A great and good man: rare, first-hand accounts of abraham lincoln (paperback)

THIS IS FOR THE LINCOLN LECTURE EVENT BEING HELD ON CAMPUS ON 11/14/24

One hundred sixty years after Abraham Lincoln’s death, it can be difficult to find sources that shed new light on his life, but that is exactly what Jonathan W. White and William J. Griffing have done. A Great and Good Man provides excerpts from more than 200 previously unpublished accounts written by men and women who lived during the Civil War. Some saw Lincoln deliver speeches, review the troops, or light up cigars with soldiers. Others offer pointed commentary on his policies and decisions. 

Through these selections, readers get an in-depth and at times startling view of the Civil War era, from the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 to the assassination in 1865. Many of the writers loved Lincoln, while others reviled him. Some thought he was a good-looking man, while others called him ugly. Along the way, other important figures emerge, including Lincoln’s Cabinet members and other politicians, Union generals, and First Lady Mary Lincoln. 

An extraordinary portrait of the Civil War drawn from unlikely sources, A Great and Good Man should be in the library of every Lincoln and Civil War enthusiast.