Lincoln's Enduring Legacy: Perspective from Great Thinkers, Great Leaders, and the American Experiment

Coming on the heels of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, Lincoln's Enduring Legacy offers highly readable and accessible perspectives on Lincoln at 200 in terms of his impact on great leaders and thinkers and his place in American history. The book explores how Lincoln's words and deeds have influenced the pursuit of justice and freedom and the practice of democracy in the century and a half since he governed. Lincoln, as an abolitionist, the architect of Reconstruction, an avowed Unionist, a wordsmith and rhetorician, his age's foremost prophet for democracy, and America's greatest president remains an iconic image in American memory.

Table of Contents:
1 Preface 2 Introduction Chapter 3 Chapter 1. Lincoln, Leadership, and Legacy Part 4 Lincoln's Legacy with Great Thinkers and Leaders 5 Overview Chapter 6 Chapter 2. Tolstoy on Lincoln Chapter 7 Chapter 3. Mill and Lincoln on Liberty Chapter 8 Chapter 4. Theodore Roosevelt and the Heirs of Lincoln Chapter 9 Chapter 5. Woodrow Wilson and Lincoln's Bridge to the World Chapter 10 Chapter 6. Lincoln's Impact on Martin Luther King, Jr. Chapter 11 Chapter 7. Lincoln and the Idea of a Democratic Peace Part 12 Lincoln's Legacy and American Memory 13 Overview Chapter 14 Chapter 8. African-American Memory and the Great Emancipator Chapter 15 Chapter 9. Lincoln, the Roosevelts, and Herbert Croly's America Chapter 16 Chapter 10. Lincoln's Relationship with Gentility in America Chapter 17 Chapter 11. Lincoln's Use of Religion and Morality Chapter 18 Chapter 12. Shaping American Foreign Policy: Comparing Lincoln/Seward and Nixon/Kissinger Chapter 19 Chapter 13. Lincoln as Father: Dealing with Tragedy in the White House 20 Epilogue Chapter 21 Chapter 14. Reflections on Lincoln's Enduring Legacy

About the Author :
Robert P. Watson is associate professor of American studies at Lynn University. William D. Pederson is the American Studies Chair at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Frank J. Williams is former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island and was appointed by Congress to serve on the United States Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

Review :
This collection of essays, edited by three productive scholars, will find an appreciative audience among historians and Lincoln devotees. Well researched and well written, it demonstrates Lincoln's Enduring Legacy, his imprint not only on important individuals but also on humanity as a whole. No one interested in learning about the 16th president will want to miss reading this significant book. Though there is no shortage of books on Lincoln's legacy, I was pleasantly surprised by the breadth, usefulness, and originality of the essays in this collection. It is a veritable smorgasbord of stimulating and provocative reflections about Lincoln's life, legacy, and leadership that will appeal broadly to scholars, students, and Lincoln aficionados alike. The work is interdisciplinary in scope. There is something in it for everybody. It touches on the fields of leadership, history, sociology, biography, political theory, and religion. Each of these readable chapters can be enjoyed on its own or within the broader narrative of the entire book. The volume of writing on Lincoln continues to grow. New works often contribute substantially, confounding those who believe that little remains to be said. This insightful collection is among those that add a great deal. These essays enhance our understanding of Lincoln, of his America, and-perhaps most important-of our America as well.