Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency - Hardcover

Waugh, Jack

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0517597667 ISBN 13: 9780517597668

Publisher: Crown, 1998

Synopsis

Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency tells the dramatic story of perhaps the most critical election campaign in American history. Taking place in the midst of the Civil War, this election would determine the very future of the nation. Would the country be unified or permanently divided? Would slavery continue?

Weaving corroborative detail and rich anecdotal material into a fast-paced narrative, John C. Waugh succeeds in placing this pivotal election in its proper context while evoking its rich human drama. In these pages, the men and women who figured in this epic campaign emerge in bold relief, with all their strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies. The result is a page-turner that also happens to be a true story.

The best historical writing is the kind that makes the past come alive. Waugh, a former newspaper correspondent, proves that history need not be dry: he uses his journalistic skills to infuse the pages with the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of those times. Drawing from an extensive array of sources, including published and unpublished reminiscences, memoirs, autobiographies, letters, newspapers, and periodicals, he clearly evokes the drama and uncertainty of that fateful year with all the immediacy of a political reporter covering a national presidential election today.

About this title

Review

The election of 1864, conducted as the Civil War raged, was perhaps the most significant presidential election ever. Abraham Lincoln, revered by many but also savaged by a partisan press and a contentious Congress, faced an opponent of complex and sometimes puzzling motives, General George McClellan. It's no exaggeration to say that the outcome of the election would not only influence the outcome of the war, but that it would affect the future direction of the U.S. John C. Waugh's Reelecting Lincoln, which reads like a novel filled with remarkable characters, provides a lucid narrative of the events.

From the Back Cover

"It is about time a crack journalist took on one of the great news stories of the nineteenth century: the presidential election of 1864. Reelecting Lincoln takes an unforgettable era and the giants who bestrode it and brings them vividly to life. I strongly recommend it."
-Harold Holzer, author of Dear Mr. Lincoln: Letters to the President

"Reelecting Lincoln tells the whopping tale of the most important election in American history. . . .This is a riveting book, written in a journalistic style that will make it hard to put down."        
-Frank J. Williams, chair, The Lincoln Forum

"This excellent account of Lincoln's reelection campaign reminds me of Bruce Catton: both were marvelous storytellers. Waugh insists that he will be satisfied if his readers find this book 'fun to read' and 'the historian can say, "Yes and it's true"'--expectations too modest for such a fine journalist turned historian."        
-Grady McWhiney, author of Grant, Lee, Lincoln, and the Radicals

"Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency is a blockbuster. . . . It will appeal to those who enjoy fast-moving and dramatic history. . . . Waugh knows politics and politicians, and his latest will be a benchmark against which reviewers will measure publications focusing on presidential elections and their background."
-Edwin C. Bearss, historian emeritus, The National Park Service and author of Vicksburg Campaign

"John C. Waugh sure-footedly conducts the reader through a thicket of contending issues and personalities. His comprehensive research and compelling narration transform politicians and generals into vibrant actors in a gripping national drama. Their complex interrelationships take center stage as the story hurtles toward election day."
-Richard A. Baker, historian, U.S. Senate

About this edition

• Publisher: Crown
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0517597667
• ISBN 13: 9780517597668
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 452