NF Lincoln vs. Davis by Nigel Hamilton

[Forrest]

My apologies if this is being discussed somewhere else, but I can't find any discussions.

Has anyone read this? I'll probably order it in a few minutes, but thought I'd ask you guys first, as I still need to get through 'Ninety-Eight Days'

 

[TallTallMan]

No, but considering current events on this forum about these guys I'm shaking in my shoes!

 

[Forrest]

No, but considering current events on this forum about these guys I'm shaking in my shoes!

Haha! I post a little when I have something useful to say (IMO!), then when I feel myself getting dragged into 'non-productive' debates, I leave and check back a few months later. It seems to be a good formula and keeps me from getting my wrists slapped!

 

[Library Lady]

I can give you some reviews.

LINCOLN VS. DAVIS | Kirkus Reviews

Lincoln and Davis never met, but their strengths and weaknesses defined the shape of the Civil War, as this well-researched account explains.

www.kirkusreviews.com

Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents | Washington Independent Review of Books

The Independent is an important voice in the community of readers and writers dedicated to book reviews and writing about the world of books.

www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com

a book review by Jerry Lenaburg: Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents

Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents by Nigel Hamilton book review. Click to read the full review of Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents in New York Journal of Books. Review written by Jerry Lenaburg.

www.nyjournalofbooks.com

Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents | Bookreporter.com

Of all the books written on Abraham Lincoln, there has been one surprising gap: the drama of how the “railsplitter” from Illinois grew into his critical role as U.S. commander-in-chief and managed to outwit his formidable opponent, Jefferson Davis, in what remains history's only military faceoff...

www.bookreporter.com

 

[Jamieva]

The author was recently on CivilWarTalk radio

Episode 2111: Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents with Nigel Hamilton

 

[Forrest]

The author was recently on CivilWarTalk radio

Episode 2111: Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents with Nigel Hamilton

I can give you some reviews.

LINCOLN VS. DAVIS | Kirkus Reviews

Lincoln and Davis never met, but their strengths and weaknesses defined the shape of the Civil War, as this well-researched account explains.

www.kirkusreviews.com

Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents | Washington Independent Review of Books

The Independent is an important voice in the community of readers and writers dedicated to book reviews and writing about the world of books.

www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com

a book review by Jerry Lenaburg: Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents

Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents by Nigel Hamilton book review. Click to read the full review of Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents in New York Journal of Books. Review written by Jerry Lenaburg.

www.nyjournalofbooks.com

Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents | Bookreporter.com

Of all the books written on Abraham Lincoln, there has been one surprising gap: the drama of how the “railsplitter” from Illinois grew into his critical role as U.S. commander-in-chief and managed to outwit his formidable opponent, Jefferson Davis, in what remains history's only military faceoff...

www.bookreporter.com

Thanks. I just wonder, given that it's about the early part of the war, if it sheds much light on the Vicksburg decisions by Jefferson, as that's the area I'm most interested in.

But I'll read it regardless - the reviews are good and I love super-long books if they're well-written and interesting.

Edited to add: just ordered it

 

[Forrest]

Well...this is sort of a slog. I am learning quite a bit, but it's definitely historical minutia at times. Still, it's readable - not like a Michener introduction - and even when very tired I can do 10-15 pages; however, there are some minor logic issues and the whole 'enslaved workers' vs 'slaves', and 'owner of enslaved workers' (rather than 'slaveholders') thing is kind of odd...and yet he sometimes drops the word 'slaveholder', probably by accident. Not anything I have strong feelings about from a 'correctness' point of view - it just often reads oddly. His sentence structure and use of punctuation is wrong and irritating at times, but no misspellings, which is my biggest pet peeve!

He lets us get to know Mary Todd and Varina in depth, which I have enjoyed.

I'm currently at page 100, enjoying details about the Fort Sumter prep on both ends, but wondering what the author can fill the next 600 pages with. But that curiosity will keep me going. I believe it's fairly unbiased, but hard to say since I'm not really sure how unbiased I am.

 

[Kearny The Magnificent]

I somehow missed this book entirely until seeing this thread! I know of Nigel Hamilton from his works on WW2 Field Marshal Montgomery. He's a prolific biographer. I still trust him but Im surprised to see him dipping into the American Civil War. I've got a few Audible credits so I'll give it a go.

 

[RyanQ1864]

A less than flattering review here, with numerous examples of errors and historical mistruths.

Book Review: Lincoln vs Davis: The War of the Presidents - Emerging Civil War

Lincoln vs Davis: The War of the Presidents. By Nigel Hamilton. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2024. Hardcover, 777 pp. $38.00. By John B. Sinclair Noted WWII and presidential biographer Nigel Hamilton turns his focus to the American Civil War for the first time with this “dual biography”...

emergingcivilwar.com

There's not enough time to read all the good books on the TBR pile without adding to it with mediocre works.

 

[Kearny The Magnificent]

A less than flattering review here, with numerous examples of errors and historical mistruths.

Book Review: Lincoln vs Davis: The War of the Presidents - Emerging Civil War

Lincoln vs Davis: The War of the Presidents. By Nigel Hamilton. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2024. Hardcover, 777 pp. $38.00. By John B. Sinclair Noted WWII and presidential biographer Nigel Hamilton turns his focus to the American Civil War for the first time with this “dual biography”...

emergingcivilwar.com

There's not enough time to read all the good books on the TBR pile without adding to it with mediocre works.

Uh oh. Thankfully Audible permits returns

 

[Jamieva]

A less than flattering review here, with numerous examples of errors and historical mistruths.

Book Review: Lincoln vs Davis: The War of the Presidents - Emerging Civil War

Lincoln vs Davis: The War of the Presidents. By Nigel Hamilton. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2024. Hardcover, 777 pp. $38.00. By John B. Sinclair Noted WWII and presidential biographer Nigel Hamilton turns his focus to the American Civil War for the first time with this “dual biography”...

emergingcivilwar.com

There's not enough time to read all the good books on the TBR pile without adding to it with mediocre works.

If you can't get basic stuff right, that's a no go for me. And that's an indictment of the editor too.

 

[Forrest]

If you can't get basic stuff right, that's a no go for me. And that's an indictment of the editor too.

Agreed. I haven't fact-checked the reviewer's fact-checks (certainly the editors should have caught the battle errors), but this review has the same general tone that mine would have. Just the misuse of semi-colons and bad grammar really has made it difficult for me. I know that's minor stuff, but I get the sense that the editors did little more than correct spelling. I found it interesting that the reviewer mentioned the Shakespeare diversions - last night I read one, then re-read it, and still didn't get the author's point, and I have read a lot of Shakespeare. I felt like it was just showing off.

As far as the author's treatment of Lincoln, I felt like he was equally hard on Jefferson in the early part of the book. He started trashing Lincoln heavily just before the Sumpter attack, making him sound totally unfit to be President. Some of the claims about Lincoln's interactions with Seward seemed absurd, especially when the author tried to get into Lincoln's head. As despicable as he found Seward to be, claiming that Seward suggested to Lincoln that he step down and let Seward take over (perhaps Lincoln did?), I got the impression that Hamilton would have done the same thing, and that he is using this book to express his opinion that he would have made a better President than either Lincoln or Davis. I guess if the author can get into Lincoln's head, it's fair for me to get into the author's.

Agreed with others that with so many great books to read, why start this one.

...but I have, and I'm going to finish it - this will make my next read of 'Ninety-Eight Days' even more enjoyable.

 

[Forrest]

A less than flattering review here, with numerous examples of errors and historical mistruths.

Book Review: Lincoln vs Davis: The War of the Presidents - Emerging Civil War

Lincoln vs Davis: The War of the Presidents. By Nigel Hamilton. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2024. Hardcover, 777 pp. $38.00. By John B. Sinclair Noted WWII and presidential biographer Nigel Hamilton turns his focus to the American Civil War for the first time with this “dual biography”...

emergingcivilwar.com

There's not enough time to read all the good books on the TBR pile without adding to it with mediocre works.

Thanks for posting this. The reviewer mentions that he has learned nothing new from this book, but sometimes it's the gathering of information that has never been gathered in quite this way, that is useful. Also, there is a lot of information in here that those of us who are less-than-historians certainly haven't seen. But if it's incorrect, it's less than useful. I'm thinking 'Oliver Stone' and 'JFK'.