Father Lincoln
The Untold Story of Abraham Lincoln and His Boys--Robert, Eddy, Willie, and Tad
By (author) Alan Manning
Publication date:
01 April 2019Length of book:
288 pagesPublisher
Lyons PressISBN-13: 9781493038961
President Abraham Lincoln is known as the Great Emancipator, the Savior of the Union, and an American martyr to the people who read about him. But that was not how his sons knew him. Presidential historian Alan Manning invites readers to see not the thoughtful, burdened president delivering the Gettysburg Address to a war-torn nation, but a man quietly reading bedtime stories to his sleepy-eyed sons; and not the resolute commander-in-chief seeking out winning generals and forming war policy, but a man wrestling with his own grown son’s desire to join the army and go off to war. A combination of history, biography, and family culture, this book follows Lincoln from his growing law practice in Springfield through the turbulent war years in the White House, highlighting the same challenges that many fathers face today: balancing a successful career with paternal responsibilities—a perspective largely ignored by previous Lincoln biographers, thus helping to complete the portrait of one of the most popular, significant, and complex figures in American history.
"[Lincoln’s] bride may have become pregnant on their wedding night, for within nine months the couple welcomed the first of four sons. This is where Father Lincoln, Allan Manning’s book about Lincoln as a parent . . . hits its own stride, probing and generally cheering Lincoln’s efforts to become a good father despite frequent and prolonged absences…. [B]reaks significant ground…. Mr. Manning contributes a fresh argument by rejecting recent studies that assess Lincoln as a doting but largely absent parent…. Mr. Manning supplies examples to spare." –Wall Street Journal