This record has been deleted from the database. We recommend that you remove this title from any lists it may have been added to.
Tried by war [sound recording] : Abraham Lincoln as commander in chief / James M. McPherson.
Though Abraham Lincoln arrived at the White House with no previous military experience (apart from a couple of months spent soldiering in 1832), he quickly established himself as the greatest commander in chief in American history. James McPherson illuminates this often misunderstood and profoundly influential aspect of Lincolns legacy. In essence, Lincoln invented the idea of commander in chief, as neither the Constitution nor existing legislation specified how the president ought to declare war or dictate strategy. In fact, by assuming the powers we associate with the role of commander in chief, Lincoln often overstepped the narrow band of rights granted the president. Good thing too, because his strategic insight and will to fight changed the course of the war and saved the Union.For most of the conflict, he constantly had to goad his reluctant generals toward battle, and he oversaw strategy and planning for major engagements with the enemy. Lincoln was a self-taught military strategist (as he was a self-taught lawyer), which makes his adroit conduct of the war seem almost miraculous. To be sure, the Unions campaigns often went awry, sometimes horribly so, but McPherson makes clear how the missteps arose from the all-too-common moments when Lincoln could neither threaten nor cajole his commanders to follow his orders. -- provided by Amazon.com.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780143143604
- ISBN: 0143143603
- Physical Description: 8 sound discs : digital ; 4 3/4 in.
- Publisher: New York : Penguin Audio, 2008.
Content descriptions
Participant or Performer Note: | Read by George Guidall. |
System Details Note: | Compact disc. |