366 Days in Abraham Lincoln's Presidency: The Private, Political, and Military Decisions of America's Greatest President

by Stephen A. Wynalda, Harry Turtledove (Introduction)

In a startlingly innovative format, journalist Stephen A. Wynalda has constructed a painstakingly detailed day-by-day breakdown of president Abraham Lincoln’s decisions in office-including his signing of the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862; his signing of the legislation enacting the first federal income tax on August 5, 1861; and more personal incidents like the day his eleven-year-old son, Willie, died. Revealed are Lincoln’s private frustrations on September 28, 1862, as he wrote to vice president Hannibal Hamlin, “The North responds to the [Emancipation] proclamation sufficiently with breath; but breath alone kills no rebels.”366 Days in Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency includes fascinating facts like how Lincoln hated to hunt but loved to fire guns near the unfinished Washington monument, how he was the only president to own a patent, and how he recited Scottish poetry to relieve stress. As Scottish historian Hugh Blair said, “It is from private life, from familiar, domestic, and seemingly trivial occurrences, that we most often receive light into the real character.” Covering 366 nonconsecutive days (including a leap day) of Lincoln’s presidency, this is a rich, exciting new perspective of our most famous president. This is a must-have edition for any historian, military history or civil war buff, or reader of biographies.

Genres: History, Civil War, Biography, Nonfiction, American History, Presidents

625 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2010

Reviews

[Jim Swike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usually, this kind of book provides a little information per entry, and you may learn a little. This is not the case with this book; I learned more about Lincoln as you followed him through the 366 days—an excellent resource for research and term papers. Enjoy.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book of 366 days in Lincoln's presidency. He discusses successive days in his presidency which assists in getting an overview of his presidency during the Civil War. No doubt, Lincoln was one of our best presidents. Very enjoyable. However, it would have been a plus to have each "day" listed in the heading in numerical order...day 1, day 2, etc. The author included various short readings dealing with questions concerning Lincoln. I thought "Was Lincoln a racist?" and "Was Lincoln a homosexual?" ridiculous to even legitimately ask. Overall, I liked the book and would recommend it.

[Matthew Bartlett · Rating 2 out of 5]

There have been endless amounts of books written about Abraham Lincoln and his presidency both from the angles of the good and the bad, so this book is another additive to the collection. Throughout this book, there are many examples of what Lincoln went through in the political, private and militaristic realm of his career but some of these stories attempt to bring about a conclusion which is not reality. What this book does is write a myriad of human interest stories throughout his tenure as president and president elect without any form of a narrative. There are many types of books which show the drama and humor of human interest stories, but this book fails to bring about a connection between all of them.
Stephen A. Wynalda is a journalist, a freelance writer and an avid Civil War researcher. He is also the author of many works of fiction which has given him a nomination for the Pushcart Prize. While this is the description of the author on the back flap of the book, I found no trace of his fiction works in the database of goodreads and the only book listed in his name is this work on Lincoln.
I’m not sure what I was hoping for in this book but as I looked through the table of contents, I began to realize that the book was just filled with human interest stories from 1860 until 1865. As the text goes on, there are 84 interruptions of stories of people who viewed Lincoln from the outside instead of a story told about Lincoln himself. Abraham Lincoln loved telling stories so I began to realize that maybe this collection of human interest stories would add to the lexicon of Lincoln, but I was wrong. I had heard of these stories before and I had read all of the outside stories as well. It has become more and more clear to be when it comes to the life of Lincoln that there are certain historians who have the gravitas to deal with the figure of a man such as this and there are authors who struggle with the man. Lincoln is no easy figure to deal with and this book is incredible proof of that. This book added nothing to the study of Lincoln and the people who surrounded him. However, if I were to have this book on my coffee table, there would be a decent reasoning for this collection to be around. This book serves as a conversation piece instead of a scholarly writing. So to say that there is no reason to own this book is ridiculous. It does serve a purpose much like books on Civil War photography and artwork which has graced coffee tables all over the country.
So in what regards would I recommend this book? I would recommend it only to the new Civil War student who wishes to know some of the human interest stories of Lincoln and have not read any coherent work on Lincoln yet in their lives. I do not recommend this book to the accomplished Civil War student and scholar since there is no new information here for them to learn. The narrative sometimes feels very stilted and gives off a “too the point” ideal of writing instead of a well sourced book. In conclusion, while this book does not have a purpose in the accomplished Civil War student’s library, it does have some purposes for other Civil War beginners.

Matthew Bartlett - Gettysburg Chronicle

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written. Lincoln has been built up to such mythical proportions that it's difficult for people to remember that first, he was a man. This book will remind you there was a man. A man who feared making wrong decisions, who was worried about his children, who loved his wife. An amazing president but still a man.

[Phil Ellenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

A successful attempt personify A Lincoln. It also gives knights to the civil war for those who re not buffs.

[Jeffd134 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a refreshing perspective on Lincoln's presidency looking at the man, the myths and the people around him in a way that brings the events to life in an intimate way. Because of its focus on these particular days, you get a sense of the routine while appreciating the complexity of the issues of the age.

[Dr.Chinmay Kulkarni · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent book about important days of Abraham Lincoln's presidency. I'm astonished that a diplomatic, shrewd politician like Lincoln used to get carried away people's false petitions and false emotions.

[Chic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read, very informative. As a Lincoln fan I am biased, but still, gave me a better appreciation of how he approached things, and his thought process.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb book with an interesting concept - per the title - 366 days in Lincoln's presidency. And, of course, the dates are not randomly chosen. He has multiple entries dealing with Lincoln's religion, or lack thereof; all the drama leading up to the Emancipation Proclamation; various battles and military campaigns; posts alluding to his youth and family ties; his wife's shopaholic habit; even posts dwelling on his supposed homosexuality. All in all, a great book for anyone who prefers "history light," or an engaging introduction to Lincoln. Amply footnoted, one could easily spend several lifetimes reading all the sources the author cites.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Wynalda has written an interesting book on the Lincoln's Presidency. Taking 366 days in that presidency in detail he is able to explore in depth such topics as was Lincoln poor (no), uneducated (no, he was unschooled but very well read), gay (probably not, it was the 19th century sharing a bed with someone of the same gender was fairly common), Christian/Atheist ( probably the former but he was at least a skeptic in his younger years).

A loving but realistic portrait of a man who was the most hated President in history for most of his time in office but became the most loved President in history in death.

Sf fans may note that Harry Turtledove did the intro.

[Glen Chern · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a truly remarkable account of the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. The format provides the reader with valuable insights and anecdotes which shed light on Lincoln the man as much as Lincoln the President.

The only reason I did not give this book five stars is the abundance of editing errors, particularly with dates and names. Poor editing is a distraction at the least, but demonstrates a lack of pride in the finished product.

[Ratforce]

Also try 366 Days in Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency: The Private, Political, and Military Decisions of America’s Greatest President by Stephen A. Wynalda. Wynalda uses a unique format, analyzing the day-by-day decisions, both personal and presidential, Lincoln made during his time in office, which allows the reader to come to see the division between the myth and the man. ISBN 9781602399945

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written history of Lincoln's presidency showing that on some days nothing of great import happening, But on days that events that changed our history and the outcome of the war. Insight into Lincoln's feelings about the south and little known insight into his opinions about Blacks and what to do with freed slaves.

[Jonathan Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neat book about Lincoln. Provided both insights into Civil war and Lincoln's life.

[Roger Kottwitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A glimpse of history

I was thrilled with this book! God bless the author who made it possible to look into the Lincoln window !

[Craig R Bolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept of breaking down his 4 yrs of being President into one calendar year, showing what he was doing on that calendar day from one of the four years.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can never read too many books on Abraham Lincoln and this was one of them. It was well written and exposed me to some facts of which I was not aware of.

[Nancy Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Lincoln books I've read. A delightful organization, which helped me make new connections. Well footnoted and engagingly written. Wonderful!