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iancolby's review against another edition
2.0
I'm surprised by how much I didn't enjoy this book. Here's the thing: anytime the narrative focus is on Lincoln, the book is firecrackers. I'm keeping the book just so I can reread some of Lincoln's quips, stories, and stratagems. He's a fascinating character no matter the quality of the writing.
But for a book titled "Lincoln," there are long stretches where he's not in focus. Vidal has a number of POV characters. Aside from Seward (who ends up in scenes with Lincoln anyway), these other POV characters are boring at best (Salmon and Kate Chase) and grating at worst (Mary Todd Lincoln). I can't say whether the real life figures would be this boring or grating, but Vidal makes them so. I'm sure Vidal's intent was to reflect on Lincoln's character by demonstrating how those around him acted or were changed by Lincoln. He does this masterfully with Seward. But I'm not sure he needed to get so deep into details about a stolen speech, money problems, or bad marriages. Those characters' actions could have still been shown without making them POV characters. I think the narrative comes to a screeching halt when those characters, and not Lincoln, are the focus. Those stretches made completing the book a chore.
When a book becomes a chore to finish, I cannot give it higher than two stars.
But for a book titled "Lincoln," there are long stretches where he's not in focus. Vidal has a number of POV characters. Aside from Seward (who ends up in scenes with Lincoln anyway), these other POV characters are boring at best (Salmon and Kate Chase) and grating at worst (Mary Todd Lincoln). I can't say whether the real life figures would be this boring or grating, but Vidal makes them so. I'm sure Vidal's intent was to reflect on Lincoln's character by demonstrating how those around him acted or were changed by Lincoln. He does this masterfully with Seward. But I'm not sure he needed to get so deep into details about a stolen speech, money problems, or bad marriages. Those characters' actions could have still been shown without making them POV characters. I think the narrative comes to a screeching halt when those characters, and not Lincoln, are the focus. Those stretches made completing the book a chore.
When a book becomes a chore to finish, I cannot give it higher than two stars.
elsiebrady's review against another edition
4.0
Very detailed narrative with imaginings of all the political intrigue during a very unstable time. Interesting to read during our current pandemic crisis putting the uncertainty into perspective. Well written with multiple characters to follow. I’m sure Vidal was not present at the original history making but you’ll assume he was.
asteroidbuckle's review against another edition
5.0
As a fan of historical fiction and an admirer of Abraham Lincoln, finding this book at my local used bookstore was a real windfall. And after reading it, I was not disappointed.
This book is fantastic. Having never read a Gore Vidal novel, I had no idea what to expect in terms of thoroughness or writing style. I found both to be very satisfying. (However, Gore's habit of switching POV from one paragraph to the next took a little getting used to.) The book begins right before Lincoln is inaugurated in 1861, when the Southern states have already started to secede, and ends with his assassination at Ford's Theater in 1865. In between, we get an inside -- and eye-opening -- look at both Lincoln the man, who is witty and kind but in no way a pushover, and Lincoln the politician, who is deceivingly crafty and clever with a hard, stubborn edge that no one saw until it was too late.
With the exception of a few paragraphs here and there, the story is not told from the perspective of Lincoln himself. Rather, we see the man through the eyes of friends and enemies alike: Secretary of State William H. Seward, who started off hating Lincoln and scheming against him but ended up as one of his most ardent supporters; Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, who despised Lincoln from the start and did his best to undermine Lincoln's presidency in order to feed his own burning ambition to be the First Magistrate; John Hay, Lincoln's young secretary, who grew to know Lincoln nearly better than anyone over four years and to understand the president's moods and gestures; and Mary Todd Lincoln, whose own ambitions and uncontrolled spending nearly undermined the president on more than one occasion and whose deepening madness stretched the president's patience to the breaking point. We also get to see life through the eyes of David Herold, one of the co-conspirators in Lincoln's assassination, who wanted so badly to do something exciting and important with his life that he allowed himself to be taken in by the passion and hatred of a certain actor named John Wilkes Booth.
Through the eyes of these characters, we learn that Lincoln was three men in one: a devoted family man who ached over the death of his son, Willie, and understood and accepted his wife's increasing insanity; a crafty politician who knew how to manipulate the people around him like chess pieces and used other people's low opinions of him to his own advantage, drawing them into his web before they realized they'd been trapped; and a wartime president who stretched his executive powers to their max in order to keep certain factions from undermining a war which he saw as necessary and just -- not for the sake of the slaves, whom he would've been content to leave as such if it meant reuniting the country, but for the sake of the Union, which he saw as forever insoluble.
Depsite the fact that I already knew the outcome -- Lincoln gets reelected, the Confederacy surrenders, and Booth assassinates the president -- I still found myself becoming engrossed in the events as they unfolded. Vidal's masterful use of various historical characters -- the way he brought them to life and seamlessly wove their stories together to form a much bigger picture -- made the book an extraordinary read. I feel as if I got to know President Lincoln just a little better. And I feel strangely saddened by his death, despite the fact that it occurred nearly 145 years ago. It also makes me wonder just how different Reconstruction would have been had he lived. Of course, we'll never know and really, it's academic. Lincoln will forever live in history.
Great, great book. A+.
This book is fantastic. Having never read a Gore Vidal novel, I had no idea what to expect in terms of thoroughness or writing style. I found both to be very satisfying. (However, Gore's habit of switching POV from one paragraph to the next took a little getting used to.) The book begins right before Lincoln is inaugurated in 1861, when the Southern states have already started to secede, and ends with his assassination at Ford's Theater in 1865. In between, we get an inside -- and eye-opening -- look at both Lincoln the man, who is witty and kind but in no way a pushover, and Lincoln the politician, who is deceivingly crafty and clever with a hard, stubborn edge that no one saw until it was too late.
With the exception of a few paragraphs here and there, the story is not told from the perspective of Lincoln himself. Rather, we see the man through the eyes of friends and enemies alike: Secretary of State William H. Seward, who started off hating Lincoln and scheming against him but ended up as one of his most ardent supporters; Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase, who despised Lincoln from the start and did his best to undermine Lincoln's presidency in order to feed his own burning ambition to be the First Magistrate; John Hay, Lincoln's young secretary, who grew to know Lincoln nearly better than anyone over four years and to understand the president's moods and gestures; and Mary Todd Lincoln, whose own ambitions and uncontrolled spending nearly undermined the president on more than one occasion and whose deepening madness stretched the president's patience to the breaking point. We also get to see life through the eyes of David Herold, one of the co-conspirators in Lincoln's assassination, who wanted so badly to do something exciting and important with his life that he allowed himself to be taken in by the passion and hatred of a certain actor named John Wilkes Booth.
Through the eyes of these characters, we learn that Lincoln was three men in one: a devoted family man who ached over the death of his son, Willie, and understood and accepted his wife's increasing insanity; a crafty politician who knew how to manipulate the people around him like chess pieces and used other people's low opinions of him to his own advantage, drawing them into his web before they realized they'd been trapped; and a wartime president who stretched his executive powers to their max in order to keep certain factions from undermining a war which he saw as necessary and just -- not for the sake of the slaves, whom he would've been content to leave as such if it meant reuniting the country, but for the sake of the Union, which he saw as forever insoluble.
Depsite the fact that I already knew the outcome -- Lincoln gets reelected, the Confederacy surrenders, and Booth assassinates the president -- I still found myself becoming engrossed in the events as they unfolded. Vidal's masterful use of various historical characters -- the way he brought them to life and seamlessly wove their stories together to form a much bigger picture -- made the book an extraordinary read. I feel as if I got to know President Lincoln just a little better. And I feel strangely saddened by his death, despite the fact that it occurred nearly 145 years ago. It also makes me wonder just how different Reconstruction would have been had he lived. Of course, we'll never know and really, it's academic. Lincoln will forever live in history.
Great, great book. A+.
jack_reid's review against another edition
4.0
Writers of historical fiction are, quite reasonably, held to different standards than writers of general fiction. First, they must integrate the available documents and research on most, if not all, mainstage characters. And second, they obviously should present events in a foremost factual manner. Sound constricting? That depends on the characters involved. For an incredibly enigmatic figure like Lincoln, Vidal gets much creative license!
Vidal's Lincoln is a mastermind political strategist with minimal interest in military matters, and the staunchest defender of the Union at a time when many thought the North and South would be better off divorced. Throughout his first presidency, Lincoln consolidates power to keep the Union on the necessary, albeit horrifically bloody, course of reunification. And, in the end, he dies the tragic death fitting for such a polarizing figure and one which Vidal believes Lincoln wanted after committing such heinous offenses against humanity.
The story primarily takes place in Washington, D.C., in the President's House, private homes, bars, and restaurants, and at public events. Rather than attempt to understand Lincoln directly, which would present an even more frightening task, Vidal uses several characters around Lincoln to follow events while providing their commentary on actions taken. Multiple lenses provide varying viewpoints and paint a broad picture of Lincoln, from political opportunist to agnostic to Westerner to military blundered. Vidal's character study of Lincoln offers insight into an intensely private public figure, humanizing the legend into a still difficult-to-understand man, as his contemporaries often viewed him. Altogether, a fantastic character study.
The prose is very readable and written for a broad audience. Vidal assumes some familiarity with the Civil War, so I ended up spending a good hour on Wikipedia, brushing up on the war timeline and notable characters.
Why 4/5? In places, the story drags, and I lost interest. Specifically, Mary Todd comes across as an unsympathetic character, and I disliked reading about her embarrassing antics as First Lady. The book is also a bit long. Finally, I find it difficult to rate historical fiction a 5/5 given the stances such novels must take on characters. Historians often provide several possible explanations and rationales for actions and their consequences. Naturally, historical fiction tends to provide one, and while providing for better reading, simplifies the complex in a manner I dislike. I inevitably wind up spending hours on the internet, fact-checking historical novels, and looking for alternative explanations.
By minimizing the factual disagreements, Vidal's Lincoln is the best kind of historical fiction - one that educates and inspires further interest in readers without taking too many liberties. If you're looking to learn about Lincoln or the Civil War, Vidal's novel is a fantastic place to start.
Vidal's Lincoln is a mastermind political strategist with minimal interest in military matters, and the staunchest defender of the Union at a time when many thought the North and South would be better off divorced. Throughout his first presidency, Lincoln consolidates power to keep the Union on the necessary, albeit horrifically bloody, course of reunification. And, in the end, he dies the tragic death fitting for such a polarizing figure and one which Vidal believes Lincoln wanted after committing such heinous offenses against humanity.
The story primarily takes place in Washington, D.C., in the President's House, private homes, bars, and restaurants, and at public events. Rather than attempt to understand Lincoln directly, which would present an even more frightening task, Vidal uses several characters around Lincoln to follow events while providing their commentary on actions taken. Multiple lenses provide varying viewpoints and paint a broad picture of Lincoln, from political opportunist to agnostic to Westerner to military blundered. Vidal's character study of Lincoln offers insight into an intensely private public figure, humanizing the legend into a still difficult-to-understand man, as his contemporaries often viewed him. Altogether, a fantastic character study.
The prose is very readable and written for a broad audience. Vidal assumes some familiarity with the Civil War, so I ended up spending a good hour on Wikipedia, brushing up on the war timeline and notable characters.
Why 4/5? In places, the story drags, and I lost interest. Specifically, Mary Todd comes across as an unsympathetic character, and I disliked reading about her embarrassing antics as First Lady. The book is also a bit long. Finally, I find it difficult to rate historical fiction a 5/5 given the stances such novels must take on characters. Historians often provide several possible explanations and rationales for actions and their consequences. Naturally, historical fiction tends to provide one, and while providing for better reading, simplifies the complex in a manner I dislike. I inevitably wind up spending hours on the internet, fact-checking historical novels, and looking for alternative explanations.
By minimizing the factual disagreements, Vidal's Lincoln is the best kind of historical fiction - one that educates and inspires further interest in readers without taking too many liberties. If you're looking to learn about Lincoln or the Civil War, Vidal's novel is a fantastic place to start.
martyfried's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book I've read by Gore Vidal, and now I want to read more. He really brought this period to life and made it interesting and understandable. It was nothing like what I would have thought, had I thought more about it. The White House was a rat-infested dump with smelly swamps and garbage all around, where people were often sick or died, and inhabited by mostly confederate sympathizers. It was not the best place to be a Yankee.
Lincoln was always interesting. He and his family didn't really fit in well with the existing society. He seemed to be odd and not too bright, and people thought he was not in control. But somehow, he was always able to arrange things to turn out the way he wanted, often without people realizing he was doing it - probably due to his homey way of talking, injecting stories, etc. I thought he was pretty entertaining. His wife, on the other hand, was a handful and somewhat, if not completely, crazy, especially later in the book. Much of the time, she could not stop spending money on both herself and the Capitol, which neither could really afford. She then had to do whatever she could to stave off the debtors, much of which was illegal or immoral.
Even though I of course knew what was going to happen to him, there was still an air of suspense as the time approached, and a sense of the sadness and anger after the event.
This book took me longer to finish than normal, but I think it was worth it. Fortunately, I had audiobooks to listen to at the same time.
Lincoln was always interesting. He and his family didn't really fit in well with the existing society. He seemed to be odd and not too bright, and people thought he was not in control. But somehow, he was always able to arrange things to turn out the way he wanted, often without people realizing he was doing it - probably due to his homey way of talking, injecting stories, etc. I thought he was pretty entertaining. His wife, on the other hand, was a handful and somewhat, if not completely, crazy, especially later in the book. Much of the time, she could not stop spending money on both herself and the Capitol, which neither could really afford. She then had to do whatever she could to stave off the debtors, much of which was illegal or immoral.
Even though I of course knew what was going to happen to him,
Spoiler
He was assassinated,This book took me longer to finish than normal, but I think it was worth it. Fortunately, I had audiobooks to listen to at the same time.
miklosha's review against another edition
5.0
A fascinating reading of a brilliant and flawed man, one who never quite communicated everything on his mind. Vidal eloquently describes Lincoln's battles, both inside and outside of his cabinet, all the while being the Commander in Chief.
mzfrop's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Reading this on the heels of Kearns' Team of Rivals was a deeply disappointing experience. Vidal asserts in the afterward that the principle figures pretty much "said and acted as I have them saying and acting," but though Lincoln has a textbook's accuracy for dates and events, it falls far short of historical verisimilitude.
I picked up this book hoping for a realistic and human portrayal of a near-legendary figure. What I got instead was an unevenly paced summarization lacking emotion and substituting cynicism for nuance. In order to avoid lionizing Lincoln, Vidal cherry-picks his facts, using only those which allow him to portray Lincoln as sly, guilt-ridden, and morbid; while those around him are petty, deluded, lesser men. Though these are not inaccurate characterizations, they are frustratingly flat. Any opportunity for humanization is repeatedly and knowingly discarded. Lincoln's known capacity for kindness and forgiveness has been ruthlessly excised. The death of Lincoln's beloved son has less of an impact on the bereaved parents and takes up fewer pages than a subplot about Mary Lincoln's debt.
And it isn't just Lincoln who receives this treatment--Seward, a canny political operator who historically went from actively plotting against Lincoln to his most loyal and trusted advisor, is here reduced to narrow-minded envy; a character whose arc in-novel grows to a begrudging respect for Lincoln's political acumen--and nothing more. Mary, the only significant female character, is given so little sympathy in the narration it feels deliberate: would it truly have strained Vidal's literary abilities to extend some empathy (or at the very least, some nuance) to his portrayal of a woman who was ruthlessly demonized by the contemporary press, estranged from her mostly-Confederate relatives, and held staunch anti-slavery beliefs?
None of this is scholarship or interpretation that would have been unavailable to Vidal while writing this novel. The book is a continuous sin of omission. Vidal would have us believe that our point-of view characters sustained themselves through four years of grueling war solely via the forces of ambition and self-interest. That stretches belief both historically and within the bounds of fiction. Vidal's blinkered (or perhaps cowardly) determination to strip his characters of pathos renders this book ironically devoid of drama. And, most damningly of all, boring.
I picked up this book hoping for a realistic and human portrayal of a near-legendary figure. What I got instead was an unevenly paced summarization lacking emotion and substituting cynicism for nuance. In order to avoid lionizing Lincoln, Vidal cherry-picks his facts, using only those which allow him to portray Lincoln as sly, guilt-ridden, and morbid; while those around him are petty, deluded, lesser men. Though these are not inaccurate characterizations, they are frustratingly flat. Any opportunity for humanization is repeatedly and knowingly discarded. Lincoln's known capacity for kindness and forgiveness has been ruthlessly excised. The death of Lincoln's beloved son has less of an impact on the bereaved parents and takes up fewer pages than a subplot about Mary Lincoln's debt.
And it isn't just Lincoln who receives this treatment--Seward, a canny political operator who historically went from actively plotting against Lincoln to his most loyal and trusted advisor, is here reduced to narrow-minded envy; a character whose arc in-novel grows to a begrudging respect for Lincoln's political acumen--and nothing more. Mary, the only significant female character, is given so little sympathy in the narration it feels deliberate: would it truly have strained Vidal's literary abilities to extend some empathy (or at the very least, some nuance) to his portrayal of a woman who was ruthlessly demonized by the contemporary press, estranged from her mostly-Confederate relatives, and held staunch anti-slavery beliefs?
None of this is scholarship or interpretation that would have been unavailable to Vidal while writing this novel. The book is a continuous sin of omission. Vidal would have us believe that our point-of view characters sustained themselves through four years of grueling war solely via the forces of ambition and self-interest. That stretches belief both historically and within the bounds of fiction. Vidal's blinkered (or perhaps cowardly) determination to strip his characters of pathos renders this book ironically devoid of drama. And, most damningly of all, boring.
tomrae1's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Much has been made of Abraham Lincoln’s political genius. He is often painted as a savant, manipulating both his opponents and allies to align with his will as he navigated the treacherous years of the American Civil War.
Gore Vidal brings this to life in a continuation of his Narratives of Empire series. Although not the second book in publication order, it is the second one in sequence, with one loose connection to the first (no spoilers although Vidal clearly wants to thread the story). Burr, one of my favorite reads of last year, was almost a comedy of manners mirror image of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s contemporary hit musical Hamilton. It mocked the Founding Father myths with aplomb while keeping the mystery around its eponymous character in shroud.
Lincoln never gives us Abe Lincoln’s perspective, and like Burr, I think the book is better for it. Rather, it does so around the eyes of those who surround him and plot against him. Vidal allows Lincoln’s maneuvering to flow without making him a saint or martyr. He comes off as a racist, as a compromiser, as someone who perhaps worships the existence of the United States more than the much more important moral cause of abolition. Moreover, he comes off as human, a difficult thing to do, and not something I think Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln managed all that well, even though I loved that movie.
There is a sublime moment through the lens of either Seward or Chase, I can’t remember (I think the former), where the character realizes that through Lincoln’s “Honest Abe” facade was a Machiavellian type all along. Vidal grasps how loosely the United States was organized at the time of Civil War and how many elites looked east to Europe at their monarchs and tyrants with envy. And yet, Lincoln slipped in and out of history just in time for the country’s most crucial hour.
I liked this slightly less than Burr. There’s a lot of redundancy, the characters don’t really grow, and I think about 10-15% could be edited out. But it’s still a fun, engaging book and I can’t wait to read the rest of this series.
Gore Vidal brings this to life in a continuation of his Narratives of Empire series. Although not the second book in publication order, it is the second one in sequence, with one loose connection to the first (no spoilers although Vidal clearly wants to thread the story). Burr, one of my favorite reads of last year, was almost a comedy of manners mirror image of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s contemporary hit musical Hamilton. It mocked the Founding Father myths with aplomb while keeping the mystery around its eponymous character in shroud.
Lincoln never gives us Abe Lincoln’s perspective, and like Burr, I think the book is better for it. Rather, it does so around the eyes of those who surround him and plot against him. Vidal allows Lincoln’s maneuvering to flow without making him a saint or martyr. He comes off as a racist, as a compromiser, as someone who perhaps worships the existence of the United States more than the much more important moral cause of abolition. Moreover, he comes off as human, a difficult thing to do, and not something I think Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln managed all that well, even though I loved that movie.
There is a sublime moment through the lens of either Seward or Chase, I can’t remember (I think the former), where the character realizes that through Lincoln’s “Honest Abe” facade was a Machiavellian type all along. Vidal grasps how loosely the United States was organized at the time of Civil War and how many elites looked east to Europe at their monarchs and tyrants with envy. And yet, Lincoln slipped in and out of history just in time for the country’s most crucial hour.
I liked this slightly less than Burr. There’s a lot of redundancy, the characters don’t really grow, and I think about 10-15% could be edited out. But it’s still a fun, engaging book and I can’t wait to read the rest of this series.