Boss Lincoln: The Partisan Life of Abraham Lincoln [Hardcover]

A landmark book& A landmark book&. The Lincoln that Pinsker reveals is not the poetic orator or folksy statesman. Neither is he always the cooperationist depicted in Doris Kearns Goodwins In this superb, often surprising account by a leading scholar of the Civil War era, Matthew Pinsker presents Abraham Lincoln as a pragmatic and ambitious political animal as he plows his way through the thickets of Illinois politics and into the bruising national arenaand finally the wartime White House. If anyone still thinks of Lincoln as a rube, this deeply researched, crisply written book will dispel that weary stereotype once and for all. Matthew Pinsker performs a small miracle by writing something fresh and important about Abraham Lincoln. Pinsker reveals a pragmatic politician adept at building coalitions, doling out patronage, and, even, playing the dirty tricks of old-school politics. Vivid and persuasive. Here is the incredible story of how Lincoln the politician made possible all the other Lincolnsthe eloquent speechmaker, the military leader, the patriot. With brilliant, original scholarship, Matthew Pinsker tells the sweeping epic of how Lincolns mastery of politics enabled him to quell an insurrection against democracy, liberate a people, and save the nation. Matthew Pinsker gives us a ferociously partisan Lincoln for whom political parties are not driven by inflexible ideology but are flexible instruments for the pursuit of worthy ends. Readers who know Lincoln well will know him better thanks to this eye-opening book. A compelling portrait. . . . Readers will profit from this exploration of how Lincoln, adept at hardball politics, labored behind the scenes to advance partisan strategies during a career that also yielded some of the nations most transcendent public statements. As a war leader, Lincoln succeeded by preserving and expanding a united party, a central feature of his leadership that has been underappreciated by historians. Matthew Pinsker fil3)