Freedom - A Novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War [Hardcover]

William Safire (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 1987

In this novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, Safire explores the dilemma of how much freedom must be denied individuals to protect the freedom of all.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Do national security concerns supersede guarantees of individual liberty? Does strict adherence to the principles of freedom prevent a free government from defending itself effectively? Does the minority have the right to dissolve a democracy? Was the Civil War inevitable, given the fundamental split over slavery, or was it brought on by a combination of well-meaning and greedy Northerners who wanted to dominate the South? Can a majority rule over a subjugated minority and remain a democracy? These are among the vital, timeless issues that Safire deftly grapples with in a prodigious, 1152-page work that is more history than fiction. That he succeeds in relaying the confusion, anguish and excitement of this critical period in American historythe 20 months from Lincoln's assumption of the presidency to the signing of his Emancipation Proclamationis a measure of his supple writing style and dedication to veracity. With its analysis of intricate legal, political and military issues, this is demanding fiction, but so assiduously documented that it will interest Civil War tyros and scholars as well as buffs. Safire censures Lincoln as a leader who "as the war went on . . . grew more easy with the use of dictatorial power." He also emerges here as shrewd, manipulative, depressed, stubborn, determined to preserve the Union and majority rule at all costs, a ruthless president who conducted a purposely bloody war. His gradual turnabout from a policy of tolerating slavery where it existed to the bold emancipation of slaves in rebel states, as a strategy to sustain the fighting spirit of the North, is carefully chronicled. In a 130-page "underbook," Safire separates fact from fiction and keenly judges various historical controversies: Was McClellan an overly cautious general, or was he acting according to his dovish Democratic political conscience? Safire vivifies the complexities and paradoxes of the era through such real-life characters as border-staters Anna Ella Carroll of Maryland, a well-connected pamphleteer, and John Breckinridge, a former vice-president and Kentucky senator turned Confederate general, whose family epitomized the fratricidal war. The Pulitzer Prizewinning New York Times columnist is also adept at depicting gripping battle scenes, the vicissitudes of politics and the fierce jockeying for supremacy among Lincoln's cabinet members, between the president and the military, the different branches of government and factions of the Republican party. The intimacies here are basically political; Safire contrives a few fictional romances, but they are sops to the genre, providing a prism through which to examine the characters or "hatracks" on which to hang information. Photos not seen by PW. Major ad/promo; BOMC main selection.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The 20 months between Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus and his signing of the Emancipation Proclamation were perhaps the most crucial period in American history, a time when a lasting definition of American democracy was being forged by civil war. This enormous book is both an outstanding history of that critical time and a model historical novel. Over a hundred pages of notes testify to Safire's thorough research and present the carefully reasoned speculation justifying his imagining certain scenes. As a Civil War historian he is worthy of mention beside Bruce Catton or Shelby Foote. As a Civil War novelist, as the creator of a vividly compelling book, Safire is easily the equal of MacKinley Kantor, John Jakes, or Gore Vidal, and perhaps their superior. An impressive achievement, one of the very few truly significant Civil War novels. For most libraries. BOMC main selection. Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib. , Randolph, Mass.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1125 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (July 28, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038515903X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385159036
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #431,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Safire began his writing career as a reporter, became a speechwriter in the Nixon White House, and re-crossed the street to write an Op-Ed column in the New York Times for the next three decades. He also wrote the weekly "On Language" column in the New York Times Magazine. He was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for commentary and the Medal of Freedom.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Political intrigue in Lincoln's White House? Read and learn!, January 13, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freedom: A Novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War (Paperback)

Safire's "Freedom" gives the E.L. Doctorow fact/fiction treatment to the period of the Civil War from Lincoln's inauguration to the Emancipation Proclamation.

By weaving fact in with invented dialogue, guessed-at meetings and more than a few dreamed-up liaisons, Safire creates a seamless and fascinating tale that is as compelling as good fiction but with historical accuracy.

Most striking is it's honest treatment of Honest Abe, who we find was shrewd, crafty, manipulative, micromanaging, melancholy, pedantic and in general could be anything but honest.

Any fan of Safire's OpEd columns in the NY Times will appreciate the fact that White House intrigue isn't limited to the late 20th century, but is nearly as old as the Republic. If the reader ever feels Safire's trying to modernize the political intrigue of the Lincoln White House-well, perhaps. But his facts are well documented. He admits to inventing dialogue by the duplicitous Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a Hamlet-like former Vice President John Breckenridge, a scheming Salmon P. Chase and several other key characters. Yet his story fits precisely with the historical record.

The best part is the concurrent reference in the back of the book. Instead of burdening the reader with intrusive footnotes, Safire scrupulously documents what is fact and what is fiction, then organizes it by book and chapter. He lets you turn the pages to find what is truth, what is made up and what falls in-between. If you don't care, you'll be no worse off.

My only disappointment is "Freedom" doesn't cover the entire Civil War, only the first two years, when the Emancipation Proclamation and a Union victory at the Murfreesboro, seems, by the book's inference, set the Union on an inevitable course toward victory. Left out is Gettysberg, Sherman's march on Atlanta, the NY riots and several other battles and political events that kept the outcome in doubt up to Sept. 1864. No matter. One can only hope that someday Safire will write an equally fascinating sequel covering this period.

Even if you've seen Ken Burns' "Civil War" a thousand times and read all types of Civil War books, you'll find "Freedom" informative and entertaining. It's one of the best books I've ever read.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Compelling Portrait of the Political Lincoln, September 25, 2000

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Freedom Part 1 of 2 (Audio Cassette)

Freedom professes to be "A Novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War," but it has a much more specific purpose than that, dealing with the political machinations that resulted in the Emancipation Proclamation. More than any other account that I have, biographical or fictional, William Safire constructions a complete portrait of Lincoln. This is a Lincoln who is always thinking and talking, so there is more depth than you find in Sandburg, but also a Lincoln grounded in the historical record of the time, and therefore more grounded than you find in Vidal. In "Freedom" you will find your best appreciation of Abraham Lincoln as the only political figure in the entire country who would have taken the political tack that saved the nation.

I should confess that I am extremely jealous of this book. Years ago I thought of writing a book on the Civil War dealing specifically with the attempt to get McClellan to march on Washington and take over the government as a military dictator. I also thought that it was be fun to have a work of historical fiction that contained photographs of those characters who really existed as well as a bibliography and footnotes. Imagine my surprise when I discovered this was, for all intents and purposes, the book I had in mind, down to the scene where the two non-commissioned officers discover Lee's orders before the battle of Antietam. Did I mention I was extremely jealous?

Safire spent eight years researching and writing this book, which has an Underbook of over 100 pages of sources and commentary. When he takes historical liberties, such as the mutual attraction of Lincoln's secretary John Hay for Kate Chase, ambitious daughter of the Secretary of the Treasury, he takes pains to explain his purposes. Safire masterfully weaves recorded and imagined conversations dealing with the personages and events, the issues and demands of the time. By the end of "Freedom" you look back and see the chess match that has been played out with the endgame being the need for the slightest military victory to allow Lincoln to sign his proclamation, thereby changing the nature of the Civil War and altering the future of the nation. From now on, when you see a painting of Lincoln sitting with his Cabinet and holding that piece of parchment in his hand, you will have a much greater appreciation for how he managed to construct that particular moment in history.

My personal preference was to read each chapter of the Underbook as I completed the corresponding chapter of the novel. Even if you are not interested in the minutiae of history as to where Safire found which particular tidbit, the frequent insights into the author's thinking is a rare treat, both illuminating and interesting.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a book!, October 11, 1999

By 

Richard Thau "rthau" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Freedom: A Novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War (Paperback)

This is the Abraham Lincoln you don't learn about in high school, the one who leveraged his tenuous power in ways that seem almost unimaginable. Reading this phenomenal book gave me huge appreciation for Lincoln and his capacity to free the slaves in the context of the Civil War. (I also never realized how pathetic his cabinet was!) Whenever I pass by the Lincoln Memorial, I now get a chill thinking about his greatness. Our country came so close to permanent division, and was saved almost singlehandedly by this remarkable man.