I liked this book, but mainly because of my Lincoln obsession. The writing is a bit dry, and I felt that there wasn't a lot of insight into who Lincoln was as a person. This may be due to his own reticence and desire for privacy, so I cut Emerson some slack; still, 640 pages is a lot to read about someone who never really comes alive. ( )

I liked this book, but mainly because of my Lincoln obsession. The writing is a bit dry, and I felt that there wasn't a lot of insight into who Lincoln was as a person. This may be due to his own reticence and desire for privacy, so I cut Emerson some slack; still, 640 pages is a lot to read about someone who never really comes alive. ( )

I must admit to knowing almost nothing about Robert Todd Lincoln. In fact, I probably would have had trouble coming up with his name if asked. I saw a book review for this book and decided I needed to know more about the only surviving son of our 16th President. Boy, am I glad I did.

Robert T. Lincoln lived through some of the most amazing periods of history of the United States. He was about 21 when his father was elected President and close to 25 when he was killed by John Wilkes Boothe. He had to juggle the problems with his mother, the death of his younger brother Tad and somehow create an amazing career for himself while not trading on his fathers name and reputation.

While he tended to stay out of the limelight he did serve his country three times. Once as a member of Gen. Grant's staff who was at Appomattox when the surrender papers where signed and again when he was tapped to Secretary of War. The third time he was Ambassador to England. However he was an amazing attorney who amazed a fortune in his own right. He also served as President of the Pullman Company after the death of George Pullman.

His life was difficult, full of many things that he had to overcome but nothing brought him as low as the death of his only son while in England. That was the blow that brought him the lowest and led to him turning away from the law and to the world of business.

Amazing book, so many things I didn't know (he was the last person alive who was at Appomattox), it was a fascinating look at a forgot figure in history who lived his life in his fathers shadow and yet still succeeded at almost everything he did.

This is highly recommended for anyone who is a Lincoln fan, or just for anyone who appreciates a very well written biography. ( )

Giant in the Shadows is a very comprehensive and fascinating biography. It is more of a scholarly work than the more popular narrative histories of, say, David McCullough. The author carefully observes where he is making assumptions based on sources and where he just has to make an educated guess; this style of writing might deter some folks who are looking for something less "heavy", but the book is still very readable. He thankfully confines the reference notes (well over 100 pages) to the back of the book, along with a massive bibliography. That Emerson is an admirer of Robert Lincoln is very apparent, but he deals fairly with some of the controversies of his life, for instance his actions regarding the black porters of the Pullman Company, of which Lincoln was the president for a number of years. You might not agree with some of his conclusions, but Emerson does successfully attempt to present all the details on which he bases his assumptions. Overall this is a very well done effort and highly recommended. ( )

The biography of the only child of Abraham and Mary Lincoln to grow to adulthood, this book uncovers perhaps the one person most affected by the tragedies of the Lincoln clan. Granted, we know much of Mary's mental problems after the deaths of her three sons and husband, but Robert was the one to take care of Mary after the White House years and control the legacy of his father. He was so concerned with the public perception of his father that he collected all his letters and papers and stored them in a bank vault, not allowing their use by historians and authors. This led to many unauthorized biographies that caused Robert problems in trying to squelch misinformation. This familial legacy was the overriding issue of Robert's life because he sought to control all aspects of it.
Emerson refered to Mary's family issues, assuming that we knew what they were. I had to read [House of Abraham : Lincoln and the Todds, a family divided by war] by Berry to understand why Mary had issues and the depth of the family's contribution to those issues.
Very little information is provided about his wife who appears not to have spent much time with him. She often visited with her parents in Iowa, taking the children when young, and later isn't mentioned much at all. He appears to have attended many of the events in his life alone. Although Robert is the dutiful son, we are left to wonder what kind of husband he was.
This biography is entirely readable despite its length and you understand the author's admiration for Lincoln, father and son. This causes concern when attempting to explain Robert's involvement in the Pullman strike by the African American porters. The public expected the son of the Great Emancipator to be on the side of the porters when in fact he upheld the company line and went against them. The author, who quotes letters throughout the book, doesn't illuminate Robert's feelings on this issue through his written word. In fact Robert had his secretary sign a letter about this issue which shows even more disregard for the cause. But that is the only issue with which I quibble. It's about time we had a biography on this son and his influence in the business, technological and historical world. Highly recommended. ( )