Lincoln and the Jews: A History

by Jonathan D. Sarna, Benjamin Shapell

One hundred and fifty years after Abraham Lincoln's death, the full story of his extraordinary relationship with Jews is told here for the first time. Lincoln and the Jews: A History provides readers both with a captivating narrative of his interactions with Jews, and with the opportunity to immerse themselves in rare manuscripts and images, many from the Shapell Lincoln Collection, that show Lincoln in a way he has never been seen before.

Lincoln's lifetime coincided with the emergence of Jews on the national scene in the United States. When he was born, in 1809, scarcely 3,000 Jews lived in the entire country. By the time of his assassination in 1865, large-scale immigration, principally from central Europe, had brought that number up to more than 150,000. Many Americans, including members of Lincoln's cabinet and many of his top generals during the Civil War, were alarmed by this development and treated Jews as second-class citizens and religious outsiders. Lincoln, this book shows, exhibited precisely the opposite tendency. He also expressed a uniquely deep knowledge of the Old Testament, employing its language and concepts in some of his most important writings. He befriended Jews from a young age, promoted Jewish equality, appointed numerous Jews to public office, had Jewish advisors and supporters starting already from the early 1850s, as well as later during his two presidential campaigns, and in response to Jewish sensitivities, even changed the way he thought and spoke about America. Through his actions and his rhetoric—replacing "Christian nation," for example, with "this nation under God"—he embraced Jews as insiders.

In this groundbreaking work, the product of meticulous research, historian Jonathan D. Sarna and collector Benjamin Shapell reveal how Lincoln's remarkable relationship with American Jews impacted both his path to the presidency and his policy decisions as president. The volume uncovers a new and previously unknown feature of Abraham Lincoln's life, one that broadened him, and, as a result, broadened America.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Judaism, American History, Civil War, Jewish

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2015

About the author

Jonathan D. Sarna is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University and chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History. He has written, edited, or co-edited more than twenty books and is best known for the acclaimed American Judaism: A History, which received the Jewish Book Council’s Everett Family Foundation Jewish Book of the Year Award in 2004. He lives in Massachusetts. His latest work, When General Grant Expelled the Jews, was published in March of 2012. The PBS documentary Jewish Soldiers in Blue & Gray, which features Jonathan Sarna, explores the hidden stories of American Jews during the Civil War. Presented by the Shapell Manuscript Foundation, it is available for purchase on DVD at www.shapell.org.

Reviews

[Desirae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book on a whim as the title and subject matter interested me. I'm certainly glad I did as it revealed an amazingly oft missed connection between Abraham Lincoln and the Jews in America at the time.

The story begins with Abraham Lincoln's childhood and an explanation of how his parents' Calvinism contributed to his tolerance for the Jews, as Calvinists seemed to believe that trying to convert others to their religion was a waste of time. From there, the story dutifully notes all of Lincoln's many encounters with the Jews and how he strove to try to include them in American society as president. It truly is amazing to read about all the businessmen, politicians, soldiers, rabbis, and even a spy, who were both Jewish and connected to Abraham Lincoln.

I respected Lincoln before this and I admired him even more after this book. My only complaint would be that sometimes the book didn't seem to go into much detail about the people it was mentioning, but it's a minor complaint. If you have any interest in Lincoln or you just want to read about a connection previously missed by the history books, then give this book a try.

[Stuart Endick · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who are fascinated by Abraham Lincoln’s character and personal history this magnificent book is essential reading. At a time when the use of antisemitic stereotypes was endemic in America Lincoln’s belief in equality and his fundamental goodness resulted in his repeated interactions with Jews always being on the basis of respect and equality. As the authors show in the incredible trove of historic documents reproduced in this beautiful volume Lincoln both implicitly and explicitly counteracted the prejudices of his day. And by using inclusive and nonsectarian language in his public pronouncements and speeches he set a valuable precedent. The book should delight not just Lincoln enthusiasts, Civil War buffs, and those interested in Jewish American history, but anyone interested in Nineteenth Century social history in general as the book is replete with entertaining and engrossing scenes and anecdotes of period life. Bravo!

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who reads a lot of books about Abraham Lincoln [1], I am always looking out to see if a given book will tell me something I had not read or thought about concerning Lincoln as a man and as a president.  This book managed to do just that in an unexpected way.  What this book does is put Abraham Lincoln in the context of the troubled history of the Jews in America and demonstrate that at least some of the controversy that Abraham Lincoln has in some circles may be related to his obvious favorable view of Jews, and his refusal to think of them as a class of people but rather as a group of diverse individuals.  Rather telling is the way that the authors weave together a tale that includes different groups of people with different levels of closeness, including a handful of Jews that were close friends of Lincoln, another larger group that were supporters or acquaintances, and still others that were appointments and pardons.  The result is a set of fascinating pictures that would give those who like reading about the Illuminati a lot to ponder about.

This book, which is about 200 pages or so, a good length for a book of this kind, is filled with a large number of photographs of the people involved as well as informative sidebars for those who are familiar with Jewish history but not necessarily Civil War history, and also of letters that were written between Abraham Lincoln and notable Jews.  There is a large amount of such correspondence, and I am more than a little surprised that it has not really come up in my rather voluminous reading on the subject of Abraham Lincoln.  The authors take a chronological approach, beginning with Lincoln's youth and young adulthood, when he likely did not know any Jews personally, and then the time period of his years in New Salem and Springfield, the period between his 1858 campaign with Douglas and the presidency, and then four chapters which take up about two thirds of the book about his presidency with titles from correspondence between Lincoln and various Jews.  The authors make it plain that Lincoln's sensitivity to the concerns of the 'Israelites' increased as his familiarity with Jews increased, and that he had an unusual degree of regard and respect for the Old Testament, including a fondness for citing it in his speeches and letters.  The authors are also at pains to contrast Lincoln's own sentiments with the high degree of anti-Semitism that was extant at the time.

There is a lot of worth in here for those who ponder the relationship between Lincoln and Judaism.  Lincoln's ability to relate probably stemmed from his outsider status as a non-Evangelical, from his fondness of the Old Testament, and from his concern with matters of logistics.  One thing that stands out notably is that Lincoln shrewdly placed Jews as chaplains in some Union regiments and also approved a substantial number of Jews as quartermasters and sulters, and even one as a spy and clandestine diplomat.  The book also details the relationship between Lincoln and the Rothschild family of Europe in some detail, and demonstrate considerably savvy on Lincoln's part.  Of perhaps the darkest relevance, though, is that the Booth family themselves were considered to be Jewish, and so there is an ominous note that Jews were not only among Lincoln's most notable friends and associates, but also ultimately his most deadly enemy.  Yet even as the authors reveal this, they also reveal a picture of the outpouring of grief which a minority community viewed the passing of the first president who can be said to have been favorable to their plight and attentive to their concerns as a marginalized community.  The tale is certainly an interesting one, and the material of this book well worth adding to the complicated picture of Lincoln's involvement and his place in the wider context of American history.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2010...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2010...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

[John Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Chernow’s book on Washington, I realized that Jews and public figures interacted since the first days in this country, despite their super minority and antisemitism. Jonathan Saran and Benjamin Shapell bring forward detailed research to demonstrate the impact Jews had in our 16th president. They point out early in the book that when Lincoln was born, in 1809, there were barely 3,000 Jews in America and probably none in the rural areas of Kentucky and Indiana where he w. As raised. The authors note, the only Jews Lincoln knew were in the Bible.

That changed when Lincoln moved to Springfield and after Jewish immigration increased some from Germany. Sharing a first name, Abraham Jonas became “one of my most valued friends,” according to Lincoln, a person who had few true friends. Jonas was a shop owner, lawyer, and member of the state legislature. Like Lincoln, his political mentor was Henry Clay. They shared their opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Thanks to the Library of Congress, we are able to read correspondence between the two men where Jonas invited Lincoln to speak about the hatred law; the two men spent two days together. Jonas later campaigned for Lincoln in his senate race.

During his campaign for senate, when Lincoln was traveling the state of Illinois, he met other Jewish people. One was Henry Greenebaum, a Democrat. As a judge, Lincoln ruled in favor of Henry’s brothers company a number of times. When Lincoln asked him for support for the Senate seat, he was seeking, Henry denied him, saying that Stephen Douglas was a “strong political friend. But years later, he described Lincoln as “the greatest man I ever met.”

It was in Jonas’ law office, according to New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, that Lincoln’s name was first mentioned as a 1860 presidential candidate.

Demonstrating Lincoln’s friendship with Jonas and the president’s loyalty, as his friend was dying at the very end of the Civil War, Lincoln acted favorably on an appeal to give a three week parole so his Confederate imprisoned son could see his dying dad; he arrived the day his friend, the president’s longtime friend died, joined by another son who fought on the Union side of the war.

The authors uncover a letter from Lincoln where he suggests they build their new party by going after the “anti-Catholic ‘Know-nothings, and “the Israelites.” He also set out speaking to help their Ohio candidate for governor in 1859. Lincoln spoke in five southern Ohio cities, including Cincinnati, the largest city at the time with 160,000 citizens, including as many as 10,000 Jews. It was the largest Jewish population away from the east coast. It was also his biggest audience for a rally. When speaking - for two hours- Lincoln reminded Ohioans they had no slaves because the decision was decided for him. He pitched that no new state should have slaves but those that did, like across the river in Kentucky, would be permitted to stay the course. That speech lead to invites to NYC, including James William, one of the brothers who started what became H&R Block.

At least one Jew participated in, voted at the convention to make Lincoln to nominee. Louis.Naphtali was a successful attorney from Louisville Kentucky. He later named one of his sons Lincoln, after the president. He never met Lincoln at the convention, but campaign for him to become president.

While Lincoln had his Jewish supporters, there were some rabbis who supported slavery and oppose the new president. Rabbi Morris Raphall, of NYC, oppose abolitionism , going to the point of distrust, seeing anyone who justified opposing slavery based on the Bible. He gave a strong sermon. It was repeat it, and caused much debate. Many protestants had agreed with him. But.Raphall who is not alone in educated, Jewish rabbis opposed to eliminating slavery.

During this presidency, Lincoln was set back a few times for putting forward Jews for confirmation. One was Charles Bernays, a baptized Lutheran. Lincoln used a recess appointment as consul to Zurich and later secured the confirmation votes. Switzerland protested his appointment in part because they considered him a Jew and because he was critical of their nation’s treatment of Jews. Lincoln later transferred Bernay to Denmark.

The author points out, using Lincoln’s own words that he was concerned that he had not appointed an “Israelite.” Lincoln selected many Jews at that point, November 1862, but this time he selected a well respected Orthodox Jew as quartermaster and Captain.

The authors did an amazing job outlining how Lincoln used his remarkable political skills to extend military chaplains to include Jews. When approached by a determined man who was Jewish, Lincoln reacted within a few months to navigate the Christian system to be more inclusive. He worked with Christians to upgrade the training necessary and quietly placed it in a bill that became law on July 17, 1862. With the follow through of Lincoln’s dedicated Secretary, John Hay, Rev. Jacob Frankel became the first military chaplain on September 28, 1862. The authors point out that the president accomplished this when many others in the military and government, including his own attorney general, exhibited “unabashed prejudice against Jews.” The pictures of hand written notes from President Lincoln and from generals was compelling.

The authors speak to how Lincoln moderated the general’s harsh treatment of deserters but did permit some to be killed in front of other troops. Demonstrating their research capabilities, the book mentions one such display in 1863 when five deserters were shot in front of 25,000 troops. They included two Protestants, two Catholics and one Jew. The book also outlines a time when Former Senator Thomas Corwin, a fellow Republican, personally came to the White House to appeal the death sentence of a Jewish soldier to be with his dying mother. Lincoln commuted the Jewish man’s sentence. Ironically when he returned to his military service, he died a hero in the Battle of Cold Harbor.

The authors do more than uncover detailed documents and explain them. When speaking about Lincolns, to inaugural addresses, the authors point out the wall whose second address was extremely brief, with only 700 words, he mentioned God 14 times and quoted the Bible four times. But, unlike his first inaugural address, Lincoln made no direct reference to Christianity. This seems to indicate that the president grew in understanding the diversity of our nation based on his experiences in the White House.

The authors questioned whether John Wilkes Booth was Jewish and mentioned he performed in Cleveland with other Jewish amateur actors.

The book also mentions Jewish participation in some of the funeral possessions, including one in Cleveland. It closes out mentioning that he 1909 Lincoln penny was designed by Victor David Brenner, a Jewish engraver who included his initials on the back of the coin until it was later produced sans his initials.

This book is painfully researched, bringing together connecting information on this fairly obscure historical subject. The publisher took full advantage of the coffee table size book, inserting historic documents and amazing human history in set aside boxes that dance in a perfect manner across the pages. Pictures, letters, historical documents, and short stories that would give a reader a basic understanding of the purpose of this book in an interesting and fast approaching manner.

One interesting story was how the Jews in Ohio’s 23rd regiment observed the Passover Seder in the middle of the Civil War (1862), while in West Virginia. Twenty Jews and “co-religionists” asked their commander if they could celebrate the holiday. They sent a colleague to Cincinnati, where many Jews lived, to buy seven barrels of Matzos. Included was also two Hagodahs and prayer books. They combined these imported products with cider, a lamb, many chickens, and some eggs. They could not locate any parsley or horseradish sauce but used a mighty butter weed instead. They then celebrated their traditional Seder. The commander giving them permission: General Rutherford Hayes, a future president from Ohio.

Another story was about a Jew who took the confederate side: Judah Benjamin. He was the second Jewish Senator then served as the Confederate attorney general and Secretary of State right before the renegade government collapsed. He ran to England after the war and became a successful attorney. His picture was on the Confederate $2 bill. The book has a picture of the currency.


The authors also included some fun facts that just made this reader smile. One was that Lincoln authorized selling copies of the Emancipation Proclamation with his signature affixed at a Philadelphia fair for $10 to raise money for the war. The 48 copies didn’t sell; the remainder were given to libraries.

[J. Bryce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally lying. I didn't finish it, but I recommend it anyway.

Chronicles Lincoln's life, focussing on his personal relationships with Jews, and the Jewish-American experience in the early-to-mid-19th century. Fascinating stuff, but I've got a few other irons in the fire and it's new, so I wanted to return the Library's copy.

Copiously illustrated with photos, lithos, and copies of personal letters between Lincoln and his Jewish friends and acquaintances.

[Steve Bookman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing and entertaining timeline, with copious illustrations and footnotes, of all imaginable interactions between President Lincoln and American Jews.

[Micebyliz]

informative and rewarding documentation of Lincoln proving again what an extraordinary individual he was.

[David Goldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work provides an parallel, complimentary narrative to the 
“standard” life of Lincoln that we grew up learning, while proving a fascinating insight into Jewish life and thought at time of of the Civil War. The book, written chronologically, can delve too much in details of a particular relationship and can lose track of the broader themes. Yet overall, it is clear, interesting, and worth the read (or the listen in my case).

As to Lincoln, he grew up with Jews only from the Bible, not knowing any personally until he began is career. It is a testament to Lincoln’s general open nature, keen and curious intellect, and the non-judgmental type of Protestantism he grew up with, that Lincoln, among meeting Jews for the first time, had no problem befriending them. He frequently called Abraham Jonas “his dearest friend” an attestation he gave to know one else. As Lincoln’s horizons expanded, he counted jews as friends, business partners, advisors, political advocates (including putting Jonas in charge of his wild presidential convention maneuverings), and physicians. He nominated jews to several key government posts and invited them to dine in White House. All this is more impressive because, paralleling his view on Blacks, Lincoln’s attitude grew from a complete lack personal relations with jews, something modern psychology and sociology tells us is very rare.

Yet, Lincoln could say much more than “some of best friends were Jewish.” He began to form a deep appreciation for Jewish religion much more frequently quoting or alluding to the Jewish parts of the Bible than the Christian particularly as Lincoln moved to free and then make fully citizens African Americans. And while actively promoting Jewish civil rights was never a full cause of Lincoln, he often played defense on their behalf (Lincoln stopped referring to the the US as “christian nation” and recinded Grant’s order barring Jews from service). So much so, that in eulogies, more than one jew referred to him as “Rabbi Lincoln,” the “first jewish president,” or America’s Moses or Abraham.

The connection to greater freedom and tolerance of the Jews now seems an obvious extension for those seeking greater rights for blacks. It was a connection not shared by Lincoln’s allies. Many in his administration, including Grant, Stanton (his Sect. Of War), and VP Johnson , were anti-Semitic. Even more surprising, many famous abolitionist, those we were even more strident that Lincoln on the question of emancipation did not have the moral imagination or courage to get over their own anti-Semitism. There is no example of Lincoln disparaging jews as people or religion; the same cannot be said of many others who fought against slavery.

As for the Jews, one sees a people already of diverse religious practices, political views, and occupations. It was a time where Jews were feeling confident enough the they could support the “rebel Lincoln” but who were still very cautious about standing out. Jews were among Lincoln’s ardent supports, and there is no doubt that the politically savvy Lincoln courted jews, in part, because of their growing political importance particularly in NY and Chicago. Yet, jews occupied the political spectrum from abolitionist to ardent confederates, including Judah Benjamin the first Jew elected to the senate (Lo.) and the Confederacy’s attorney general. It is probably fair to says that Jewish positions on slavery and on Lincoln mirrored the nation as whole and that they used the Bible, like christians, to support their many various and opposite options. (See the various unfavorable editorials written in Jewish papers upon Lincoln’s election. Yet, by Lincoln’s death many more jews, like the country itself, came around to Lincoln and the cause and ideals he supported. Thus, the influence when both ways, Jewish religion influenced Lincoln’s world view, which in turn, entitled the Jews and nation as a whole.

Note for audio book listeners. The book is well narrated. At the end of each chapter there is a recap of sources used. This makes sense in a printed book, but can come off as repetitive verbally.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Honest Abe” is a moniker most are familiar with and after reading Lincoln and the Jews, what before was something I only had passing familiarity with (president during the Civil War, allegedly good boxer, all-around good guy) was vastly expanded in what definitely feels more like a product of two historians/fans of history geeking out over one of their favorite American presidents than something I was more hoping to read.

Let that—the geeking out at least—dissuade one from electing not to read Lincoln and the Jews. It may not be the most robust biography written about the man, but it definitely has probably the more unique focus: his relationships with Jews. That actually became the only issue of note as while the book may be called “Lincoln and the Jews”, as someone more a fan of Jewish studies, I was hoping for something closer to “The Jews and Lincoln” (which surprisingly does seem to exist and was referenced towards the end of this book and is called We Called Him Rabbi Abraham).

Again, this is a work of love and it shows. The amount of pages dedicated to showing actual letters, etchings, and more is on another level. The 500+ page-count may scare some and make others question their ability to hold up such a tome for so long, but the media comes in hard and rare is a page that does not have something on it. It almost makes one wonder how Lincoln was able to run a country when spent seemingly writing so many personal letters when in our era, spending ten minutes on an email is seen by some as a Herculean task and/or waste of time better spent doomscrolling.

Lincoln did not necessarily “love” Jews. More importantly is he did not see them better or worse than anyone else. He was a president who lived and breathed Scripture (something both then and now more of a depressive rarity). Almost as an unforeseen similarity to our times is pious Lincoln encountering those of his own time who believe (paraphrasing) “American is a Christian nation and thus should declare itself as such”. An obvious affront to those following the Book, those not of the Book, but this book on Honest Abe doing what is best not for him, but for the nation? A book for everyone.

---Notable Highlights---

“Having lived his entire life, prior to his whirlwind elevation to national notice, as an ordinary person, Lincoln saw himself as unexceptional. He had been a day laborer, a small shopkeeper, a lawyer—and, politically, for most of his life, a failure.”

“Still, the fact that Lincoln himself had no objection to the appointment bespeaks the breadth of his religious vision. Perhaps because he himself grew up as something of a religious outsider, he considered other religious outsiders—Jews, Universalists, and Spiritualist women among them—to be worthy of inclusion not only within the panoply of American religion but within the military chaplaincy as well.”

“
LINCOLN: And so the children of Israel were driven from the happy land of Canaan?
KASKEL: Yes, and that is why we have come unto Father Abraham’s bosom, asking protection. LINCOLN: And this protection they shall have at once.
”

[Joe Kessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quintessential deep dive into a narrow topic, this 2015 book on Abraham Lincoln's relationships with various Jewish Americans contains a lot of interesting information not often included in accounts of his life, but also a fair bit of padding that isn't entirely relevant to the stated matter at hand. I hadn't realized just how open-minded the president was compared to the typical antisemitism of his time, and it's heartening to hear how he personally intervened to allow rabbis to serve as army chaplains and overruled General Grant's controversial order expelling all Jews from within the boundaries of his military district.

Authors Jonathan D. Sarna and Benjamin Shapell show too how their subject's language evolved from describing the U.S. as a Christian nation to naming it a more nebulously pious one, likely due to the influence of several prominent Jewish acquaintances. And they explore an unfortunate division among members the faith regarding slavery and the Civil War, with most seeing the black cause for freedom that Lincoln championed as equivalent to the Israelite exodus from Egypt, but a minority taking the Confederate side under the justification that enslavement and property rights in general had biblical support.

It's a short text, but probably better encountered in print due to the many scans of letters and other primary documents that the researchers include. (The audio version that I borrowed from the library opts to simply read all the captions out loud, to mixed effect.) This doesn't strike me as a definitive resource, but I'd say it's still worth checking out for such a niche area of study.

[Content warning for racism including slurs.]

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[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

As one compares the sensitivity of our fellow humans it is rare to find a "Lincoln", and to find one whose humility and ability to listen would be part of our nation's history says a lot about our country's ability to grow with fervor by all. The movement from slavery and towards a country that truly embodies fairness was marked by Lincoln and his presidency. While respecting Jews, her clearly respected people who showed kindness towards humanity.

As we consider our country, and having finished Whitney webb's books on the last 100 years of politicians, the mob, and corporate interests being wound together like a baseball, it is clear we have strayed too far from the grace of Lincoln.

The history noted in this book, along with all the evidence was a reminder of the importance of humanity and respect for all - in the government, in companies, or in society.

[Zhelana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brilliant book, which is really more of a coffee table book than a book to sit down and read, I think, actually had a lot of good information in it about a topic I didn't know much about. I was surprised to learn that the number of Jews in America multiplied from 3,000 to 150,000 within just the lifetime of Abraham Lincoln and that he had many Jewish friends, colleagues, political appointments, etc. This book outlines several of his friends, as well as his relationship with foreign Jewish financiers to fund the War, and several political appointments that he made while keeping an eye out specifically for Jews. I found this book surprising, and pretty fresh even considering how many books there are about Lincoln.

[elissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of padding an irrelevant information that gets too much air time (I listened to this book). There was some interesting information, I had no idea that Abraham Lincoln was the first person to court the "Jewish vote." He was pretty progressive in his view of the Jewish community at the time, but this could have been presented in a clearer and more interesting way. I borrowed the audio book through the library and the narrator didn't help to make this more interesting. There was some good information, so if you are interested, get the physical book so you can skim through the padding.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a bit dry at times, this incredibly well researched book explores all of the myriad ways that President Abraham Lincoln interacted with and had relationships with Jews in America. I learned a great deal about American history and the history of Jewish people in this country that I did not know.

[Tori Shenett · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best historically written books on President Lincoln, and all of his works. I've never come across a book that has had more documentation on him. The way this piece of art was written, it was almost as if Mr. Sarna had shadowed President Lincoln his whole life.

[Harriet Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lincoln and the Jews by Jonathan Warns and Benjamin Shapel

Lincoln and the Jews by Jonathan D. Warns and Benjamin Shapell, is a fascinating book . When Lincoln was assassinated, Jewish Americans lost a good friend. I highly recommend this book.

[Nora Olmo]

WONDERFUL HISTORY BOOK - SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL...

[Yvonne Wiggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read. I learned some new things about Mr. Lincoln. I recommend the book.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat read about Lincoln and his interactions and the Jewish community.

[Oolalaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

10/20

[Allan Nemer]

To be honest, I could not finish it.

[george w. shorago m.d. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, but the writing was only so so. It didn’t flow.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extremely detailed look at President Lincoln’s relationship with Jews during his career as an attorney and POTUS. It was interesting but the level of detail is not for me.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Lincoln and the Jews" is only one of a handful of history books on the subject. The illustrations are marvelous. The quality of the book in terms of holding it in one's hands is obvious. The text itself is well done. It is obvious that they author is willing to hit the points important to Jews, using the proper language... that is... just about any Jewish book includes some Hebrew, untranslated. (You are expected to know what basic Hebrew words mean.) For English-only readers it should be no problem. You simply won't know what they are talking about when the text says, "They met on the third day of Succos." (Succos is the Jewish holiday of Booths or the Festival of Tabernacles... and you probably still you don't know what that implies. Forget about it.)

I'd read this book again just to look at the pictures, and for reference.

[Charles Shapiro]

This is an excellent description of Lincoln's friends who were Jewish, his understanding of Jewish scripture, and events related to Jews that had a connection with Lincoln. It brings to light a fascinating relationship at a time when most Americans, especially politicians were openly hostile or totally ignorant of the Jews within their midst. The book suffers from repeating various stories in different places. I listened to the book so I did not see any of the illustrations, presumably the book had photographic documentation of various letters and proclamations, which may have caused the repetition since multiple documents may have been related to the same incident. If you are interested in either Lincoln or Jewish life in these United States then it is essential reading.

[Tana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a magnificent, lushly beautiful book. Because it's a large "coffee table" type of book, I thought I would just glance through it. But when I began reading the text, I was captivated and hooked. I couldn't put down this compelling, well-written book, and I learned so much about Lincoln. The photos of historical documents on every page show the level of research done by the authors. I highly recommend this book.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well researched, tells of Lincoln's history and dealings with Jews during his lifetime before and during his presidency. Making sure 'Hebrews' were represented on his cabinet, life long friendships and confidants.

[Jordie Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it loved it loved it!

Lincoln was a fine, fine man... one of the very best that America has offered the world. I learned a great deal and Lincoln is an everlasting hero.

[Chaim Shapiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional is the NORM for Sarna!

[The Jewish Book Council]

Review by Edward Shapiro for the Jewish Book Council.