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Lincoln's Gamble: The Tumultuous Six Months that Gave America the Emancipation Proclamation and Changed the Course of the Civil War Hardcover – September 9, 2014
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Brewster brings elegant clarity to the tangle of conflicting ideologies, loyalties, and practicalities that pushed the proclamation forward, ultimately ensuring Lincoln’s legacy as the Great Emancipator.” (Publishers Weekly)
"In this historical essay about the Emancipation Proclamation, Brewster explores the six months between Lincoln’s July 1862 decision to issue it and actually doing so in January 1863. Inspired by a 1922 article on Lincoln by W. E. B. DuBois, the purpose of which was to portray Lincoln as great but imperfect, Brewster sets as his goal a quest for the “real” Lincoln... Featuring vignettes of figures who met Lincoln during his formulation of the proclamation, Brewster’s work illuminates Lincoln’s lines of thought during this turning point in American history." (Booklist)
“Brewster gets inside Abraham Lincoln’s mind, revealing his struggles with the limited powers of his office. Here is Lincoln, the man, surprisingly ambivalent about the decision for which he is most remembered. A masterful psychological portrait.” (George Stephanopoulos)
“Readers of this expertly-told tale may note parallels to other times in American history when the lack of a clear mission hampered war efforts. Yet this, finally, is a story of courage and leadership, a stirring account of how Lincoln, perhaps our greatest warrior-president, took firm control of the war, gave clear direction to his generals and, with his historic proclamation, established a purpose worthy of the sacrifices so many made in that epic American ordeal.” (H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam)
“This story has been told before, but never as well, with such a firm grasp of the revolutionary implications of Lincoln’s decision, or the multi-layered levels of Lincoln’s quite tortured thought process. Although Lincoln is the most written about figure in American history, Brewster’s book is a major entry in the Lincoln sweepstakes.” (Joseph J. Ellis, author of Founding Brothers)
“It’s hard to act from strength and a higher moral conviction when the war you’re waging is not going well. But in this wonderful study, Todd Brewster authoritatively evokes the strategy of our best president to change the terms of the Civil War and thereby the destiny of his nation.” (Ken Burns)
"In this historical essay about the Emancipation Proclamation, Brewster explores the six months between Lincoln’s July 1862 decision to issue it and actually doing so in January 1863. Inspired by a 1922 article on Lincoln by W. E. B. DuBois, the purpose of which was to portray Lincoln as great but imperfect, Brewster sets as his goal a quest for the “real” Lincoln... Featuring vignettes of figures who met Lincoln during his formulation of the proclamation, Brewster’s work illuminates Lincoln’s lines of thought during this turning point in American history." (Booklist)
“Brewster gets inside Abraham Lincoln’s mind, revealing his struggles with the limited powers of his office. Here is Lincoln, the man, surprisingly ambivalent about the decision for which he is most remembered. A masterful psychological portrait.” (George Stephanopoulos)
“Readers of this expertly-told tale may note parallels to other times in American history when the lack of a clear mission hampered war efforts. Yet this, finally, is a story of courage and leadership, a stirring account of how Lincoln, perhaps our greatest warrior-president, took firm control of the war, gave clear direction to his generals and, with his historic proclamation, established a purpose worthy of the sacrifices so many made in that epic American ordeal.” (H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam)
“This story has been told before, but never as well, with such a firm grasp of the revolutionary implications of Lincoln’s decision, or the multi-layered levels of Lincoln’s quite tortured thought process. Although Lincoln is the most written about figure in American history, Brewster’s book is a major entry in the Lincoln sweepstakes.” (Joseph J. Ellis, author of Founding Brothers)
“It’s hard to act from strength and a higher moral conviction when the war you’re waging is not going well. But in this wonderful study, Todd Brewster authoritatively evokes the strategy of our best president to change the terms of the Civil War and thereby the destiny of his nation.” (Ken Burns)
About the Author
Todd Brewster has served as Don E. Ackerman Director of Oral History at the United States Military Academy, West Point, and is a longtime journalist who has worked as an editor for Time and Life and as senior producer for ABC News. He has written for Vanity Fair, Time, Life, The Huffington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, and is the coauthor with the late Peter Jennings of the bestselling books The Century, The Century for Young People, and In Search of America. He lives with his wife and two sons in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Lincoln’s Gamble is his first book.
More About the Author
Todd Brewster is an American author, journalist, and film producer.
Brewster served as Senior Editorial Producer for ABC News and co-authored three books with the late Peter Jennings: The Century, The Century for Young People, and In Search of America. The Century, a 600-page book on the history of the twentieth century, was originally designed as a companion book for ABC's 1999 documentary series of the same name, but months before the series debuted, the book had already topped the New York Times Best Seller List. It remained near the top of the list for nearly a year and is believed to have sold more than 1.5 million copies, more than any "companion book" in publishing history.
From 2004-2005, Brewster served as a Knight Fellow at Yale Law School and from 2005 to 2006 as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Government at Wesleyan University. He has written extensively on constitutional issues and is the Director of the National Constitution Center's The Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution. Brewster has written for Vanity Fair, Time, The New York Times and Life, where he was a senior editor from 1988 to 1992. A native of Indianapolis Indiana, he was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in 2000. From 2008 to 2013, Brewster was the Don E. Ackerman Director of Oral History at West Point. He was also director of United States Military Academy's West Point Center for Oral History. He was Executive Producer of Into Harm's Way, a 2013 documentary film about the West Point Class of 1967.
Brewster served as Senior Editorial Producer for ABC News and co-authored three books with the late Peter Jennings: The Century, The Century for Young People, and In Search of America. The Century, a 600-page book on the history of the twentieth century, was originally designed as a companion book for ABC's 1999 documentary series of the same name, but months before the series debuted, the book had already topped the New York Times Best Seller List. It remained near the top of the list for nearly a year and is believed to have sold more than 1.5 million copies, more than any "companion book" in publishing history.
From 2004-2005, Brewster served as a Knight Fellow at Yale Law School and from 2005 to 2006 as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Government at Wesleyan University. He has written extensively on constitutional issues and is the Director of the National Constitution Center's The Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution. Brewster has written for Vanity Fair, Time, The New York Times and Life, where he was a senior editor from 1988 to 1992. A native of Indianapolis Indiana, he was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in 2000. From 2008 to 2013, Brewster was the Don E. Ackerman Director of Oral History at West Point. He was also director of United States Military Academy's West Point Center for Oral History. He was Executive Producer of Into Harm's Way, a 2013 documentary film about the West Point Class of 1967.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By
bgrebel
on September 9, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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This is a work of impressive historical scholarship that reads like a novel. The always-entertaining narrative is held together by a careful analytical discussion of Lincoln's changing views about slavery during the first two years of the war.
Overall, this is an outstanding book that takes a fresh look at Abraham Lincoln--as a politician and a human being--during one of the most decisive moments of American history. Historians and laymen alike will find Brewster's work satisfying and thought-provoking.
Overall, this is an outstanding book that takes a fresh look at Abraham Lincoln--as a politician and a human being--during one of the most decisive moments of American history. Historians and laymen alike will find Brewster's work satisfying and thought-provoking.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By
TChris
TOP 100 REVIEWER on September 22, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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More than 23,000 books have been written about President Lincoln, attesting to the important role he plays in the American imagination. Todd Brewster notes that some biographers of Lincoln have revered him as the second coming of Christ while others have portrayed him as a devious scoundrel.
Lincoln's Gamble is not a biography. Brewster calls it an attempt to discover the "real" Lincoln by focusing on a slice of his presidency. It succeeds at least to the extent of revealing an important slice of the "real" Lincoln. Brewster paints Lincoln during the last half of 1862 as complex and conflicted, principled and pragmatic, a fence-sitter at war with himself before his better nature triumphed.
The first half of the book describes the ambivalent path to the Emancipation Proclamation that Lincoln traveled (in the words of Frederick Douglass) "in his own peculiar, cautious, forbearing and hesitating way." Much of the second half addresses Lincoln's approach to the war, his frustration with his generals, his determination to shift the Union's strategy from defense to offense, and his final (albeit limited) decision to free Confederate slaves.
Brewster emphasizes Lincoln's deliberate and lawyerly approach to emancipation. One one hand, while Lincoln shared the prevailing racism of his time, he believed that the core American values of liberty and equality were antithetical to slavery. Despite his belief in equal rights, he plainly did not view black Americans as morally or intellectually equal to white Americans. His preferred outcome would have been an end to slavery while encouraging former slaves to find a new country in which to dwell. On the other hand, Lincoln's foremost concern, as Brewster sees it, was to save the Union.Read more ›
Lincoln's Gamble is not a biography. Brewster calls it an attempt to discover the "real" Lincoln by focusing on a slice of his presidency. It succeeds at least to the extent of revealing an important slice of the "real" Lincoln. Brewster paints Lincoln during the last half of 1862 as complex and conflicted, principled and pragmatic, a fence-sitter at war with himself before his better nature triumphed.
The first half of the book describes the ambivalent path to the Emancipation Proclamation that Lincoln traveled (in the words of Frederick Douglass) "in his own peculiar, cautious, forbearing and hesitating way." Much of the second half addresses Lincoln's approach to the war, his frustration with his generals, his determination to shift the Union's strategy from defense to offense, and his final (albeit limited) decision to free Confederate slaves.
Brewster emphasizes Lincoln's deliberate and lawyerly approach to emancipation. One one hand, while Lincoln shared the prevailing racism of his time, he believed that the core American values of liberty and equality were antithetical to slavery. Despite his belief in equal rights, he plainly did not view black Americans as morally or intellectually equal to white Americans. His preferred outcome would have been an end to slavery while encouraging former slaves to find a new country in which to dwell. On the other hand, Lincoln's foremost concern, as Brewster sees it, was to save the Union.Read more ›
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By
Mary Caye
on September 21, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
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I am a history buff that looks for pleasure and inspiration primarily in American history and biography. Mr. Brewster's portrayal of Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation gestation brings to life Lincoln the man as a masterful politician. He is at once heroic and flawed, decisive and speaking out of both sides of his mouth. The book covers a short six months of 1862 during the depths of despair as the Union forces lose battle after battle with horrific casualties on both sides and everyone is a critic. While we know how the story ends, Mr. Brewster manages to spin the yarn into a breezily written page turner using the tick tock of time to propel the story forward. Most enjoyable!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
Michael B
on September 25, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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You might think there was nothing else to say about Abraham Lincoln, given how many thousands of books have been written about him. But Lincoln’s Gamble is a stunningly fresh take on the 16th president, an intimate look at a flawed man, alternately idealist and cynical, hopeful and despairing, as he struggles to come to terms with the Emancipation Proclamation, his greatest single act. I have read a number of Lincoln biographies, but I did not know this story, certainly not in this dramatic detail. Well worth it.
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