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Diana J. Schaub

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His Greatest Speeches: How Lincoln Moved the Nation Hardcover – November 23, 2021

by Diana Schaub (Author)

4.5 67 ratings

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An expert analysis of Abraham Lincoln's three most powerful speeches reveals his rhetorical genius and his thoughts on our national character.

Abraham Lincoln, our greatest president, believed that our national character was defined by three key moments: the writing of the Constitution, our declaration of independence from England, and the beginning of slavery on the North American continent. His thoughts on these landmarks can be traced through three speeches: the Lyceum Address, the Gettysburg Address, and the Second Inaugural. The latter two are well-known, enshrined forever on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial. The former is much less familiar to most, written a quarter century before his presidency, when he was a 28 year-old Illinois state legislator.

In His Greatest Speeches, Professor Diana Schaub offers a brilliant line-by-line analysis of these timeless works, placing them in historical context and explaining the brilliance behind their rhetoric. The result is a complete vision of Lincoln’s worldview that is sure to fascinate and inspire general readers and history buffs alike. This book is a wholly original resource for considering the difficult questions of American purpose and identity, questions that are no less contentious or essential today than they were a century and a half ago.

Review

"An astute blend of history and textual analysis...[Schaub] skillfully unearths biblical and literary allusions studded throughout the texts. Lincolnophiles with a literary bent will savor this rewarding deep dive." ―Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Diana Schaub is Professor of Political Science at Loyola University Maryland and a Visiting Scholar at AEI. She was a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics from 2004-2009. A recipient of the Richard M. Weaver Prize for Scholarly Letters, she is the author of Erotic Liberalism, contributing editor of The New Atlantis, and part of the National Affairs publication committee. She has written for The Claremont Review of Books, City Journal, The New Criterion, and Commentary, among others.

Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

St. Martin's Press
Publication date

November 23, 2021
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.86 x 8.69 inches
ISBN-10

1250763452
ISBN-13

978-1250763457
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (November 23, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250763452
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250763457
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.86 x 8.69 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #144,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #19 in Literary Speeches
- #154 in American Civil War Biographies (Books)
- #377 in US Presidents

Customer Reviews:
4.5 67 ratings

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Diana J. Schaub

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Diana Schaub is Professor of Political Science at Loyola University Maryland, Visiting Professor in the Government Department at Harvard University (Spring 2022), and a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. She served on the President’s Council on Bioethics from 2004 to 2009. A recipient of the Richard M. Weaver Award for Scholarly Letters, she is the author of Erotic Liberalism, a contributing editor of The New Atlantis, and a member of the National Affairs publication committee. Since 2020, she has been on the board of directors of the Abraham Lincoln Institute.

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4.5 out of 5

67 global ratings

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Jonathan Roberts

5 Star!

Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2023

Verified Purchase

Have chipped away at reading this. Lincoln was awesome! Well done!

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James W. Crawford

A thoughtful, nearly spiritual,you will dis reflection.

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2022

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You will discover Abraham Lincoln working through his changing perspective on who should be included as full citizens of the United States. This is a wonderful book exegeting three Lincoln speeches illustrating a brilliant political mind, a unique and profound patriot, a leader of unique vision and personal presence perhaps spiritually gifted as he struggled with the matters of human justice and saving the Union.
You will find this book carefully wrought and enlightening as Dr. Schaub leads us through Lincoln’s addresses in the Springfield Lyceum in 1838, The Gettysburg Address in November, 1863 and The Second Inaugural Address in March, 1865. I think you may find this historical reflection revelatory.

4 people found this helpful

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Philo F. Willetts Jr.

Highly readable insights to our most eloquent President

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2021

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This is an excellent addition to the books about the eloquence of Abraham Lincoln.

Professor Schaub brings many unique and thought-provoking insights to three great Lincoln speeches. The author proposes and explains why Lincoln likely used certain words, phrases, and techniques to inspire the understanding and resolve of an exhausted people.

Highly recommend this valuable addition to our knowledge of Abraham Lincoln.

5 people found this helpful

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Kevin R

A great Lincoln book.

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2022

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This is a short book but it is packed with so much scholarship and so many wonderful insights that I am going to enjoy it for the rest of my life. A keeper.

2 people found this helpful

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VerbRiver

A speech subdivided still stands

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2022

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Nothing saps eloquence like exegesis. Here, Lincoln is three times sapped.

Diana Schaub deconstructs three Lincoln speeches including the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural. It takes some nerve (and learning) to examine his words and parse what he said into what the exegete believes he meant. Nerve and learning abound in these pages.

She aggressively imputes motives and, on occasion, becomes agitated over certain words. One of those is “conceived” matched to “in Liberty” to which she commits three pages of pondering. A bit more awkward is her view on the beginning of paragraph three in the Gettysburg Address. “I am convinced,” she writes, “that Lincoln’s ‘But’ is the most significant use of the word in the literature of the English-speaking peoples.”

Someone please impanel the High Court of Syntax Masters.

His Greatest Speeches is of moderate worth to history. It is of scant value to the craft of speech writing, a discipline far more demanding than the piecework practice inferred by Dr. Schaub. Not every speech is a conscious re-braiding of previously utilized strands. It is not always a matter of antecedents. Some fortunate times, free-standing inspiration strikes.

A key piece of “outside” speech guidance, certainly relevant here, comes from the late British lyricist, Leslie Bricusse. After testifying to the core importance of finding the “one and only word in the entire language” to convey your exact meaning, he points to something Dr. Schaub gives insufficient regard. “It is not merely what the word means,” Bricusse says. “It is also what it sounds like.”

Dr. Schaub is clearly a learned, credentialed, discerning scholar, well aware that vastly more people read than hear Lincoln’s speeches. Perhaps that is why she recommends reading each of these speeches three times. Good advice. Yet, whether reading or listening, the rhythms are alive and inviting. My guess is people are captured by the Lincoln cadence well before they focus on and absorb his arguments.

Anyone with time to spare on subordinate Lincoln books could do worse than this one.

4 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Wonderful evaluation and synopsis of selection of several of Lincoln’s speeches se

Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2022

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Not finished yet. Fun read so far. Recommend for Lincoln enthusiasts. .

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Library lady

Timeless insight that applies today

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2022

Truly a work of tremendous personal effort and original insight. Schaub must be congratulated for her line-by-line analysis of three of Lincoln's greatest speeches. In her work, she makes the connections between each speech and how Lincoln's choice of words was an attempt to bring the nation together without ever taking personal credit or shaming the populace. She clearly shows that the elimination of slavery was on the agenda of the founders and the others who came after them, but it was a decades-long process to successfully complete. On pages 151-156 of the text, she addresses the New York Times 1619 Project and provides this perspective: “80% of those ever enslaved were alive in 1865 and freed as a consequence of the Civil War. One soldier died for seven persons enslaved from 1619 to 1865, and one soldier died for every person freed by the 13th Amendment.” Lincoln explained that the founders established the foundations of our democracy through the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and then their work was done. The work of succeeding generations is to maintain and perpetuate our democracy by living in accordance with the law. Lincoln's greatness lives on to this day in his timeless words.

2 people found this helpful

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jlc5thcorps

Lincoln’s wokeness?

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2023

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I stopped reading when the author implied that Lincoln may have believed there were more than just two sexes. Trash wrapped in historical greatness. Read Garry Wills or Harry Jaffa if you want to study what Lincoln meant. This book merely reflects the current boorishness of American academics.

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