Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President

Rating:
Summary: Misrepresented
Review: Mr. Guelzo gives the impression of being an elite who can't pass up an opportunity to diminish the people's President. I think he misrepresented his book on CSPAN. I prefer more facts and less subjective adjectives and interpretations. I don't even find his interpretations logical. His book did have some interesting information in it, however, I didn't bother to finish reading it.

Rating:
Summary: The Great American Paradox
Review: This is the finest of the many dozens of books that I have read about Abraham Lincoln in the past thirty years. The author manages to present a first-rate biography that focuses not on personal detail but on the maturation of Lincoln's political, economic, and, most importantly, theological beliefs. It seems that Lincoln needed to believe in God--he was far too great a soul to withstand so much personal and national tragedy without searching for transcendental meaning. Yet, he could not reason his way to devotion and he was too honest to allow himself to borrow comfort from a Christianity he could not intellectually embrace. The dawning irony throughout the book is that it seems that Providence used Lincoln without his realizing it. One need not be overly devout to see Lincoln as America's secular Suffering Servant. Ironically, Lincoln could not find a personal Redeemer in the religion of his day. But, perhaps that very elusive God, provided Lincoln himself to atone for the nation's original sin of slavery.

Rating:
Summary: An Important Book in Lincoln Studies
Review: Thousands of books have been written about Abraham Lincoln. These books have ranged from general biographies, multi-volume biographies, examinations of his political career, his presidency, and his views on slavery. Allen Guelzo, in this excellent book, gives us an ideological look at the 16th president. Most historians have ignored Lincoln as a philosophical thinker and Guelzo tries to open up this aspect of Lincoln's character and thought. Examining Lincoln's moral and religious beliefs and how they evolved, Guelzo portrays Lincoln, not as a religious skeptic or as a Christian Redeemer as other biographers have, but as a seeker. Throughout his life, according to Guelzo, Lincoln is looking for a religious structure that he can believe in, but never finds one that meets his needs. Lincoln continues to sense a feeling of inadequacy as the beliefs from his predestinarian Calvinist background give him a sense that he was not one of the elect. This predestinarian background also makes Lincoln feel that, in Lincoln's words, "events have controlled me." During the Civil War, it is this sense of inevitability and predetermination that guides Lincoln in many of his anti-slavery and reconstruction policies. Lincoln sees himself as a tool in bringing about God's will, even though he doubts that he will achieve salvation.