The Eloquent President : A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words

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Summary: Brilliantly explains substance and style of Lincoln's prose
Review: Abraham Lincoln was eloquent; everybody knows that. But what kind of eloquence did he have? How did he use it to advance his ideas and political agenda? How did he use it to enlighten the American people and to summon up the best that this nation can be? Any reader who has any interest in those questions must read this book. It is a profound yet lucid and fast-moving examination of Lincoln's uses of oratory as president-elect and as president. It stands with yet somehow manages to eclipse studies of specific speeches such as Garry Wills's LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG or the author's previous study of the Second Inaugural Address, LINCOLN'S GREATEST SPEECH. I teach Lincoln in my Law and Literature course and I plan to have this book at my elbow as I teach Lincoln this semester.