Since it was first published in 1952, Lincoln and His Generals has
remained one of the definitive accounts of Lincoln's wartime leadership.
In it T. Harry Williams dramatizes Lincoln's long and frustrating search
for an effective leader of the Union Army and traces his transformation
from a politician with little military knowledge into a master
strategist of the Civil War. Explored in depth are Lincoln's often
fraught relationships with generals such as McClellan, Pope, Burnside,
Hooker, Fremont, and of course, Ulysses S. Grant. In this superbly
written narrative, Williams demonstrates how Lincoln's persistent
"meddling" into military affairs was crucial to the Northern war effort
and utterly transformed the president's role as commander-in-chief.