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Book Cover for: Abraham Lincoln: The Observations of John G. Nicolay and John Hay, Michael Burlingame

Abraham Lincoln: The Observations of John G. Nicolay and John Hay

Michael Burlingame

Paperback
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In 1890 Abraham Lincoln's two main White House secretaries, John G. Nicolay and John Hay, published the ten-volume biography Abraham Lincoln: A History. Although the authors witnessed the daily events occurring within the executive mansion and the national Capitol, their lengthy biography is more a recounting of the Civil War era than a study of Lincoln's life.
Editor Michael Burlingame sifted through the original forty-seven-hundred-page work and selected only the personal observations of the secretaries during the Lincoln presidency, placing ten excerpts in chronological order in Abraham Lincoln: The Observations of John G. Nicolay and John Hay. The result is an important collection of Nicolay and Hay's interpretations of Lincoln's character, actions, and reputation, framed by Burlingame's compelling preface, introduction, chapter introductions, and notes. The volume provides vivid descriptions of such events as Election Day in 1860, the crisis at Fort Sumter, the first major battle of the war at Bull Run, and Lincoln's relationship with Edwin Stanton and George McClellan.
In this clear and captivating new work, Burlingame has made key portions of Nicolay and Hay's immense biography available to a wide audience of today's readers.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
  • Publish Date: Sep 24th, 2021
  • Pages: 190
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.98in - 5.98in - 0.47in - 0.57lb
  • EAN: 9780809338634
  • Categories: • Presidents & Heads of State• Historical• United States - 19th Century

About the Author

Michael Burlingame, Sadowski Professor of History Emeritus at Connecticut College, is the author of The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln and the editor of eleven books about Lincoln, including An Oral History of Abraham Lincoln: John G. Nicolay's Interviews and Essays, winner of the Abraham Lincoln Association Prize. He won the prestigious Lincoln Prize, honorable mention, for his five edited collections of letters, memoranda, editorial essays, lectures, and interviews by Lincoln's White House private secretaries, John G. Nicolay and John Hay, all published by Southern Illinois University Press.

Praise for this book

"The introduction is excellent, the annotations enlightening, and the text selections judicious and valuable."--Allen C. Guelzo, author of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America and Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President

"[This book] should be marked as a valuable addition to Lincoln studies. . . . Burlingame's masterly editing has transformed the original 'history' written by Nicolay and Hay to the more appropriate status of a primary document."--Richard Hall, H-CivWar

"A distinguished editor and biographer . . . Burlingame displays his usual sensitivity to male relationships . . . there are gems to be found even in this brief distillation."--Michael Chesson, Civil War Book Review

"This is emphatically a work of homage as well as of scholarship, both monumental in its function and its size. . . . [this book] turns up little gems of information about Lincoln not available elsewhere."--Adam I.P. Smith, Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association

"[This book] leaves its final result as what we most need--a nearness to the actual truth of the life and life-lore of possibly America's and the world's greatest man."--Ray B. Browne, The Journal of American Culture

"To those who view every primary source on Lincoln as something precious, Burlingame has once again provided a valuable service."--Michael Burkhimer, The Lincoln Herald

"Burlingame's work provides Lincoln students with a first-hand look at the early years of the Lincoln administration. Readers who decide to tackle this small work will be well rewarded."--Bruce Tap, Journal of Illinois History