William C. Harris is Professor of History at North Carolina State University.
Though the reader knows exactly what will happen to Abraham Lincoln
on Good Friday, 1865, William C. Harris brings nail-biting tension,
along with heartbreaking pathos and insightful historical analysis,
to the story of Lincoln's final days. This is masterful
story-telling and gripping history.
*Harold Holzer, Co-chairman, US Lincoln Bicentennial
Commission*
Just as his prize-winning book on Lincoln and Reconstruction
revised our understanding of that subject, here William C. Harris
finds much that is fresh, insightful, and important to say about
the last months of Lincoln's life. Students of Lincoln and the
Civil War will want this book on their shelves.
*Michael Holt, author of Rise and Fall of the American Whig
Party*
There are few neglected subjects in the field of Lincolniana, but
Professor Harris has found one--the last five months of Abraham
Lincoln's life. He offers readers a thoroughly researched and
fair-minded historical evaluation of the beginning of Lincoln's
second presidential term, restoring a sense of indeterminacy to a
surprisingly revealing period that has too often been sacrificed to
the dramas of Appomattox and assassination.
*Mark E. Neely, Jr., author of The Last Best Hope of Earth:
Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America*
Lincoln's Last Months shows in clear and fascinating detail how the
embattled Civil War president was able, in the final six months of
his life, to contend with a seemingly overwhelming array of
military and political problems.
*Douglas L. Wilson, Lincoln Studies Center, Knox College*
Harris's important and revealing study shows that during these last
months the President exhibited his greatest mastery, both as a
political leader and a military strategist. This fine book is
admirable for the depth of its research and for the judiciousness
of its interpretations. It is one of the half-dozen books on
Lincoln published in the last decade that must be read by every
student of the American Civil War.
*David Herbert Donald, Charles Warren Professor of American History
Emeritus, Harvard University*
Harris provides detail that has been paraphrased or neglected by
other biographers...In even-tempered, observant prove, [he] ably
organizes his facts into a presentation that even veteran Lincoln
readers will appreciate as fresh.
*Booklist*
This is a first-rate monograph for which Harris has done diligent
spadework. This Lincoln isn't the sentimentalized or melancholy
saint or savior, but a proficient, inventive, even cheerful
administrator, dealing with diplomatic detail (chiefly with the
British over Canada), naval technology and patronage squabbles in
such key states as New York. Harris also provides a fresh retelling
of the story of Lincoln's murder and martyrdom.
*Washington Post Book World*
Like viewers of the old "Columbo" TV mystery series, readers of
this book will know in advance exactly what will happen to the
principal subject on April 14, 1865, and precisely who will be
responsible for the crime. The enjoyment comes from watching as the
star, in this case author William C. Harris, weaves a complex
tapestry of revealing insights to illuminate his subject. In this
accomplished new book we observe a president devoting his last
months to concluding America's most bitter war 'with malice toward
none,' while his enemies are concurrently, dangerously swearing
vengeance and violence...Serious students of the field will
want—and need—to add this invaluable, well researched, and well
crafted book to their libraries.
*North & South*
This is a useful Lincoln book in large part because of the way it
is defined...By isolating the last months for careful study,
William Harris brings this most important chapter of Lincoln's life
out from the shadow of the assassination and into the sunlight of
concentrated sequential attention...Throughout the telling of these
heavily charged events, the author brings a valuable assembling of
comments from a variety of public figures, literary figures, and
the press...The author deals with the much-misrepresented story of
the assassination with brief, quiet authority and has gathered some
good items from the response to it...Add this book to your Lincoln
library.
*Civil War History*
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