Description: A bestselling historian of the Civil War illuminates how Lincoln worked with--and often against--his senior commanders to defeat the Confederacy and create the role of commander-in-chief as it exists today.
Review Quotes: "James M. McPherson's Tried by War is a perfect primer . . . for anyone who wishes to understand the evolution of the president's role as commander in chief. Few historians write as well as McPherson, and none evoke the sound of battle with greater clarity. There is scarcely anyone writing today who mines original sources more diligently. In Tried by War, McPherson draws on almost 50 years of research to present a cogent and concise narrative of how Lincoln, working against enormous odds, saved the United States of America." --The New York Times Book Review