Lincoln Revisited

This essay collection “draws together some of the best and brightest Abraham Lincoln scholars around” for a fresh and enlightening view of his life (The Journal of American History). More than 150 years after his death, Abraham Lincoln remains the most written-about figure in American history. Lincoln Revisited is a brilliant gathering of fresh scholarship by the leading Lincoln historians of our time. Brought together by the Lincoln Forum, these scholars tackle uncharted territory and emerging questions; they also take a new look at established debates—including debates about their own landmark works. Here, key chapters in Lincoln’s legacy are revisited—from Matthew Pinsker on Lincoln’s private life; Jean Baker on religion and the Lincoln marriage; Geoffrey Perret on Lincoln as leader; and Frank J. Williams on Lincoln and civil liberties in wartime. These eighteen original essays explore every corner of Lincoln’s world—religion and politics, slavery and sovereignty, presidential leadership and the rule of law, the Second Inaugural Address and the assassination. In his 1956 classic, Lincoln Reconsidered, David Herbert Donald confronted the Lincoln myth. Today, the scholars in Lincoln Revisited give a new generation of students, scholars, and citizens the perspectives vital for understanding the constantly reinterpreted genius of Abraham Lincoln. “A superb collection.” —Booklist