About this title: A bestselling historian of the Civil War illuminates how Lincoln worked with--and often against--his senior commanders to defeat the Confederacy and create the role of commander in chief as we know it. "Tried by War" offers a revelatory portrait of leadership during the greatest crisis America has ever endured.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781594201912ISBN:1594201919
Description: Very Good + in Very Good jacket. Book Club Edition Tight spine, clean copy. Black boards with gilt lettering on spine, edges lightly rubbed, corners slightly bumped. Text is clean and unmarked. DJ-minor shelfwear, no chips or tears. 329 Pgs. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781594201912ISBN:1594201919
Description: Fine in fine dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 329 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Fine in Fine dust jacket. Hardcover. Penguin Press HC, The, 2008. 6th Printing. Fine Book in Fine Dust Jacket. Price Intact. Overall, a clean and tight copy to add to a collection or read and enjoy. Dust Jacket protected with a new archival cover. Bubble wrapped and shipped promptly in a box. read more
Edition: Uncorrected Proof; First Printing
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Press, New York
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781594201912ISBN:1594201919
Description: Fine with no dust jacket. 1-59420-191-9. The author examines how Lincoln, a man with virtually no military experience, became the greatest commander-in-chief in American history and in the process redefined the office of President. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Press
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781594201912ISBN:1594201919
Description: New in new dust jacket. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 329 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. BRAND NEW NEVER BEEN OPENED OR READ read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780143116141ISBN:0143116142
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: GOOD. Audio Book-9780143143604 mjm UNABRIDGED, 8 COMPACT DISCS, 9 HOURS [MCPHERSON, JAMES] {READ BY GEORGE GUIDALL} TRIED BY WAR ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Penguin Pr
Date Published: 2008-10-07
ISBN-13:9781594201912ISBN:1594201919
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781594201912. read more
Binding: Spoken Word Compact Disc
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Date Published: 2008-10-07
ISBN-13:9780143143604ISBN:0143143603
Description: NEW. Spoken Word Compact Disc. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780143143604. read more
"Offering Lincoln's point of view on the war helped clarify the confusion of all those battles. Showing Lincoln's concern for political as well as military issues made more sense of his decisions. In particular this book helped me better understand why Emancipation was so delayed and why Lincoln proclaimed it when he did.I'm still trying to understand how people were able to accept slavery. Some may look for a more analytic history, but I found that the smooth narration of this book made a very enjoyable read, the subject matter not withstanding."
"This was a fascinating look inside the mind of Abraham Lincoln. Most Lincoln biographies focus on folklore: The log cabin and rail-splitting, early heartbreak and marriage, the White House seances and tragic assassination. This one, however, focused on Lincoln's determination to teach himself military strategy, and was interesting in the way it humanized the 16th president. Lincoln's brilliance, argues McPherson, lay in his ability to concentrate on mastery of a subject, rather than natural aptitude."
"Today, Presidents are surrounded by experienced military advisors, and even though these advisors are at times avaricious and occasionally terribly, terribly wrongheaded, at least these men and women serve as a steadfast source of ideas and feedback for the President.
By modern standards, in his role as commander-in-chief, Lincoln went it alone, and considering his total dearth of military experience and a long procession of volatile and incompetent generals, it's actually rather astounding how well Lincoln fared. Lincoln is proof perhaps that the foundation of great military leadership is a fierce intellect and humility, in politics that all-too-rare ability to own up to and learn from blunders.
Wisely, McPherson sticks to the history, but his book brings up some interesting questions for contemporary observers. Through the international crises of the early 21st century, how might the U.S. have fared differently if there had been a Lincoln at the helm?"
"This book, well written, is authored by the eminent historian James McPherson. The focus is plainly stated at the outset (Page xiv): "In the vast literature on our sixteenth president, however, the amount of attention devoted to his role as commander in chief is disproportionately smaller than the actual percentage of time he spent on that task."
Lincoln's own military experience was slender, his 1832 service in the militia. However, as McPherson puts it (Page 5), he was ". . .a more hands-on commander in chief than any other president." He assumed or presided over five war-making functions (in declining order of importance, as the author judges matters): policy, national strategy, military strategy, operations, and tactics.
McPherson observes that Lincoln read a great deal about military issues, to become more informed and to develop grounding in strategy and tactics. Indeed, as the book argues, he needed to, since so many of his military leaders were passive and did not "take charge." Thus, the thesis of this book makes sense, given the context of the times while Lincoln served as president.
The book covers the war, year by year, Lincoln's frustrations with his military commanders, his desire to find someone who had "it," the will and ability to triumph, to share Lincoln's vision of what had to be done. Of course, in the end, U. S. Grant and his subordinates, such as Sherman, Sheridan, and Thomas played that role, after the years of failure with the likes of Buell, Halleck, Rosecrans, Sigel, Banks, Butler, and so on.
For those not so familiar with the Civil War, this book will be most useful. For those steeped in the study of the Civil War, there is not a great deal that is new. However, what such readers know is put into useful context, as per the book's focus. So, in the end, this is a handy volume, especially for those who are not deeply read in the relevant works. For those well read on the subject, of less interest. . ."
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