Lincoln

I have memories of when this book came out. As I recall, it was an event, something heralded in bookstores and written about in places beyond the book review sections. Here was a major American intellectual taking on one of our greatest American sacred cows.

This is still an intriguing book, and one I mostly enjoyed, but I’m struck as well by how far in the past its release date now seems. For lack of a better term, Gore Vidal was writing for a “middlebrow” readership, people who were neither academic nor cutting-edge in their expectations of artistry, yet who also expected to be informed.

That world seems deeply shrunken if not vanished today. You can’t really read this book without a lot of what was common knowledge in earlier generations. You need, for instance, to have a solid working knowledge of the sequence of Civil War battles to understand the action here. You need, as well, to have more or less accepted the vision of Lincoln as the great savior of the nation in order to understand the impact the book is seeking.

In a word, this is quasi-revisionist history. The Lincoln whom Vidal gives us is a cosmopolitan who uses his log-cabin/rail-splitter back-story for purely political reasons. He is ever political in his calculations, proving himself much less an abolitionist than many of his allies – particularly Salmon P. Chase and William Sumner. And he is clumsy in a way that often works to his advantage, but clumsy all the same, often over-stepping his Presidential prerogatives and pitting his often cleverer rivals against each other.

All in all, this Lincoln is more an opportunist than a visionary, the right man for his dramatic moment less because of his greatness than because of the peculiar shape of his more modest gifts.

As I understand it from Burr, this is Vidal’s M.O. He takes what we are supposed to know about American history and turns it on its head. Burr wasn’t quite the ruthless and clever figure history told us; he was also a kind of bungler on a great stage.

It’s striking to think that there was once a best-seller audience for this sort of work. I’m glad it still exists, though, because there is a lot of fun here, and it works especially well as an audiobook.

The other striking feature of this – one that further dates it in terms of its appeal – is that this is a novel about the Civil War that takes place almost entirely in people’s kitchens and drawing rooms. We never get direct narration of battle, only the reports of battle as they circulate among people in Washington. We rarely see misconduct; instead, we see people reacting to the stories of it.

In an odd way, then, this feels almost like a staged play. Vidal never bothers with the business of large-scale scenes. Instead, he works to keep that vast story on a human scale.

There are times when this might run on too long and times when it’s frustrating that the stage is so small. All said, though, it’s an intriguing look at a Lincoln who, even with some of the luster knocked off, comes across as a personality who preserved and reinvented the American nation.

This was a pretty fun book to read. It is a work of historical fiction that covers Lincoln from the start of his presidency to his assassination. It is written through the points of view of various political associates and enemies, though not through Lincoln’s own eyes. Details of the war were not covered. It instead focused on his political maneuverings.

This type of book can do something no pure history book can do. It can give a possible answer to the question “what was Lincoln really like”? In Gore Vidal’s telling, Lincoln was a master politician, always one step ahead of his opponents. He had a humble and self-deprecating manner, but underneath was sly cunning and a nerve of steel to stick to his own judgment and decisions. His philosophical driving force was to save the Union, which he was determined to do at any cost. Vidal paints his opposition to slavery to be of secondary importance.

The way that the book was written through the points of view of several people other than Lincoln, but never Lincoln himself, resulted in presenting Lincoln with a mysterious air. No one was ever really sure what exactly was going on in his mind. It was interesting to speculate. It was also fun seeing how people constantly underestimated him.

I can’t say how historically accurate this book is, or how defensible the portrait was of his personality. I hope it was good, otherwise I’ll feel rather cheated. My 2 critiques of the book are (1) the length. I had a hard time maintaining interest for this long. At some point it felt like the characters became fully developed and were less interesting to follow. And (2) The story of David Herold (John Wilkes Boothe accomplice) was far too slow. This should have been the most exciting parts of the book, but I grew very impatient at the slow pacing.

This is another entry in the Superb category of true historical fiction. I cannot heap enough praise on Vidal for his ability to present history in a readable format. He understood the characters, mated them with the facts and made them flesh and bone. Still, this is fiction and he says he did take some liberties.

All of the principal characters really existed, and they said and did pretty much what I have them saying and doing, with the exception of the Surratts and David Herold (who really lived and worked at Thompson’s, which was actually closer to New York Avenue than to Pennsylvania Avenue.) As David’s life is largely unknown until Booth’s conspiracy, I have invented a low-life for him.

The novel begins a few days before Lincoln's first inauguration and ends with the assassination. There is no barefoot childhood in a log cabin educating himself, for example. There are references by others that his humble life in Illinois may have been exaggerated for political reasons. For example, no photograph of his Illinois mansion was allowed during the campaign.

We revere Lincoln, but I'll admit much was unknown to me. Lincoln was a consummate politician - why should he not have been? Via understatement and humor he was able to manipulate his political opponents. The secession of a half dozen states came even before he took the oath of office. Those states were then in possession of much federal property, including federal personnel at Fort Sumter. And so, war was waged. Lincoln had but one reason for this war and that reason was not the abolition of slavery.

“And the Union be so restored that no one will ever be able to see the slightest scar from all this great trouble, that will pass now the way a dream does when you wake at last, from a long night’s sleep.”

A full 5-stars - if I could make them flashing gold stars, I would do it. I look forward to more in this series.

I really like how Vidal writes. I read half of this novel before I watched the Lincoln movie (not the vampire hunter one :D) and I was really impressed by the amount of research that went into this book. As someone who knows very little American history, I definitely gained a lot more knowledge after reading this book.It was a long read but worth it.

First, I just read through many reviews here on Goodreads where the comment was made (over and over again), what an amazing work of non-fiction this is. I don't want to burst anyone's bubble, but this book is entitled "Lincoln: A Novel" and advises the bookseller to shelve it as Fiction/Literature. This is a novel, y'all, and it's important to know the difference. The author himself, in an afterword, makes it known that, while he stayed true to historical pieces of information as much as possible, he has taken liberties as well.

Okay, now that THAT is out of the way, the 2nd thing I want to write: if you are not a Lincoln devotee, a great lover of American history or a person who follows politics/U.S. Presidents, this book is probably going to sit on your nightstand, unfinished, for the rest of your life.

I LOVE Lincoln, he is hands-down my favorite U.S. President, and he's one of my favorite human beings of all time. I am also a great reader. But, this book was heavy in my hands and it was hard to crack open once I had put it down.

This is a well-written novel, and it seems an accurate enough description of the people and the times, but, if you are a lover of Lincoln and you're not sure you're up to tackling these 657 pages, may I recommend Rosemary Wells' fabulous small book, "Lincoln and His Boys" and/or Walt Whitman's "Civil War Poetry and Prose?"

A Novel Of Abraham Lincoln

In his 1984 historical novel "Lincoln", Gore Vidal has written with great insight about our sixteenth president, his cabinet, his family, his enemies, and the Civil War Era. Lengthy though the book is, the writing is crisp and eloquent. It held my attention throughout. The book is part of a series of novels by Vidal exploring the history of the United States.

In writing historical novels, it is difficult to tell where fact ends and fiction begins. This is particularly the case in dealing with a complex figure such as Lincoln whose life and political legacy remain controversial and subject to many interpretations. Controversial matters that Vidal addresses in his novel include Lincoln's attitude towards African-Americans and the Reconstruction policy that Lincoln might have pursued if he had lived. Vidal's book shows careful study of Lincoln's life and the Civil War era. He uses the resources uniquely available to the novelist to good advantage by probing the thought processes and feelings of his characters where historical evidence is lacking. I found the portrait of Lincoln compelling, but it is important to remember that Vidal is writing a novel.

Vidal's book begins as the President-elect arrives secretly in Washington, D.C. a few days before his inauguration to thwart a feared assassination attempt in Baltimore. In the course of the novel, passages of recollection by various characters, reliable and unreliable, cast some light on Lincoln's earlier life. The book moves carefully and slowly, with a great deal of attention given, and properly so, to the earlier period of Lincoln's presidency. Much attention is given to Washington, D.C. at the outset of Lincoln's administration, to attempts to avert the war, to Lincoln's formation of his cabinet, and to preparing the nation for what proved to be a long bloody struggle. The pace of the book picks up as it proceeds through Lincoln's first term and reelection, the end of the Civil War, and the assassination.

The picture of Abraham Lincoln that emerges from Vidal is of a man of great intellect, ambition and will, determined to save the Union at all costs. Vidal portrays Lincoln's overriding dedication to the Union. In order to preserve the Union, Lincoln uses extraordinary and even ruthless political skills. Thus, Vidal's novel considers extensively Lincoln's relationship with his cabinet. Vidal shows Lincoln choosing a cabinet from among his political rivals for the presidency, as well as from loyalist democrats, in order to be all-inclusive in the war effort. Lincoln deals with uncanny skill with potential rivals for the presidency, especially Secretary of State Seward and Secretary of the Treasury Chase. (A recent historical study, "Team of Rivals" by Doris Goodwin also treats Lincoln's relationship to his cabinet at length.) The book also shows Lincoln dealing with similar finesse and force with the Radical Republicans in Congress, with Chief Justice Taney on the Supreme Court, and with his military leaders.

Vidal tells his story through a variety of perspectives. Most of the time, the viewpoint is that of John Hay, one of Lincoln's two secretaries, who had detailed and close access to Lincoln throughout the presidency. Hay and Lincoln's other secretary, Nicolay, together wrote one of the earliest biographies of Lincoln. Vidal also gives the reader a large portrait of the many southern conspirators against Lincoln. In particular Vidal develops the character of a young man named David Herrold, with uncertain purpose in life, who ultimately becomes part of the Booth conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase and his ambitious daughter Kate also receive a large share of attention in Vidal's novel.

For all the attention lavished on him, Lincoln as a man remains an enigma. Lincoln largely kept his own counsel and was not demonstrative in showing his feelings. Thus fleshing-out Lincoln's character offers the novelist a great deal of latitude, and Vidal makes the most of it. His novel focuses on Lincoln's difficult relationship with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, as she spends lavishly, engages herself in political intrigue, and descends to near-madness. The Lincolns endured the death of their young son Willie during the presidency. Vidal properly gives substantial attention to Lincoln's religious views, which became increasing theistic with the prolongation of the Civil War, but never Christian.

Although Gore clearly admires Lincoln and his fortitude in saving the Union, he emphasizes that Lincoln's success came at a high price over and above the loss of blood and treasure in a long bitter war. With his suspension of habeas corpus and suppression of dissent, Lincoln expanded forever the power of the Presidency. The war effort changed the character of the United States from an agrarian republic to a centralized, industrial nation. At the end of the book, Vidal puts his own misgivings into the words of John Hay, stationed in France after the assassination.. Hay remarks that "Lincoln, in some mysterious fashion, had willed his own murder as a form of atonement for the great and terrible thing that he had done by giving so bloody and absolute a rebirth to his nation." (p. 657)

"Lincoln" is a thoughtful and moving book for those readers wanting to think about the ideals and political processes of the United States and about Lincoln's role in their continuing development.

Robin Friedman

As I write my review I am within the last hundred pages and last few months of Abraham Lincoln's life. In other words, Good Friday 1865 is on the horizon and both President and Mrs. Lincoln are set to go and see "Our American Cousin" at that now-fated Washingtonian landmark Ford's Theater. I have been immersing myself in all things Lincoln/Civil War in the last few months as a result of the new Spielberg film and my already having seen it twice. For as much as I cannot stop raving about the film itself I do actually have a few issues with it, albeit this is not the forum to bring those issues to fruition. Suffice to say, I have the "Lincoln Bug" and I feel that it is here to stay (at least for a while).

I am a student of American and Presidential History and for all I do know, I somewhat feel that I either a) don't know ANYTHING regarding President Lincoln or b) feel that I know TOO much regarding President Lincoln. In my case, I simply cannot find that happy medium. It's been said countless times in I don't know how many articles I've read or however many interviews I've seen that American Presidents always feel somewhat that they'll never "live up" to Lincoln or that they must "get right" with the legend of Abraham Lincoln in order to perform and/or carry out the duties of the office that they've sworn to uphold.

So now we know just where I'm at in this vast wilderness of historical information. I simply do not know just where I should start on this journey that I'm dying to embark on. So, I did what I thought was the best thing, kill two birds with one stone. I haven't read a historical novel yet this year and I have this new rediscovered fondness for President Lincoln. I decided that it was finally time for me to take a deep breath and at last dive into Vidal's magnum opus for good. I have tried ever since high school to read this and always seem to get to right after the first inaugural where my concentration and stamina wear out. I've always put this book down and sworn to myself that "someday I'll really read this one." Well Christmas week of December 2012 just happened to be that someday.

I must give Vidal credit where it is due as to the vast and immense research that he obviously poured into every character and almost every scene. The one thing I've always hated about this novel is that Vidal never separates his scenes and as a result the reader finds themselves wondering just how they got from the East Room of the White House for example to the barroom halfway across the city. A few times I needed to back up and actually reread pages just to figure out how the transition happened.

For those Civil War buffs out there, all the usual suspects (George McClellan, William Seward, John Wilkes Booth) make at least a page worth of an appearance within this American epic. The first 130 or so pages go just from February, 1861 (when Lincoln himself sneaks into Washington under cover of night) to the conclusion of the First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) in July, 1861. The second part of the story takes us from December, 1861 to the end of 1863 and the Gettysburg campaign and address, respectively. As I still have yet to complete the third and final part, I can tell you we are going through the 1864 Election and up to Appomattox.

With all that I've mentioned here I have to admit that this is damn fine piece of literature. The few faults that I've brought up shouldn't mar the creation of what for me is quite possibly the BEST historical novel that I've yet read. Pick this one up and lose yourself (if only for a short time) within the politics and times of the early 1860's and the man that single-handedly reinvented the office and tenor of the American Presidency for generations to come.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1984.

In Lincoln, Gore Vidal tones down his usual insouciance for a fine-grained, occasionally profound portrait of power. Spanning the American Civil War, the novel's told from various perspectives: Lincoln's ambitious cabinet secretaries, William Seward and Salmon Chase (and Chase's daughter Kate Chase Sprague, a force in her own right); his personal secretary, John Hay (whose flirtations with Kate Chase come to naught, and whose visits to a bawdy house provide the story's only vulgar notes); his long-suffering, neurotic wife Mary Todd Lincoln (conjured by Vidal with a mixture of sympathy and aggravation); and David Herrold, who joins several plots to assassinate him. All misjudge or underestimate Lincoln: Seward and Chase, in particular, consider him an unlearned prairie bumpkin to control and manipulate, only to slowly recognize his true brilliance and unyielding vision. Vidal's far less interested in Lincoln the Great Emancipator than Lincoln the Tycoon (in Hay's phrase), a crafty politician-statesman who forges a newly resilient United States. It's not a flattering portrait, with Lincoln agonizing over slavery and race to reconcile the South while acting in highhanded, often dictatorial fashion towards his cabinet, Congress and other rivals. Such abuses make Vidal's Lincoln both unattractive and yet darkly heroic. This man of low birth, erratic education, unstable marriage, embarrassing physical ailments and a weakness for evasive, stemwinding anecdotes also possessed an innate political genius, a vision for America that transcended his shortcomings and guided it through its defining crisis. If Lincoln was a dictator, Vidal argues, it's what the situation warranted: in any case, he was at keast less hypocritical about exercising power than most presidents. A masterpiece of historical fiction, and easily Vidal's greatest achievement.