could have been of much greater use if it had some background material, an index, some text linking the biographies together and text that was not so dry and repetitious. However, given the quality of the individual biographies and the fact that it is meant as a reference book providing material that is not easily available from other sources, I can recommend this book warmly.

“The Military Campaigns of The Wars of the Roses”, by Philip A. Haigh

206 pages, Da Capo Press, ISBN-13: 978-0938289906

The Military Campaigns of The Wars of the Roses provides a detailed study of every battle of the Wars of the Roses, from the first Battle of St. Albans in 1455 to the Battle of Stoke in 1487, fifteen battles in all. For each battle, the author provides an explanation placing the engagement in the context of its campaign, followed by the description of the encounter (with at least one or two maps), and its epilogue. Some historians consider that the Wars of the Roses actually started with the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403), because this was the first attempt to remove a Lancastrian king by force of arms. A description of this battle is included as an appendix.

Haigh divides his book into four sections: The first opens with a brief introduction to the background of the war, describing the struggle for power between Richard Duke of York and Edmund Beaufort, the Earl of Somerset. It then covers the first phase of the conflict up to the Yorkist victory at Towton in 1461 (the largest and bloodiest battle of the war). The second part is very brief and records Edward IV's campaigns to wipe out what was left of Lancastrian resistance in Northumberland during 1464. The third part looks at the revolt and downfall of Warwick the "Kingmaker", and the final defeat of the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury. The final section examines the rise of the Tudor dynasty, Henry VII's victory at Bosworth Field, and the consolidation of his realm.

Haigh’s work is the finest military history of the Wars of the Roses I have come across. His battle descriptions are first-rate, and his illustrations help the reader to mentally envisage how things occurred. The political analysis he conducts of this complex period is simple and lucid. Moreover, his survey is well referenced and meticulously researched. It leaves you with the impression of having learnt something worthwhile.