Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America (Simon & Schuster Lincoln Library)

Absolutely brilliant read. Lifts my understanding of Abraham Lincoln and Gettysburg dedication to a whole new level. Thank you Mr Wills

The Battle of Gettysburg, a pivotal event in the Civil War, raged from July 1 to July 3, 1863. It was the largest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere and ended the Confederacy's second invasion of the North. Following the battle, the community of Gettysburg was thick with dead and wounded men. The Governor of Pennsylvania authorized the purchase of a cemetery for the reburial of the Union dead. The cemetery was dedicated in a ceremony on November 19, 1863. Edward Everett, a distinguished orator of the day, delivered a speech lasting over two hours. President Abraham Lincoln also accepted an invitation to deliver short remarks. His remarks of 272 became known as the Gettysburg Address. They constitute a seminal statement, and restatement of the American vision. Garry Wills' study "Lincoln at Gettysburg" deserves the accolades it has received if for no other reason than it gave many readers the opportunity to read and think about the Gettysburg Address. This is a speech that is dulled and lost in childhood. It needs to be approached and rethought as an adult to get an understanding of the depth of Lincoln's message. Wills sees the Gettysburg Address as recasting and remaking the American democratic experience. The speech expressly brings the hearer and reader back to the Declaration of Independence with its self-evident truth that "All men are created equal." This truth, Lincoln turns into a "proposition" on which our country was founded. (The Constitution, adopted thirteen years after the Declaration, countenances slavery and includes no language about human equality.) In his spare prose, Lincoln says little directly about the nature of "equality". Wills discusses the address and masterfully places it in the context of Lincoln's earlier speeches to help the reader understand the development of Lincoln's ideas on slavery, the antithesis of human equality. The Gettysburg Address also sounded the theme of the United States as a single undivided nation rather than a union or confederation of States. Wills shows how this theme too derives from the Declaration, when the people of the colonies rose up in unity to declare their Independence from Britain. Wills also reminds the reader of the sources of the idea of Nationhood in American history. He alludes to the Federalism of Chief Justice John Marshall and Justice Joseph Story. In particular, Wills discusses the Webster-Hayne debates. Lincoln greatly admired Webster as well as his fellow Whig, Henry Clay. Webster uttered the famous line "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable," which resonates through the Gettysburg Address. Wills tries to show the influence on Lincoln's thought on the transcendentalism of Emerson and of Theodore Parker. I thought this one of the more challenging sections of the book. While the Declaration was born in the skepticism of British empiricism and of Deism, transcendentalism emphasized the ideal. The Declaration and the Address, and the American mission, Lincoln transformed into ideal to be struggled for and realized by the living to commemorate the sacrifice of those who gave their lives to attain it. The book also includes an excellent treatment of rhetoric and speech, tracing Lincoln's address back to Thucydides and Georgias and ending with the observation that it marked the beginning of modern American prose. Wills' book encourages the reader to think about the Gettysburg Address and the great nature of the American political experiment. Robin Friedman

Ever since I heard Gore Vidal praise Lincoln's abilities as a writer, I wanted to read more of what that master politician had written. The perfect opportunity came along with this book, which is a rhetorical analysis of the Gettysburg address set in historical context. Wills offers not only Lincoln through his own words, but a vivid window into a past era. From it, Lincoln emerges as a political genius, who invented an entirely new kind of public discourse with the G address. Instead of following the current fashion of long addresses, which to his credit Wills does not ridicule, Lincoln write a short piece that would be picked up and repeated verbatim and in the process initiate the healing of the nation. As part of the context, Wills explains the meaning and history of cemetaries, which is far more interesting than I imagined possible. But that is part of Wills' remarkable art: he unearths these things and shows us how they fit together. And hs writing style: sheer beauty and clarity.

Wills may be seen by some as a somewhat polarising author (re: Papal Sin & "sequel" Why I'm A Catholic) but here he is on (relatively) neutral ground an excels at describing the events leading up to and directly after Lincoln's most famous speech. Though it was relatively short, Wills shows how it would go on to define a nation. Superlative work, and very quickly read.

When looking at truly important, relavent historical writings especially American contributions to history one's mind almost immediately defers to the Declaration Of Independence or the Constitution.That's a given.Then comes presidential writings,inaugural addresses, etc.But one continually stands out in the minds of young and old alike. That being Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Quite the little ditty of its day, a mere 272 words,but what words they were.Composed in an eloquent, direct, Greek style, worked and reworked until Abe got it just right.Just a little 2 minute speech to open a cemetery on the battleground of Gettysburg,one of the most notable,remembered and written about battles of the Civil War. Historians have been analysing both the battle and the speech ever since.Garry Wills has written quite possibly the one book to clarify it for you.The whys, wheres, the climate political and otherwise, the preoccupation with death and the overall pervasive melancholy that entranced a nation are explored.He has even quite possibly managed to pin down the exact spot of its delivery so a visit to the site will hold an extra special meaning if that kind of stuff excites you as it does me.Ample research has produced a winner here.I was very pleased to learn the inside track of the history and evolution of this most memorable document. How Greek writings shaped the body of the document, its contents and the overall effect it had on the country then as it still has today.This is what one expects of a Pulitzer Prize winning author.Sure, there are many other books you could consult but this one seems to be very authoritative in both its writing and its research.I can't claim to be an authority on history but am working toward a more thorough understanding of our American beginnings. Primarily, I have been reviewing our revolutionary beginnings and then our own traumatic Civil War.Our leaders being Washington and Lincoln respectively.Lincoln's contribution,a mere 146 years ago are as relavent as Washington's were 233 years ago.I feel one needs to know the psychology behind both to be able to impart to future generations this body of supreme knowledge, for I fear it will be minimized and trivialized in the coming decades.With the current troubles and with our own rediculous current administration my fears and doubts grow daily with respect to the continual survival of our country as a respected,successful power.I hope my fears are wrong.In any event, this book will give you lots of insight into the clearer leadership and thought process of Lincoln that will only make you wiser and stronger as an American. Written 17 years ago(I'm a bit late).All the juiciest reviewers got to it first but that's OK.I'm always a day late and a dollar short, but if a regular guy like me can still sing the praises of a book nearly 1 score old,find it exciting,believable and well written then that shows it to be important, perhaps a final look and may be eternal in its relavence as we strive to impart our country's key elements of success and mindset of great people to those that follow and will someday,hopefully lead our country more prudently.Read it, especially if you have children.All that was said that day even the wonderful speech by Everett and his encapsulated battle speech are included.If after reading this book you don't get to feel an intimate relationship to that historic day,an almost as if you were there watching it kind of feeling then there is something wrong somewhere.

Gut geschrieben, viel Hintergrund Information, faszinierende Einblicke in einen wichtigen Wendepunkt der US-Amerikanischen Geschichte. Lincoln hat mit wenigen Worten Wichtiges und Bleibendes gesagt. Wills geht weiter und zeigt auf, dass Lincoln auch die Tagespolitik im Blick hatte.

リンカーン大統領が南北戦争の激戦地ゲティースバーグで行った、あの有名な演説について、前後の経緯や、演説の分析、いかに革新的であったかなど、詳細な分析がされた本です。 あの演説を初めて読みましたが、わずか20行余りの演説の力強さには感心しました。 しかし、大学の先生が書いた研究書のような本の難解さ(英語のレベルの高さ)には閉口しました。当然ながらリンカーンの演説の方が遥かに分かりやすいです。

Wills takes a very academic and historic look at Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. He goes deep into Greek and Roman oratory, and Lincoln’s contemporary use of their themes and style and how it spoke to people of that time and place. Most importantly, he describes how in such a short, at the time rather overlooked speech, Lincoln not only gave new meaning to the Civil War, but America itself. Brilliant and multi-faceted.

This is an excellent but rather academic work that covers many aspects of Gettysburg and Lincoln's most famous speech. Of course it deals with the address itself which, incidentally, was not intended to be the featured speech of the day. Contrary to popular myth, Lincoln did not just scribble it up on the train ride to Gettysburg. In true Lincoln fashion, it was the result of years of deep thinking, and it was carefully edited right up to (and even after) the moment it was delivered. The main oration of the day was actually a fine speech by one of the most celebrated orators of the time. The text of that oration is printed in one of the appendices. The author does a superb job of describing the context of both Everett's oration and Lincoln's brief address. The cemetery and its dedication were part of Gettysburg's healing process following the devastating physical and psychological impact of having "hosted" such a battle. Wills describes the preparation of the cemetery and then launches into treatises on Greek burial ceremonies and the cemetery culture of mid-century America. He also describes at length Lincoln's writing and speaking styles as well as his views on slavery, the war and preservation of the Union. Finally, he opines on the importance of Lincoln's address on oratory in general and on how the country viewed itself. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The only reason I gave it a four instead of a five is that it did bog down in a few places...most notably in its excessive discussions of the Greek art of funeral oratory. I recommend this book to anyone interested in Lincoln, the Battle or the period of the Civil War in general.