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The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by [Foner, Eric]

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The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery Kindle Edition

by Eric Foner (Author)

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“A masterwork [by] the preeminent historian of the Civil War era.”—Boston Globe

Selected as a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review, this landmark work gives us a definitive account of Lincoln's lifelong engagement with the nation's critical issue: American slavery. A master historian, Eric Foner draws Lincoln and the broader history of the period into perfect balance. We see Lincoln, a pragmatic politician grounded in principle, deftly navigating the dynamic politics of antislavery, secession, and civil war. Lincoln's greatness emerges from his capacity for moral and political growth.

Length: 465 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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File Size: 3938 KB
Print Length: 465 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (September 26, 2011)
Publication Date: September 26, 2011
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B0044XV6G6
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,880 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #55 in Abolition History of the U.S.
- #63 in Reconstruction History of the U.S.
- #108 in U.S. Abolition of Slavery History

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Great Storytelling with Nuance

September 10, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Any admirer of Lincoln and his contribution to the American story will be highly impressed and entertained by Mr. Foner's "Fiery Trial." Most books I have read on the subject tend to make the entire issue of slavery and the Civil War far more "black and white" then the story Mr. Foner so skillfully reveals. The almost limitless and constantly mutating variations between abolitionist and slaveholding racist are precisely depicted, making the story so vividly real and instructive.

Equally compelling is the author's treatment of Lincoln as he grappled with the profound racial-political complexities that so gradually transformed his thinking; issues that were seemingly irreconcilable at the time and that remain profoundly vexing. In so doing, the author succeeds in achieving what the best historical storytelling can, making a granite-like American icon human despite his greatness.

I would recommend this as a highly readable and eminently enlightening record of one of the most challenging periods in our history. It is especially relevant amidst the crippling and perplexing divisions we see in our country at present.

7 people found this helpful

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Just Brilliant and a Great Book, adding to the other works on Lincoln

March 17, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This analysis had not been done by Lincoln scholars before and it is just a sumptous read. I envy Prof. Foner's students at Columbia. I only learned about him by an appearance on Democracy Now. Foner has this wonderful gift of allowing for historical overview while getting right into the context of the times. The complexity is so astonishing, as of course, it always is, and as Foner notes, taking history's view often makes outcomes seem destined or inevitable. So it is very difficult to look back and take apart so many elements in some kind of dispassionate but still feeling way. I did not think I needed to read more on Lincoln because of having read so much and being enamored of the Lincoln scholars and their wonderful community. Foner does credit Michael Burlingame and, in fact, often relies on Burlingame's wonderful scholarship but then contributes this particular focus, this puzzling developmental relationship of Abraham Lincoln to his times.

Clearly, that president was a born mediator, able to see and know and address the views of others around him. He did shrewdly avoid taking any stands that would poorly impact on his political ambitions. While he hated slavery in principle, he could not imagine a social order suddently without it. We consider that less than idealistic of him but consider too, nearly everyone in his cabinet that wanted to be president had mostly ruled themself out by their having taken stands for or against slavery, abolition, or this or that party. So Lincoln wound up with the job and then seemed the only one with a spine enough and a devotion enough to George Washington's vision and tribulations to withstand the great pressures for compromise with secession. Only Lincoln would not budge and what a horrible messy war it was.

We cannot know what Lincoln would have done with Reconstruction but we do know what Andrew Johnson did. That's another Foner book.

Foner's great gift as I see it is fidelity to the tapestry of the times. Foner has not himself as a teacher or author gotten lost in the mystique of Lincoln and that's not easy and I suppose he must have decided early that field was just too populated with scholarship.

This is a great read even for those of us who've immersed in Burlingame and all the Lincoln scholars. Because it seems that Foner has been able to trace Lincoln's development and changes through time. Always the motives were mediative, never extreme. I would love to have seen Lincoln deal with Reconstruction and I feel certain he would have acknowledged the stresses on all parts and would have used martial law to prevent the abuses of the freedmen to give them time for education and self development. We did not get that. As I say, that's another book.

14 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

A little tedious, yet careful analysis

November 13, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The Fiery Trial goes a long way into the growth in Abraham Lincoln's views over the course of the Civil War. It develops the changes that occurred, and the areas that did not change. The war itself brought about his understanding that slavery itself must be destroyed to achieve victory. The remarkable ability to see error in his own views and change those previous views is no doubt the single most remarkable element of Lincoln's greatness. The book at times becomes tedious in this analysis. But the language is clear and never pretentious. Glad I read it.

4 people found this helpful

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Something New About Lincoln, Amazing!

January 14, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

By focusing on Lincoln's thoughts about slavery and their evolution over time, Foner brings into clear view the many tangled issues and tormented arguments about slavery during the 30 years before and during the Civil War..

I never understood why Lincoln was considered a "moderate" on the subject of slavery, given that he freed the slaves. But after having read this book it is remarkably clear why he is considered a moderate. His views on slavery evolved dramatically, especially once the Civil War began. But even until the middle of 1862 he was still a moderate in favor of compensation for slave owners and resettlement of the freedmen to Central America. Only in late 1862 did he give up that idea and embrace emancipation as we know it. The story about how he got there is long and fascinating.

This book won the Pulitzer Prize and deservedly so, in my opinion. Saying something new about Lincoln challenges even the best historian, but to make a breakthrough like this is remarkable. Foner's writes concisely and the narrative moves along briskly, with only a few patches where the book bogs down a bit. The many details crackle with meaning when put into vibrant contrasts by the author. Over and over again I found myself facing facts and ideas that were new to me, and I consider myself well versed in this subject. Highly recommended.

5 people found this helpful

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