Review:
William Lee Miller's Lincoln's Virtues is less an "event" chronology than the tracing of the moral and ethical core of Abraham Lincoln's beliefs, what Miller calls the man's "unintended preparation for greatness." Miller posits that Lincoln rightly deserves his nonpareil place in American history. But, he continues, Lincoln's greatness is best appreciated only when we realize he was merely mortal and therefore free to follow any number of courses of actions. Miller, through scores of eloquent exegeses of Lincoln's writings and speeches, explores the path--consistent, though evolving--this free agent took. Lincoln chose politics as his work. As a politician he was subject to the very real constraints of collective action. However, such was the man's "moral self-confidence," that the mantle of greatness alit on his shoulders alone. This is a revealing, delicate, and at times soaring work. It also presupposes its readers are much more than casually familiar with Lincoln's life and times. - -H. O'Billovitch
From the Back Cover:
"No American President understood more keenly and confronted more squarely the moral dilemmas of power than Abraham Lincoln, and William Lee Miller offers a fascinating account, sensitively written, rich in insight, of the moral self-education of our greatest president."
-- Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., author of A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House
"I can't help suspecting that Abraham Lincoln, a man notable for learning from his own mistakes, would be smiling wryly at William Lee Miller's astute pinpointing of the moral improvements that Lincoln achieved, partly as a result of what history threw at him and partly as a result of what he threw at history. Today's leaders--and followers, too--would do well to ponder this book."
-- June Bingham, whose latest play, The Strange Case of Mary Lincoln, a musical, was given an off-Broadway workshop production in 2001
"In this masterful biography of Abraham Lincoln 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
"William Lee Miller's original, compulsively readable, and persuasive analysis of Lincoln as an 'unmoralistic moralist' who practiced an 'ethic of responsibility' will confound cynics who believe virtuous politician is an oxymoron and debunkers who portray the sixteenth president as a racially insensitive, reluctant emancipator."
-- Michael Burlingame, author of The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln
"Lincoln's Virtues is an extraordinary book. Tackling a subject long considered the province of apologists and legend, William Lee Miller proves that a lively presentation, antimated by wit and humor, can co-exist with careful scholarship. The result is a new and surprisingly fresh look at the historical Lincoln, whose ethical behavior is shown to be more engagling and alluring than the legend."
-- Douglas L. Wilson, author of Honor's Voice
"Willliam Lee Miller offers a vivid and compelling examination of the ethical dimensions governing Abraham Lincoln's thought and action. In the tradition of Reinhold Niebuhr, Miller's Lincoln illustrates the tensions in a democratic society between individual morality and collective governance."
-- Thomas Schwartz, Illinois State Historian
"A timely and fascinating reminder that political idealiam can be of practical use in wartime as well as peace."
-- Theodore C. Sorensen, author of A Different Kind of Presidency
"Abraham Lincoln wasn't born on Mount Rushmore, observes William Lee Miller, but this splendid biography helps us understand how he wound up there. Miller's Lincoln is not the spotless, iconic hero of American myth but a striving human being and practical politician who overcomes lapses and mistakes to become a leader who guides the nation through its seminal crisis. This is a Lincoln for our time, an extraordinary ordinary man whose character responds to military and moral challenge."
-- Lou Cannon, author of President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime
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