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    Abraham Lincoln: A Life 1861-1862: The Fort Sumter Crisis, The Hundred Days, The Phony War, The Lincoln Family in the Executive Mansion
    Abraham Lincoln: A Life 1861-1862: The Fort Sumter Crisis, The Hundred Days, The Phony War, The Lincoln Family in the Executive Mansion
    Abraham Lincoln: A Life 1861-1862: The Fort Sumter Crisis, The Hundred Days, The Phony War, The Lincoln Family in the Executive Mansion
    Audiobook12 hours

    Abraham Lincoln: A Life 1861-1862: The Fort Sumter Crisis, The Hundred Days, The Phony War, The Lincoln Family in the Executive Mansion

    Written by Michael Burlingame

    Narrated by Sean Pratt

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Publishers Weekly describes this book as “the most meticulously researched Lincoln biography ever written. Burlingame's Lincoln comes alive as the author unfolds vast amounts of new research while breathing new life into familiar stories. It is the essential title for the bicentennial.” Publishers Weekly also notes, “The book need not be heard in one sitting. Each part stands alone.” Now Gildan Media brings to you, chapter by chapter, what Doris Kearns Goodwin calls a “…profound and masterful portrait.” “You Can Have No Conflict Without Being Yourselves the Aggressors”: The Fort Sumter Crisis (March-April 1861): Lincoln struggles with William Seward's thirst for power while the Fort Sumter question comes to the forefront of the nation's politics. To supply Fort Sumter would incite hostilities with the South and to desert Sumter would imply acknowledgment of the Confederacy. It is a decision that cannot be made lightly. As time goes by without a verdict, the North starts to question the strength of their government. Seizing the opportunity, Seward secretly begins negotiations with the South based on unfounded promises. Out of time, Lincoln makes a fateful decision.

    “I Intend to Give Blows”: The Hundred Days (April-July 1861): War has begun. Lincoln hesitates calling a session of Congress amidst fears of interference with the war effort. Needing to defend the capital, he calls for the Union militia. The brash proclamation offends many in the Upper South and Borderline States. A few refuse to allow troops to cross their borders, infuriating inhabitants in Washington. The wait for reinforcements begins. Measures are taken to prevent States from secession. The army, which has been neglected by Congress and state governments, has difficulty mobilizing due to corruption and neglect. Lincoln must explain his actions to a half formed Congress. Defeat at the battle of Bull's Run has unforeseen results.

    “Sitzkrieg”: The Phony War: (August 1861-January 1862): A commander by the name of George B. McClellan is placed in complete control of the Union army. Snobbish and arrogant, he treats many in the White House with little respect, including the president. For six months, no offense is made from either side of the war. People grow impatient for action. In Missouri, Commander John Freemont attempts to rebel and establish an independent government. Two envoys from the Confederacy, bound for Great Britain, are captured by the Union. The affair leads to talks of a war with Britain. Lincoln begins to address the issue of slavery.

    “This Damned Old House”: The Lincoln Family in the Executive Mansion: The troublesome Lincoln children and the expensive taste of his wife bring difficulty to the functionality of the White House. Mary convinces Lincoln to give government positions to family and friends. Her manner and susceptibility towards flattery make it easy for others to take advantage. The First Lady soon becomes involved in scandal. One such a scandal involving monetary fraud and blackmail caused outrage throughout the capital. In midst of war, the public was unimpressed with the extravagancies of the White House while loyal soldiers marched in rags. Mary's luxurious lifestyle had the unfortunate effect of not only damaging her image, but her husband's as well.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAscent Audio
    Release dateNov 13, 2012
    ISBN9781469085753
    Abraham Lincoln: A Life 1861-1862: The Fort Sumter Crisis, The Hundred Days, The Phony War, The Lincoln Family in the Executive Mansion

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    Reviews for Abraham Lincoln

    4.5/5

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    • 5/5
      Abraham Lincoln has not wanted for biographers since his death, and every year new volumes about his life and presidency are added to shelves already groaning with them. Yet as Michael Burlingame notes at the start of this magnificent book, multi-volume studies of Lincoln’s life have been scarce of late, with the most recent one published decades ago. His biography is an effort to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive interpretation of Lincoln’s life, one that draws upon the enormous body of material accumulated about our 16th president to provide a deeper understanding of who he was and how he shaped our nation’s history.

      The result is a breathtakingly thorough account of Lincoln’s life. In two volumes Burlingame traces Lincoln’s life from his early years on the Indiana and Illinois frontier to his tragic death on the eve of the Union’s victory over the Confederacy. Throughout his focus is resolutely on Lincoln, showing how he developed as a person and how that person sought to address the myriad challenges he faced throughout his life. In the process he draws out some fascinating insights, ones that reveal Lincoln as a man of principle and ambition, whose evolution into the “Great Emancipator” only came after a substantial career in the politics and the law.

      Yet Burlingame also shows how despite considerable success as a Whig representative in the Illinois state legislature and a term in Congress, Lincoln was continually underestimated by many of his contemporaries, who dismissed him as a pleasant fellow who was not up to the challenges of the nation’s highest office. Such assessments ignored (and often enabled) Lincoln’s mastery of the political game, and Burlingame almost relishes recounting how he bested his opponents time and again. Where that mastery is best displayed, however, is on the issue of slavery, as Lincoln demonstrated throughout his career an ability to push his constituents to the limits in their opposition to the “peculiar institution” – and sometimes beyond them as well.

      By the end of this book Burlingame leaves his readers with a profound appreciation of who Lincoln was as a person and how his personality shaped our nation’s history. Even those already familiar with Lincoln’s life will learn much from its pages, as Burlingame offers a perspective of his subject gained from a career spent studying the man. Nobody who wishes to understand in depth our nation’s 16th president can afford to ignore this book, which is unlikely to be surpassed soon for its breath of research and the depths of its analysis.
    • 5/5
      Michael Burlingame’s masterful two-volume work is inspirational as to the work involved by the author and insight it provides into the life of Abraham Lincoln. It is not always an easy read owing to the amount of detail provided and different accounts of events that serve to validate and give credibility to the author’s work. Burlingame’s work is more akin to that of a sculptor revealing that which is contained in the stone. Unlike other books that portray Lincoln one way or another, this work reveals Lincoln, showing his remarkable growth from his roots in poverty to his ultimate achievements as president. For this reason, at times, one is made to think about Lincoln a bit differently from what may be preexisting notions, producing a sense of apprehension only calmed as the events that follow continue their revealing of what Lincoln ultimately becomes. While these volumes are sufficiently large as to give the impression of completeness I frequently encountered areas of interest that spurred side excursions of internet searches resulting in a much longer overall read. In that regard, Burlingame’s notes are so vast the author elected to create abbreviated notes included at the end of each volume and to refer readers to an internet site at Knox College Lincoln Studies where the full text of the books and full note references are included.
    • 5/5
      Excellent biography of Lincoln. Many details which can induce drowsiness at times but can also give great insight and clarification to perceptions of Lincoln. This book takes time to read if you intend to remember bits of it. It definitely satisfies my need for scholarly reading.
    • 4/5
      First, I should note that I have read only the first 450 pages of this massive volume (about 1500 reading pages). This book is a masterwork of collecting every single scrap of the historical record on Lincoln. Amazingly, Burlingame finds even *new* information about Lincoln. He obviously combed every early Illinois newspaper he could lay his hands on in order to discover any possible undiscovered Lincoln writings (which were often written anonymously). In the future, any Lincoln historian will need to reference this work. That said, I found the writing to be more encyclopedic than entertaining. Lincoln's life can be fascinating, especially when written by inspired authors. This book was just a bit too dry for my taste. For the moment, I am putting it away, and will pick it up at a later date. I still want to read it, but I thought I'd read something else for awhile.