Description: The award-winning Lincoln authority Allen C. Guelzo offers here a penetrating look into the mind of one of our greatest presidents. The author takes us on a wide-ranging exploration of seven problems that confronted Lincoln, setting these problems and Lincoln's responses against the larger world of trans-Atlantic liberal democracy in the 19th century, comparing Lincoln not just to Andrew Jackson or John Calhoun, but to British thinkers such as Cobden, Bentham, and Bright, and to French observers de Tocqueville and Guizot.
Review Quotes: "Written with grace and flair, this brief biography of Lincoln draws on the author's unexcelled knowledge of the subject to offer incisive interpretations of Lincoln's early life, his antebellum career, his ideology of free labor, his rise to the presidency, and his leadership in a war that preserved the United States as one nation and freed it from the blight of slavery."--James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom
"The small volume provides an impressive amount of historical and intellectual context, and offers an expert summary of Lincoln's thought." --Indiana Magazine of History"Successfully distills an epic life into the essence of [the] man in [a] pocket-size volume." - Washington Times"Guelzo's book will fill a notable void in the always expanding field of Lincoln studies. This new volume from Oxford should enjoy pride of place as the best short biography of Lincoln available."--Rick Beard, Executive Director, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum