Synopses & Reviews
For all the talk of the CivilWarand#8217;s pitting brother against brother, no book has told fully the story of one family ravaged by that conflict. And no family better illustrates the personal toll the war took than Lincolnand#8217;s own.Mary Todd Lincoln was one of fourteen siblings who were split between the Confederacy and the Union.Three of her brothers fought, and two died, for the South. Several Toddsand#151;including Mary herselfand#151;bedeviled Lincolnand#8217;s administration with their scandalous behavior.Their struggles haunted the president and moved him to avoid tactics or rhetoric that would dehumanize or scapegoat the Confederates. By drawing on his own familial experience, Lincoln was able to articulate a humanistic, even charitable view of the enemy that seems surpassingly wise in our time, let alone his.
In House of Abraham, the award-winning historian Stephen Berry fills a gap in CivilWar history, showing how the war changed one family and how that family changed the course of the war.
Review
"Stephen Berry's House of Abraham is a couldn't-put-it-down good read." --Allen C. Guelzo, author of Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation
"Reading Stephen Berry's House of Abraham is like putting the nation's Civil War first family on the analyst's couch . . . fascinating." --Mark Wetherington, director of the Filson Historical Society and author of Plain Folk's Fight
"Berry gives us one of the most deeply human portraits of Lincoln ever presented." --Steven M. Stowe, Indiana University, Bloomington
"A riveting account . . . Berry compels us to see this epochal conflict anew. House of Abraham is absolutely first-rate." --Peter A. Coclanis, Albert R. Newsome Professor of History, UNC-Chapel Hill
"Thoroughly researched, smoothly written . . . a poignant microcosm of the wrenching familial strains that tore the nation apart." --Michael Burlingame, author of The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln and Sadowski Professor of History Emeritus, Connecticut College
"Compelling . . . brings to vibrant life Lexington aristocrats never before studied in depth by Lincoln biographers . . . remarkable . . . a riviting account." Kirkus Reviews
"Gripping . . . House of Abraham offers amazing insights into a divided nation . . . [Berry's] eloquent prose makes this a delicious read." --Glenda Elizabeth Gilmore, Peter V. and C. Vann Woodward Professor of History, Yale University
"A fast-paced, sobering story, never better told, of the pains of a clan and their significance for American history." Publishers Weekly, Starred
"This book is a revelation and a real treat for any Civil War fan." --Deirdre Donahue USA Today
Synopsis
For all the talk of the CivilWars pitting brother against brother, no book has told fully the story of one family ravaged by that conflict. And no family better illustrates the personal toll the war took than Lincolns own.Mary Todd Lincoln was one of fourteen siblings who were split between the Confederacy and the Union.Three of her brothers fought, and two died, for the South. Several Toddsincluding Mary herselfbedeviled Lincolns administration with their scandalous behavior.Their struggles haunted the president and moved him to avoid tactics or rhetoric that would dehumanize or scapegoat the Confederates. By drawing on his own familial experience, Lincoln was able to articulate a humanistic, even charitable view of the enemy that seems surpassingly wise in our time, let alone his.
In House of Abraham, the award-winning historian Stephen Berry fills a gap in CivilWar history, showing how the war changed one family and how that family changed the course of the war.
About the Author
Stephen Berry is an assistant professor of history at the University of Georgia. He has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, among other honors. Berry lives in Athens, Georgia.
Table of Contents
The Todd Family vi Introduction ix 1. Bluegrass Beginnings 1 2. Scattered 24 3. 1861: Divided We Fall 53 4. 1862: and#147;Blood Galoreand#8221; 97 5. 1863: The Death of Absalom 131 6. 1864and#150;65: A Whole People 157 Epilogue 182 Acknowledgments 193 Notes 196 Index 241