Abraham Lincoln: The Man Behind the Myths“There is no better introduction to current thinking about Lincoln and his place in history.” —Newsday An essential book for any student of Lincoln and American history, Abraham Lincoln: The Man Behind the Myths is acclaimed Lincoln biographer Stephen B. Oates's unique exploration of America's sixteenth president in reality and memory. In this multifaceted portrait, Oates, "the most popular historical interpreter of Lincoln" (Gabor S. Boritt, New York Times Book Review), exposes the human side of the great and tragic president—including his depression, his difficulties with love, and his troubled and troubling attitudes about slavery—while also confronting the many legends that have arisen around "Honest Abe." Oates throughout raises timely questions about what the Lincoln mythos reveals about the American people. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 8
... South alike , he is entirely an external Lincoln , an observed hero filtered to us through the vision and sensibilities of hundreds of witnesses who called at his White House office , from generals and politicians and office seekers to ...
... South's ruling class and convert Dixie into “ a vast graveyard of slaughtered whites , with Negro State governments established and upheld by Northern white bayonets . " But a mild and moderate Lincoln refuses to go along with them . He ...
... South with tender magnanimity . He is the only man in the entire country who can peaceably reunite the sections . But , as in a Greek tragedy , Lincoln is murdered before he can bind up the nation's wounds and heal the antagonisms of ...
... South in rivers of blood . When Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation , the Confederate press pro- nounced him a " Fiend " who wanted to incite a race war in Dixie ; Jefferson Davis considered the proclamation " the most ...
... south- ern states . In Lincoln : The Man ( 1931 ) , Edgar Lee Masters , a Chicago lawyer and poet , portrayed Lincoln as an undersexed , " slick " and dastardly demagogue who could have avoided war , but instead crushed the South into ...
Contents
ManyMooded | 31 |
All Conquering Mind | 45 |
Mr Lincoln | 51 |
The Beacon Light of Liberty | 57 |
This Vast Moral Evil | 65 |
My Dissatisfied Fellow Countrymen | 75 |
The Central Idea | 89 |
The Man of Our Redemption | 111 |
Final | 149 |
Aftermath | 164 |
Acknowledgments | 189 |
Index | 215 |