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Lincoln Observed: Civil War Dispatches of Noah Brooks

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Noah Brooks was a correspondent from California who spent a great deal of time at the White House. By most accounts he was unusually close to President Lincoln during the war years. Lincoln could be more candid with Brooks than with other reporters about military events, because there was a long lag time before Brooks's stories could reach his home-town paper in Sacramento.

Editor Michael Burlingame provides an introduction that gives the background you need to understand Brooks and his relationship with the Civil War White House. The editor provides a lot of footnotes that give additional background on specific comments in Brooks's dispatches. There is also an index, which can come in handy for those quick-reference needs.

The dispatches themselves are informative and entertaining. Noah Brooks had an eye for images and mannerisms, which made him a useful witness of the different personalities in Civil War Washington. He also had a reporter's ability to write clear, concise prose, which makes this account easier to follow than many documents from an era of tedious writing styles. Brooks' accounts do not cover the earliest days of the Lincoln presidency. The first dispatch is from December 1862, with the greatest amount of detail in 1864 and early 1865.

At times Brooks wanders off into arcane details about Washington society that would interest only the most esoteric historical inquiry. At other times he waxes profound about the momentous issues and personalities of a country deep in its greatest crisis. And there are plenty of useful anecdotes and details on the day-to-day life and actions of President Lincoln and his cabinet.

I only recommend this title if you have a serious interest in the Lincoln White House. Nonetheless, it is an easier read than most original sources. It probably ranks second only to John Hay's personal accounts as a detailed first-hand record of the Lincoln White House, and represents an indispensable asset for any serious Lincoln scholar.