Ronald C. White Bücher

Lincoln scholar Ronald C. White, Jr., describes Lincoln as a man of integrity whose moral compass holds the key to understanding his life

"The first full-color facsimile edition of Lincoln's private notes, Abraham Lincoln's Diary is a deluxe collection of some of his most revelatory private writings. An essential archive, here presented exactly as Lincoln wrote them on scraps of paper, these "notes to self" appear alongside original, contextualizing essays by New York Times bestselling presidential biographer Ronald C. White. A deeply private man, closed off to even those who worked closely with him, Lincoln often captured "his best thoughts" in these notes--never wanting "one of those ideas to escape." In Abraham Lincoln's Diary, White offers this rare glimpse into the thought process of one of our nation's most important orators and presidents. The book selects ten of Lincoln's most revealing notes, reproduced here in full color, allowing us to see this little-known but vital body of Lincoln's writing, in which he grapples with the problem of slavery; attempting to find convincing rebuttals to those who supported the evil institution; or prepares for his historic debates with Stephen Douglas in the midst of his 1858 senatorial campaign. In one fragment, written on the eve of his inauguration, we see Lincoln develop an argument for national unity amidst a secession crisis that would ultimately rend the nation in two. Arranged in chronological order, beginning in 1848 with a note that was written just one year into Lincoln's Congressional term as an Illinois representative, Abraham Lincoln's Diary is a wholly original volume that grants us fresh insight into our nation's greatest president."-- Provided by publisher

"Before 1862, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had rarely left his home state of Maine, where he was a trained minister and mild-mannered professor at Bowdoin College. His colleagues were shocked when he volunteered for the Union army, but he was undeterred and later became known as one of the North's greatest heroes: On the second day at Gettysburg, after running out of ammunition at Little Round Top, he ordered his men to wield their bayonets in a desperate charge down a rocky slope that routed the Confederate attackers. Despite being wounded at Petersburg--and told by two surgeons he would die--Chamberlain survived the war, going on to be elected governor of Maine four times and serve as president of Bowdoin College. How did a stuttering young boy come to be fluent in nine languages and even teach speech and rhetoric? How did a trained minister find his way to the battlefield? Award-winning historian Ronald C. White delves into these contradictions in this definitive, cradle-to-death biography of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, from his upbringing in rural Maine to his tenacious, empathetic military leadership and his influential post-war public service, exploring a question that still plagues so many veterans: How do you make a civilian life of meaning after having experienced the extreme highs and lows of war?"-- Provided by publisher