Lincoln and the Power of the Press

Lincoln believed that 'with public sentiment nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.' Harold Holzer makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Lincoln's leadership by showing us how deftly he managed his relations with the press of his day to move public opinion forward to preserve the Union and abolish slavery. --Doris Kearns Goodwin At no time in our history did newspapers wield more political influence than during the Civil War era, and no political figure was more aware of this influence than Abraham Lincoln. Harold Holzer's compelling narrative of the intertwined world of politics and journalism demonstrates Lincoln's canny skill in using the press to advance his own career as well as the cause of Union and freedom. A tour de force. --James M. McPherson With his usual sparkling prose and exhaustive research, one of America's foremost scholars on the 16th president has given us a robust portrait of the nexus between American politics and the press. As much as it is a telling slice of Lincolniana -- the kind of detail-rich tapestry we have come to expect from Holzer -- it is also a lively history of mid-19th century journalism. . . . Holzer reveals an encyclopedic knowledge of the players. --John Bicknell Roll Call Holzer has produced three books in one: apolitical biography of Lincoln, a portrayal of the American press during acrucial moment in history and an account of how Lincoln and the press eachhelped redefine the other. --James McGrath Morris Washington Post 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction (2014) Harold Holzer has written a fascinating study about Abraham Lincoln's extraordinary legacy to American journalism. Eye-opening, scholarly, and provocative, Lincoln and the Power of the Press adds greatly to our understanding of the presidency and its relationship to the 4th Estate. --Amanda Foreman WINNER OF THE 2016 GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE WINNER OF THE 2015 GILDER LEHRMAN LINCOLN PRIZE