Lincoln and the Fight for Peace by John Avlon

Lincoln and the Fight for Peace by John Avlon

A groundbreaking and affecting and powerful (The New York Times Book Review) history of Abraham Lincoln's plan to secure a just and lasting peace after the Civil War--a vision that inspired future presidents as well as the world's most famous peacemakers. As the tide of the Civil War turned in the spring of 1865, Abraham Lincoln took a dangerous two-week trip to visit the troops on the front lines accompanied by his young son, seeing combat up close, meeting liberated slaves in the ruins of Richmond, and comforting wounded Union and Confederate soldiers. The power of Lincoln's personal example in the closing days of the war offers a portrait of a peacemaker. He did not demonize people he disagreed with. He used humor, logic, and scripture to depolarize bitter debates. Balancing moral courage with moderation, Lincoln believed that decency could be the most practical form of politics, but he understood that people were more inclined to listen to reason when greeted from a position of strength. Ulysses S. Grant's famously generous terms of surrender to General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox that April were an expression of a president's belief that a soft peace should follow a hard war. While his assassination sent the country careening off course, Lincoln's vision would be vindicated long after his death, inspiring future generations in their own quests to secure a just and lasting peace. As US General Lucius Clay, architect of the post-WWII German occupation said when asked what guided his decisions: I tried to think of the kind of occupation the South would have had if Abraham Lincoln had lived. Lincoln and the Fight for Peace reveals with its graceful prose and wise insights (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of America) how Lincoln's character informed his commitment to unconditional surrender followed by a magnanimous peace. Even during the Civil War, surrounded by reactionaries and radicals, he refused to back down from his belief that there is more that unites us than divides us. But he also understood that peace needs to be waged with as much intensity as war. Lincoln's plan to win the peace is his unfinished symphony, but in its existing notes, we can find an anthem that can begin to bridge our divisions today.

Avlon, John: - John Avlon is the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Beast and a CNN political analyst. He is the author of Independent Nation and Wingnuts as well as an editor of the anthology Deadline Artists: America's Greatest Newspaper Columns. He was chief speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and won the National Society of Newspaper Columnists' award for Best Online Column in 2012. He lives with his wife Margaret Hoover and their two children in New York City.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781982108120
ISBN 10	1982108126
Title	Lincoln and the Fight for Peace
Author	John Avlon
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Year published	2022-02-15
Number of pages	368
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.