Abraham Lincoln (American Presidents Series) »

George S. McGovern represented South Dakota in the United States Senate from 1963 to 1981 and was the Democratic nominee for president in 1972. He was a decorated bomber pilot in World War II, after which he earned his Ph.D. in American history and government at Northwestern University. A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he lives in Mitchell, South Dakota.

McGovern—a former U.S. senator, presidential candidate, veteran, and historian by training—offers his unique insight into our sixteenth president.

Publishers Weekly

There's probably not much left to learn about Lincoln's life, but the flood of bicentennial studies attest that he apparently still has things to teach us. In this modest, fluent bio, part of the American Presidents Series, former Democratic senator and presidential nominee McGovern (Social Security and the Golden Age) finds an inspiring lesson in what a man can do with his life. McGovern's Lincoln is a smart, ambitious striver who overcame humble origins, repeated setbacks and spells of depression. He is an idealist who, though burdened with the racial prejudices of his day, embraced the principle of equal opportunity. Most resonantly for the author, he is a brilliant politician who, combining pragmatism with high purpose, steered a crooked course through ugly political realities to end the intractable curse of slavery. Some of McGovern's judgments, like his overstated depiction of Lincoln as an exponent of "total war," miss the mark, and his subject remains something of a paragon. (His chief complaint is about Lincoln's wartime suspensions of habeas corpus and press freedoms.) Still, when McGovern's lucid homage concludes. "We wish our leaders could be more like Lincoln; we wish we all could be," readers are likely to agree. Photos.
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Prologue: The Greatness of Lincoln 1

1 Humble Beginnings 15

2 The Making of a Statesman 30

3 Lincoln and the Union 48

4 Lincoln and Emancipation 64

5 Lincoln and Total War 79

6 Politics in Wartime 97

7 Rising Above the Fray: Second Term 113

8 Victory and Death 130

Epilogue: The Nation Lincoln Made 147

Notes 157

Milestones 165

Selected Bibliography 169

Acknowledgments 173

Index 175