Description:
The first comprehensive comparison of the two Civil War presidents, this book provides an intellectual portrait of Lincoln and Davis, analyzing their everyday lives to show how their perceptions of community shaped their philosophies and actions.
Brief description:
Brian R. Dirck is assistant professor of history at Anderson University.
Review Quotes:
"This is intellectual history at its most stimulating."--William C. Davis, author of Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour
"Provides fascinating new insights into the personalities and policies of Lincoln and Davis. In the process, it explores the crucial issue of national identity that served as the fulcrum of nineteenth-century politics--and social psychology. Innovative, insightful, and well-written, it offers a fresh perspective on some of the oldest issues in American history."--David Shi, author of America: A Narrative History
"A psychologically sophisticated, novel analysis not only of the two Civil War presidents but also of American nationalism broadly conceived."--Michael Burlingame, author of The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln