McPherson's Latest

What's the view on McPherson's latest -- about Lincoln's wartime leadership? Worth buying?

Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief: my thoughts: I generally find McPherson worth reading. In this case I expect it will be a large print run. On Amazon price is already dropping, I'll wait, probably through the Xmas gift buying cycle and pick up as a cheap remainder after New Years. Reviews I've seen look good (as one would expect). Cheers, A

I'm just wondering if this isn't an updated rehash of points already made by Williams in Lincoln and his Generals. I'll look forward to your review, A.

Hi Bill, good point. I've been underwhelmed by the last 2 of his I've read. I think we're going through a cycle of rediscovery of Lincoln ...Team of Rivals etc. He was an incredible leader. As I mentioned above I'll pick it up when it hits the remainder pile. Regards, A

Thanks for the 411. I think I'll put it on my wish list in the hopes someone buys it for me for Xmas. Good writeup on McPherson in Saturday's NY Times.

I finished the McPherson book and thought it was quite good. It's definitely written for a general reader (that would be me!). It's only 270 pages so not a thorough examination.

OK, I zipped thru Tried by War; I agree with Bill, it's a bit of rehash of material many of us have seen, so, I recommend it to our general reader colleagues (steiac et al!) and advise leaving it alone for you ACW buffs. Just the kind of book I pass on to my father in law rather than retaining. Now, is it my imagination or does it seem that he's getting further away from the heavy lifting and just publishing to stay ahead of the house payments?

After reading the book I came away like you thinking the later. Every Lincoln scholar and their brother is coming out with a book to leverage the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth so why not McPherson? I don't begrudge him wanting to make a buck and it was still a good book for those with little knowledge of Lincoln's role as commander and chief. Still, I didn't perceive any new scholarship or insights.