Winner of the Barondess/Lincoln Award from The Civil War Round Table
of New York
"Fascinating reading. . .this book eerily reflects some of today's key
issues." - The New York Times Book Review
From an award-winning historian, an engrossing look at how Abraham
Lincoln grappled with the challenges of leadership in an unruly
democracy
An awkward first meeting with U.S. Army officers, on the eve of the
Civil War. A conversation on the White House portico with a young
cavalry sergeant who was a fiercely dedicated abolitionist. A tense
exchange on a navy ship with a Confederate editor and businessman.
In this eye-opening book, Elizabeth Brown Pryor examines six intriguing,
mostly unknown encounters that Abraham Lincoln had with his
constituents. Taken together, they reveal his character and opinions in
unexpected ways, illustrating his difficulties in managing a republic
and creating a presidency. Pryor probes both the political demons that
Lincoln battled in his ambitious exercise of power and the demons that
arose from the very nature of democracy itself: the clamorous diversity
of the populace, with its outspoken demands. She explores the trouble
Lincoln sometimes had in communicating and in juggling the multiple
concerns that make up being a political leader; how conflicted he was
over the problem of emancipation; and the misperceptions Lincoln and the
South held about each other. Pryor also provides a fascinating
discussion of Lincoln's fondness for storytelling and how he used his
skills as a raconteur to enhance both his personal and political power.
Based on scrupulous research that draws on hundreds of eyewitness
letters, diaries, and newspaper excerpts, Six Encounters with Lincoln
offers a fresh portrait of Lincoln as the beleaguered politician who was
not especially popular with the people he needed to govern with, and who
had to deal with the many critics, naysayers, and dilemmas he faced
without always knowing the right answer. What it shows most clearly is
that greatness was not simply laid on Lincoln's shoulders like a mantle,
but was won in fits and starts.
