“Hold On with a Bulldog Grip and Chew and Choke as Much as Possible”: The Grand Offensive: (May–August 1864): The Spring Offensive is launched. A bogus presidential proclamation calling for volunteers and prayers causes panic throughout the North. Grant and Lee battle for six weeks until severe losses force them to a halt. Congressional Radicals pass a bill that will allow Southern States re-admittance to the Union as long as they give an oath that they never supported the Confederacy. Southern leaders spread bogus peace overtures. Lincoln reaffirms his commitment to the Emancipation. “The Wisest Radical of All”: Reelection: (September–November 1864): McClellan is nominated by Democrats to run against Lincoln. Democrats launch a personal attack against Abraham and Mary Lincoln. The president defines the significance of the Union’s cause. Maryland celebrates the Emancipation. The national election is held despite the war. Lincoln wins a second term. “Let the Thing Be Pressed”: Victory at Last: (November 1864–April 1865): Chase is appointed Chief of Justice. The Bixby letter is written. Lincoln drafts his annual message to Congress. The president is hounded by office seekers, only finding solace in music dramas. Plans are made to secure the Thirteenth amendment. The Hampton Roads Conference fails to negotiate an end to the war. Lincoln gives his second inaugural address and visits the army front. Richmond is captured and the rebels are finally defeated. “I Feel a Presentiment That I Shall Not Outlast the Rebellion. When It Is Over, My Work Will Be Done.” The Final Days: (April 9–15, 1865): Lincoln predicts that he will not live long after the war. He begins to deal with the issues of Reconstruction. The president carries out what is to be his last public speech and final cabinet meeting. White supremacist John Wilkes Booth is enraged at the proposal of blacks becoming citizen-voters. His belief in white superiority and hatred of Republicans drives him to conspire against the government. On April 14, 1865, Booth assassinates Lincoln in Ford’s Theater. The nation goes into mourning.
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"two volumes of pure Lincoln from all aspects of his life,speehes and interaction with those indivduals who were instrumental in shaping the country once and for all.A must read for all Lincoln Lovers"
— ROBERT (5 out of 5 stars)
“This book supplants [Carl] Sandburg and supersedes all other biographies. Future Lincoln books cannot be written without it, and from no other book can a general reader learn so much about Abraham Lincoln.”
— Publishers Weekly on Abraham Lincoln: A Life (box set)“A magisterial enterprise.”
— New York Times on Abraham Lincoln: A Life (box set)“These monumental volumes deserve a wide readership.”
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Abraham Lincoln: A Life (box set)“Burlingame is a towering figure in Lincoln scholarship, and students of the 16th president have been waiting for this book for years. For all his learning—Burlingame may know more about Lincoln and his era than anyone in the world—his take on his subject is fresh, and he doesn’t gloss over Lincoln’s less appealing attributes. Abraham Lincoln comes as close to being the definitive biography as anything the world has seen in decades.”
— Time on Abraham Lincoln: A life (box set)“Monumental in size, depth and scholarship, this is the new standard biography of our time and surpasses all other life portraits of our 16th president, and is the most important book of the bicentennial.”
— Washington Post on Abraham Lincoln: A Life (box set)“No review could do complete justice to the magnificent two-volume biography that has been so well-wrought by Michael Burlingame.”
— Christopher Hitchens on Abraham Lincoln: A life (box set)" 5++ stars. the best and most complete portrait of Lincoln I've ever read. On a par with Caro's LBJ biography for pure illumination of a political mind. "
— Sam, 6/9/2013" Extraordinary detail. Not always an easy read but this biography brings Lincoln to life. Having read this before the Spielberg film, the Daniel Day-Lewis portrayal is impressive and rings true. "
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— Naomi, 1/25/2013" Fantastic book! Truth be told, I'm also the narrator for the audio book version. It's projected to be 80 hours long. "
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Michael Burlingame is the Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois, Springfield. He is the author of Abraham Lincoln: A Life and The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln; he is also the editor of An Oral History of Abraham Lincoln: John G. Nicolay’s Interviews and Essays and Lincoln’s Journalist: John Hay’s Anonymous Writings for the Press, 1860–1864. Burlingame has received a number of awards and accolades throughout his career, including the Abraham Lincoln Association Book Prize, the Lincoln Diploma of Honor from Lincoln Memorial University, and was inducted into the Lincoln Academy of Illinois. He currently resides in Springfield, Illinois.
Lloyd James (a.k.a. Sean Pratt) has been a working professional actor in theater, film, television, and voice-overs for more than thirty years. He has narrated over one thousand audiobooks and won numerous Earphones Awards and nominations for the Audie Award and the Voice Arts Award. He holds a BFA degree in acting from Santa Fe University, New Mexico.