Description
Book SynopsisThis day-by-day account of Abraham Lincoln's last six weeks of life covers a period of extraordinary events, not only for the president himself but for the fate of the nation.From March 4 to April 15, 1865--a momentous time for the nation--Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address, supervised climatic battles leading up to the end of the Civil War, learned that Robert E. Lee had surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, and finally was killed by assassin John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre. Weaving an arresting narrative around the historical facts, historian David Alan Johnson brings to life the president's daily routine, as he guided the country through one of the most tumultuous periods of American history.The reader follows the president as he greets visitors at the inaugural ball, asks abolitionist Frederick Douglass's opinion of the inaugural address, confers with Generals Grant and Sherman on the final stages of the war, visits a field hospital for wounded outside City Point, Virginia, and attempts to calm his high-strung wife Mary, who appears on the verge of nervous collapse. We read excerpts from press reviews of Lincoln's second inaugural address, learn that Mrs. Lincoln's ball gown created a sensation, and are given eye-witness accounts of the celebrations and drunken revelry that broke out in Washington when the end of the war was announced.This engagingly written narrative history of a short but extremely important span of days vividly depicts the actions and thoughts of one of our greatest presidents during a time of national emergency.
Trade Review""More than history or chronology, Johnson's vivid account of Lincoln's final days reads like you-are-there journalism—vivid, concise, and alive with drama. To experience this story is to re-imagine the anxieties and aspirations, the triumph and tragedy, of the end of the Civil War.” —Harold Holzer, winner of the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize“Johnson has once again demonstrated his thorough grasp of his subject, describing with easy prose and insightful interpretation the stirring last days of Abraham Lincoln. His day-to-day assessment of the events brings the reader closer to an understanding and appreciation of Lincoln's personal relationships, his tragic death, and his perspective on war and peace.” —Michael E. Haskew, author of West Point 1915: Eisenhower, Bradley, and the Class the Stars Fell On and Appomattox: The Last Days of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia“This fascinating book is clearly written, telling the story of Lincoln's last weeks in an exciting manner, and is the product of considerable research. Johnson brings out Lincoln's character well, showing how he desired to heal the wounds of the war not take revenge on the losers. Johnson makes it plain that had Lincoln lived, the subsequent history of the United States and possibly the world would have been very different.”—Peter Hammond, British historian
