William Lee Miller has taught at Yale University, Smith College, Indiana University, and the University of Virginia, where he is currently Miller Center of Public Affairs Scholar in Ethics and Institutions. He has been an editor and writer on a political magazine, a speechwriter, and a three-term alderman. He is the author of numerous books, most recently Arguing About Slavery, which won the D.B. Hardeman Prize for the best book on Congress.
“Marvelous . . . Miller pursues [the] ever-intriguing interior
Lincoln in his usual witty, reader-friendly, and conversational
voice.” –The Washington Post Book World
“Compelling and readable.” –The Wall Street Journal
“A fascinating account, sensitively written, rich in insight, of
the moral self-education of our greatest president.” –Arthur
Schlesinger, Jr.
“By tracing the development of Lincoln's moral reasoning and his
steadfast commitment to doing what he saw as right, Miller refutes
convincingly any notion that Lincoln was an accidental politician
who stumbled into the presidency.”–St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Outstanding interpretative biography. William Lee Miller explores
Lincoln’s life and career from a unique perspective and helps us to
better understand the man within the context of his times in his
thoughtful, stimulating new book.”–BookPage
“Is it possible to say something new about Lincoln? The somewhat
surprising answer, as William Lee Miller demonstrates in Lincoln’s
Virtues, is yes.” –The New York Times Book Review
“A useful addition to the library of Lincoln books because it
tackles a familiar subject from an unusual angle, giving
appropriate centrality to Lincoln's moral convictions.” –Los
Angeles Times Book Review
“Miller offers a distinctly new view of the Great Emancipator.”
–The Christian Science Monitor
“Lincoln’s Virtues is an extraordinary book. . . . Miller proves
that a lively presentation, animated by wit and humor, can co-exist
with careful scholarship. The result is a new and surprisingly
fresh look at the historical Lincoln.” –Douglas L. Wilson
“A captivating study . . . of Abe Lincoln's moral development.”
–Esquire
“The depth of [Miller’s] study is obvious. He presents his ideas
with a youthful enthusiasm, leavened with . . . wisdom.”
–Providence Journal
“I have digested this book completely now, and I think it the best
book ever on Abraham Lincoln.” –Fred J. Martin, Jr., member of the
board, Abraham Lincoln Institute.
“A fresh perspective on the man about whom more has been written
than any other American.” –North & South
“Masterful. . . . Bill Miller exhibits the same cluster of worthy
qualities he assigns to his subject -- penetrating insight, wisdom
about human nature, tenacious purpose, a wonderful sense of humor,
and an eloquent style of expression.” –Doris Kearns Goodwin, author
of No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
“Miller's celebration of Lincoln's evolution as a moral man and a
moral politician will persuade, reinforce, and inspire.... Very
accessible and thought-provoking.” –Arizona Republic
“Lincoln's Virtues is unquestionably the most important study on
Lincoln to appear in the last decade.” –Steven Rogstad, Review
Editor, Lincoln Herald
“One of the most innovative studies of the sixteenth president yet
to emerge.” –William C. Davis, History Book Club
In a narrative that positions a careful analysis of Lincoln's life against his popular legend and "ritual celebration," University of Virginia historian Miller (Arguing About Slavery) provides an incisive and shrewd discussion of Lincoln's development as a person and a politician. If it is assumed from the outset that Lincoln was "a spectacularly wonderful man," Miller argues, it "may diminish our appreciation of the ways in which he may actually have become one." Thus Miller's project to chronicle man rather than myth is explicitly concerned with the evolution of Lincoln's character, motivations and ideals. Chronicling his rise from an Appalachian boyhood to the corridors of power, the author makes a host of wise observations about this "ungainly westerner" that are informed as much by Miller's considerable knowledge of human nature as by his study of Lincoln's utterances over the years. According to Miller, Lincoln's life was motivated by the desire to distance himself from his humble origins; though he may have begun as a young man of the people, he quickly sought a place among the intellectual and cultural elite that Thomas Jefferson had dubbed the "natural aristocracy." He never introduced his sons to his father and stepmother. He harbored an intense dislike for all forms of menial labor, and was displeased when campaign posters positioned him as a rail-splitter. In this same spirit, he despised the simple, petty bigotries common among the working classes of his day and eschewed the Know-Nothingism popular in the United States of the 1850s as being beneath him. It is this Lincoln's studied and cultivated aloofness from the banal Miller argues, that positioned him for greatness. (Jan. 22) Forecast: This brings a fresh and refreshing perspective that Lincoln devotees will appreciate. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
"Marvelous . . . Miller pursues [the] ever-intriguing interior
Lincoln in his usual witty, reader-friendly, and conversational
voice." -The Washington Post Book World
"Compelling and readable." -The Wall Street
Journal
"A fascinating account, sensitively written, rich in insight, of
the moral self-education of our greatest president." -Arthur
Schlesinger, Jr.
"By tracing the development of Lincoln's moral reasoning and his
steadfast commitment to doing what he saw as right, Miller refutes
convincingly any notion that Lincoln was an accidental politician
who stumbled into the presidency."-St. Louis
Post-Dispatch
"Outstanding interpretative biography. William Lee Miller explores
Lincoln's life and career from a unique perspective and helps us to
better understand the man within the context of his times in his
thoughtful, stimulating new book."-BookPage
"Is it possible to say something new about Lincoln? The
somewhat surprising answer, as William Lee Miller demonstrates in
Lincoln's Virtues, is yes." -The New York Times Book
Review
"A useful addition to the library of Lincoln books because it
tackles a familiar subject from an unusual angle, giving
appropriate centrality to Lincoln's moral convictions." -Los
Angeles Times Book Review
"Miller offers a distinctly new view of the Great Emancipator."
-The Christian Science Monitor
"Lincoln's Virtues is an extraordinary book. . . . Miller
proves that a lively presentation, animated by wit and humor, can
co-exist with careful scholarship. The result is a new and
surprisingly fresh look at the historical Lincoln." -Douglas L.
Wilson
"A captivating study . . . of Abe Lincoln's moral development."
-Esquire
"The depth of [Miller's] study is obvious. He presents his ideas
with a youthful enthusiasm, leavened with . . . wisdom."
-Providence Journal
"I have digested this book completely now, and I think it the best
book ever on Abraham Lincoln." -Fred J. Martin, Jr., member of the
board, Abraham Lincoln Institute.
"A fresh perspective on the man about whom more has been written
than any other American." -North & South
"Masterful. . . . Bill Miller exhibits the same cluster of
worthy qualities he assigns to his subject -- penetrating insight,
wisdom about human nature, tenacious purpose, a wonderful sense of
humor, and an eloquent style of expression." -Doris Kearns Goodwin,
author of No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor
Roosevelt
"Miller's celebration of Lincoln's evolution as a moral man and a
moral politician will persuade, reinforce, and inspire.... Very
accessible and thought-provoking." -Arizona Republic
"Lincoln's Virtues is unquestionably the most important
study on Lincoln to appear in the last decade." -Steven Rogstad,
Review Editor, Lincoln Herald
"One of the most innovative studies of the sixteenth president yet
to emerge." -William C. Davis, History Book Club
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