Lincoln's Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for

Lincoln's Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln's Image

A timely and intimate look into Abraham Lincolnâ€™s White House through the lives of his two closest aides and confidants

Lincolnâ€™s official secretaries John Hay and John Nicolay enjoyed more access, witnessed more history, and knew Lincoln better than anyone outside of the presidentâ€™s immediate family. Hay and Nicolay were the gatekeepers of the Lincoln legacy. They read poetry and attendeded the theater with the president, commiserated with him over Union army setbacks, and plotted electoral strategy. They were present at every seminal event, from the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation to Lincolnâ€™s delivery of the Gettysburg Addressâ€”and they wrote about it after his death.

In their biography of Lincoln, Hay and Nicolay fought to establish Lincolnâ€™s heroic legacy and to preserve a narrative that saw slaveryâ€”not statesâ€™ rightsâ€”as the sole cause of the Civil War. As Joshua Zeitz shows, the image of a humble man with uncommon intellect who rose from obscurity to become a storied wartime leader and emancipator is very much their creation.

Drawing on letters, diaries, and memoirs, Lincolnâ€™s Boys is part political drama and part coming-of-age taleâ€”a fascinating story of friendship, politics, war, and the contest over history and remembrance.
Country USA
Manufacturer Penguin Books
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2014-02-04
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Penguin Books
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2014-02-04
Format	Kindle eBook

Lincoln's Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln's Image

You might also like...