The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America [Paperback]

Mark E. Neely Jr. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674511263 | ISBN-13: 978-0674511262 | Publication Date: March 5, 1995

Mark E. Neely, Jr., gives us the first compact biography of Abraham Lincoln based on new scholarship. Neely, a Pulitzer prize-winning historian, vividly recaptures the central place of politics in Lincoln's life. Richly illustrated, nuanced and accessible, written with attention to the age in which Lincoln lived, yet ever alert to universal moral questions, this book provides a portrait of Lincoln as an extraordinary man in his own time and ours.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shortly before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared slaves free in the secessionist states, Abraham Lincoln gave assurances to the border states of an all-white society to come, whereby freed slaves would be shipped to South American colonies. Nevertheless, argues Neely in this succinct, brisk political biography, Lincoln generally took a determined moral stance against slavery, which he regarded as an evil. Winner of a Pulitzer for The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties , Neely here disputes critics who charge that Lincoln's security measures during the Civil War amounted to a dictatorship, even though, as he graphically acknowledges, tens of thousands of civilians were arrested and civil liberties were drastically curtailed. As commander-in-chief, opines Neely, Lincoln had no equal in American history in combining political vision with military strategy. Nearly 100 plates reproduce documents, posters, cartoons, letters, broadsides and rare photographs.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Relying on the writings and speeches of Lincoln, Neely ( The Fate of Liberty: Lincoln and Civil Liberties , OUP, 1991) has in effect composed a political biography. By using Lincoln's own words, he shows us the greatness, fears, and pettiness of the man. Intensely nationalistic, Lincoln had a strong faith in the Constitution and an intuitive understanding of our forefathers' ideas. Neely demonstrates Lincoln's grasp of military strategy, extension of presidential power, restrictions on civil liberties, and realization that the Constitution would survive during the Civil War. Like Donald E. Fehrenbacher's Prelude to Greatness: Lincoln in the 1850s (1964), this work shows the complete evolution of Lincoln's thoughts, which were surprisingly modern regarding the rights of women and blacks. A stronger introduction would have strengthened this richly illustrated work. Recommended for scholars and informed lay readers.
- Richard Hedlund, Ashland Community Coll., Ky.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (March 5, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674511263
• ISBN-13: 978-0674511262
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #509,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A PRAGMATIC HERO, October 16, 2000

By 

Robin Friedman (Washington, D.C. United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America (Paperback)

The Title of Professor Neely's biography of Lincoln is taken from Lincoln's second Message to Congress dated December 1, 1862. It is an inspiring phrase and an apt title for a Lincoln biography. Professor Neely's biography is good and solid in its analysis of Lincoln's life. It lacks, however, something of the eloquence and vision of the title and of Lincoln's words. We never learn why Lincoln considered the United States "the Last Best Hope of Earth" or what that can mean for our country today.

That said, this book is a good introduction to Lincoln and his Presidency. The book skims briefly over Lincoln's life before he became the 16th President. There are advantages to this, but the treatment of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and of the Kansas-Nebraska Act which led to them is too brief to help understand sucession and the Civil War which followed.

The book's treatment of Lincoln's relationship with his Generals and of the strategy of the War is probably the best single chapter. It has something to teach even those who are familiar with the military history of the war. The chapter on Lincoln as a pragmatic politician and on the 1864 campaign is also well done. The book treats the Emancipation Proclamation at length but to me anyway left something to be desired. (The text and some explicit treatment of it would help) and discusses the fate of Civil Liberties during the War and domestic development during the war in good but not dispositive detail.

If you are looking for an understanding of Lincoln and of the Civil War this is a good place to start but not to end. I suggest reading the book together with the complilation of Lincoln's own speeches and writings in the Library of America series.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good general biography, May 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this work. I felt it could have been more in-depth, but only so much can be expected from its relatively short length. It is a good resource and point of departure for the Lincoln historian or enthusiast, but I would recommend additional reading to fill in the gaps.