The Lincoln Lords

by Cameron Hawley

Corporation executive, with nothing left but personal charm and a disillusioned wife, is given the opportunity to save a failing business and to reappraise his whole image of success.

Genres: Fiction

511 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel challenges the standard American belief that power, position, title, and money defined success. Cameron Hawley does a thorough job of character development, particularly with the male characters. A line that appears fairly early in the book, "There is a lot of difference in being a part of a company and having a company to be a part of you," begins to reframe some of those values for the protagonist, but he learns later on that he really doesn't understand that statement. Neither does his family understand him nor he understand his family. Through many twists and turns all these challenges get resolved in ways that bring insight, true understanding, and genuine community.

[Todd Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I have been reading the bestsellers from 1960 and was unsure what to expect from this novel. It is character driven and you find yourself going through the uncertainties, ups and downs of this family. Lord is one of those in life who strives with all of the best intentions and yet, somehow gets used until opportunities start coming to him. I really liked this novel.

[William Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat pokey, but enjoyable nonetheless, melodrama about a corporate rescue mission and the personalities involved. Hawley does work some real suspense at the end. I enjoyed it more than the more turgid and more hysterical Hurricane Years which follows it In Hawley’s bibliography, which I’m reading in reverse order.

[Writemoves · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest, I skimmed through most of the book. There were sections of the book that just had too much dialogue that I was not interested. The book was written in the 1950s so quite a bit of it is dated, particularly as it relates to business culture and norms. I think this book was made into a movie and I can see where there is enough editing that it could be a compelling story. As the book starts out, Lincoln Lord is an out of work CEO. He has bills to pay and an ambitious wife to satisfy. He also has a spotty work record where his average tenure in his jobs was two years causing him to be termed " unemployable." This is not the type of book that I would recommend to anyone – – it's a bit soap operaish than anything else. It may have been a decent read in 1960 but it just didn't hold my attention in 2016.