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1864: Lincoln At The Gates Of History (2009)

by Charles Bracelen Flood(Favorite Author)

3.81 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1416552286 (ISBN13: 9781416552284)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Simon & Schuster

review 1: I tried to get into this. I have a passing interest in the civil war but this book gets deep into the weeds of minutia. The ins and outs of the political race of 1864 is no doubt remarkable as the U.S. is the only country that had open elections in the midst a bloody civil war but the amount of detail was overwhelming and the narrative thread is often lost. This is a good book for people fixated on the civil war who eat up every detail but it can be a bit much for someone who might be a little less interested. To many sidetracks and not enough narrative arc to interest the ordinary reader.
review 2: “1864: Lincoln At The Gates Of History” tells the story of the momentous year in which Lincoln finally found in Grant the general to guide the nation to victory... more, faced the challenge of the “Peace Democrats” both as an opposition to his governance and as a threat that he overcame in his successful reelection campaign.This book has two parallel segments, the political developments and the military history that so profoundly affected them. At times Lincoln seems almost forgotten and is then brought back into the story line. Grant, McClellan and Charles Vallandigham all play prominent roles in this narrative. Lincoln’s ability to hold the Democratic opposition in check and win a reelection that seemed, at times, to be highly improbable, is shown to be a result of the Army’s success at crucial points and Lincoln’s shrewd political maneuvers. Author Charles Bracelen Flood does an excellent job of weaving the two themes into a cohesive story. The most forceful image to emerge from this work is Lincoln’s ruthless and highly effective political skills. This is a facet of his character that is often over looked in biographical and historical works involving him. That alone is enough to make this book a worthwhile read for any student of Lincoln. less

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