Ronald C. White Libri

This deluxe collection presents Lincoln's private writings in a full-color facsimile edition, showcasing his most revealing notes. These "notes to self," captured on scraps of paper, are accompanied by contextual essays from bestselling biographer Ronald C. White. A deeply private individual, Lincoln documented "his best thoughts" to ensure they were not lost. This edition highlights ten of his most significant notes, offering a rare glimpse into the mind of one of America's pivotal orators and leaders. The notes explore themes such as slavery and provide rebuttals to its supporters, as well as insights into Lincoln's preparation for his historic debates with Stephen Douglas during the 1858 senatorial campaign. One notable fragment, penned on the eve of his inauguration, reveals Lincoln's argument for national unity amid the looming secession crisis. Arranged chronologically, starting from 1848, just a year into Lincoln's Congressional term, this unique volume offers fresh perspectives on the thoughts and challenges faced by our nation's greatest president.

"Before 1862, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had rarely left his home state of Maine, where he was a trained minister and mild-mannered professor at Bowdoin College. His colleagues were shocked when he volunteered for the Union army, but he was undeterred and later became known as one of the North's greatest heroes: On the second day at Gettysburg, after running out of ammunition at Little Round Top, he ordered his men to wield their bayonets in a desperate charge down a rocky slope that routed the Confederate attackers. Despite being wounded at Petersburg--and told by two surgeons he would die--Chamberlain survived the war, going on to be elected governor of Maine four times and serve as president of Bowdoin College. How did a stuttering young boy come to be fluent in nine languages and even teach speech and rhetoric? How did a trained minister find his way to the battlefield? Award-winning historian Ronald C. White delves into these contradictions in this definitive, cradle-to-death biography of General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, from his upbringing in rural Maine to his tenacious, empathetic military leadership and his influential post-war public service, exploring a question that still plagues so many veterans: How do you make a civilian life of meaning after having experienced the extreme highs and lows of war?"-- Provided by publisher