"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." —The New York Times Book Review The Pulitzer Prize–winning author reveals how Lincoln won the Civil War and invented the role of commander in chief as we know it As we celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, this study by preeminent, bestselling Civil War historian James M. McPherson provides a rare, fresh take on one of the most enigmatic figures in American history. Tried by War offers a revelatory (and timely) portrait of leadership during the greatest crisis our nation has ever endured. Suspenseful and inspiring, this is the story of how Lincoln, with almost no previous military experience before entering the White House, assumed the powers associated with the role of commander in chief, and through his strategic insight and will to fight changed the course of the war and saved the Union.

Chronicles Abraham Lincoln's success at turning the Civil War to the North's favor during the year of 1862.

"Tells the story of a young British secret service officer, Katharine Gun, and her courageous decision to expose an illegal US-UK operation -- a covert plot to influence the UN vote that would have authorized the Iraq invasion"--P. [4] of cover.

Evaluates Lincoln's talents as a commander in chief in spite of limited military experience, tracing the ways in which he worked with, or against, his senior commanders to defeat the Confederacy and reshape the presidential role.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Lincoln was president-elect when the South Carolina legislature voted to secede from the Union. He began to explore what his options would be when he took office, and what he believed was that the government had the legal right to maintain its integrity. #2 Lincoln was loath to take the threats of secession seriously. He believed that an underlying Unionism remained strong in slave states, even those that had seceded. He tried to assure people that there would be no blood shed during the war. #3 Lincoln’s speeches showed that he was not willing to use force to reclaim federal property. He was willing to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the government, but he was not willing to invade any states. #4 The question of whether to pull out the troops or send them in reinforcements to hold Fort Sumter was one of the most difficult decisions that Lincoln had to make as president.

THE LINCOLN BRIGADE The day after Christmas in 1936, a group of ninety-six Americans sailed from New York to help Spain defend its democratic government against fascism. Ultimately, twenty-eight hundred United States volunteers reached Spain to become the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Few Lincolns had any military training. More than half were seriously wounded or died in battle. Most Lincolns were activists and idealists who had worked with and demonstrated for the homeless and unemployed during the Great Depression. They were poets and blue-collar workers, professors and students, seamen and journalists, lawyers and painters, Christians and Jews, blacks and whites. The Brigade was the first fully integrated United States army, and Oliver Law, an African American from Texas, was an early Lincoln commander. William Loren Katz and the late Marc Crawford twice traveled with the Brigade to Spain in the 1980s, interviewed surviving Lincolns on old battlefields, and obtained never-before-published documents and photographs for this book.

A groundbreaking, revelatory history of Abraham Lincoln's plan to secure a just and lasting peace after the Civil War-a vision that inspired future presidents as well as the world's most famous peacemakers, including Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a story of war and peace, race and reconciliation