Some good infor but also some agonizing detail in this book

Anyone looking to this book for some sort of account for Lincoln's time writing or giving the Gettysburg Address will probably be disappointed. Wills's book is not really about that so much as it is a look into the philosophies and legal and political outlooks held by both 19th century America in general and Lincoln in particular that led to the writing of the famous speech. This is a book about philosophy, Lincoln's writing style, and how he somehow talks about slavery without ever mentioning it. It's fascinating, but not the sort of history book I suspect most readers tend to look for.

My ratings of books on Goodreads are solely a crude ranking of their utility to me, and not an evaluation of literary merit, entertainment value, social importance, humor, insightfulness, scientific accuracy, creative vigor, suspensefulness of plot, depth of characters, vitality of theme, excitement of climax, satisfaction of ending, or any other combination of dimensions of value which we are expected to boil down through some fabulous alchemy into a single digit.

Wills breaks down Lincoln's speech by showing its roots in ancient Greek funeral oratory; how Lincoln changed the way we view the Constitution and Declaration of Independence; and how his words helped usher in a new leaner style of expression. And it's fluidly written, a pleasure to read. Highly recommended especially in the 150th anniversary year.

Wills gives a very thorough exposition of the famous address, in the context of both in 19th-century America and in Lincoln's political thought. I also learned quite a lot about the keynote speaker at the Gettysburg memorial, the renowned speaker Edward Everett, and the revival of interest in Greek culture and rhetoric that Everett championed. Wills even does some textual criticism at the end, looking at the slightly different versions of the address that survive to see which reflects the spoken words.

B- truly incredible. Wills deconstructs Lincoln’s Gettysburg address with a fine tooth comb, measuring each phrase and word choice with literary mastery. Only complaint was that I wish this book contained more history about the place of the speech and background of the situation and a little less literary dissection.

I found parts of this interesting, but not a lot of them. The tone was so pedantic and frankly, just plain condescending and cranky that I couldn’t get it into it. Wills spends a fair amount of time namechecking Lincoln biographers and what they got wrong, with the assumption of course that he is the correct one. I consider myself a word nerd, but an entire book based on a 4 paragraph address was too much even for me.

Very historical

A masterclass in close reading.

"...of the people, by the people, and for the people", are some of the most iconic words from American history. Wills explains the the philosophical, political, and stylistic influences that guided Lincoln in crafting his Gettysburg Address. I will try to learn from Lincoln how to write powerful words.

"Lincoln at Gettysburg" is a Pulitzer Prize-winning rhetorical and historical assessment of the Gettysburg Address. It examines the form, substance, and significance of the address with piercing clarity and genuine revelation. We know, instinctively, that the Gettysburg Address transcends the Civil War and speaks to the American soul. Wills tells us why.

One will learn much from "Lincoln at Gettysburg" about how Lincoln drafted the address, who and what influenced him, and how it was received. He addresses questions about the contested text: What did Lincoln actually say? Are the modern copies abridged or accurate? The book is most enriching, however, when thematic: Wills places the Gettysburg Address among funeral orations to examine themes of death, honor, violence, and liberty — all of which it circumscribes. Additionally, there is much discussion of the 'foil' of the address — the preceding oration by Edward Everett — and how Lincoln's succinct remarks shone in contrast, with their gravity and simplicity. As a classicist, Wills examines the rhetoric using Greek rhetorical principles, using Pericles as a particular template. The analysis is technical yet readable to the curious person.

Despite my admiration, however, I must disagree with one of Wills's theses (as I understand it) in the book: namely, that Lincoln harbored some animus for the Founding Generation and sought to revise the Founding Fathers' vision of America. The subtitle of the book, "The Words That Remade America," suggests as much about Wills's view, which he substantiates with an assessment of Lincoln's personal history. It is a view among some intellectuals that the Civil War and subsequent amendments to the U.S. Constitution, in essence, reordered the idea of America as a nation.

I believe it is wrong. Just as modern America squabbles about the "intent" of the Founders when they created the country (seeking legitimacy for their current projects), the intent of the Union during the Civil War is not as clear; arguments about the primary of 'abolishing slavery' as a goal for the Union side (versus trade or national unity) are but one example. What is clear to me, however, is where the Union looked to justify its cause: the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Frederick Douglass, the most articulate expositor of the black man's view of the Civil War, explicitly appealed to these documents in his most forceful arguments against slavery (c.f. "What to a Slave is the Fourth of July"). So did Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address (e.g., "a Great Civil War, testing whether that nation so conceived or dedicated, can endure"). The promise of the American Founding, and the urge to preserve it, was the basis for the fight. Thereafter, the institutional change (e.g., the 14th Amendment) did not radically reconstitute American society so much as it extended the Constitution's guarantees more widely. The Civil War was certainly an evolution in American society, but one in succession from the "Spirit of 76," as Jefferson put it. I remain unpersuaded of a "Second Founding," as Wills suggests, though I appreciate the strong thesis he articulates. The Chicago Tribune was right to call it "boldly revisionist."

In sum, there is perhaps no more insightful a book on the most famous speech in American history — or, perhaps, a shorter one, being only three chapters long. In this memorably rich volume, Wills's erudition is in full form, and the book is a magnum opus. Read it.

Lincoln at Gettysburg is an analysis of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, focusing more on the the rhetorical antecedents than the politics of the moment, although it has some of that as well.

Lincoln’s speech was short and precise, without wasting words where they were not needed. The same can not be said of this book.