Abraham Lincoln

出版者:Johns Hopkins University Press

作者:Michael Burlingame

页数:2008

出版时间:2008-12-10

价格:USD 130.00

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9780801889936

具体描述

In the first multi-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln to be published in decades, Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame offers a fresh look at the life of one of America's greatest presidents. Incorporating the field notes of earlier biographers, along with decades of research in multiple manuscript archives and long-neglected newspapers, this remarkable work will both alter and reinforce current understanding of America's sixteenth president. Volume 1 covers Lincoln's early childhood, his experiences as a farm boy in Indiana and Illinois, his legal training, and the political ambition that led to a term in Congress in the 1840s. In volume 2, Burlingame examines Lincoln's life during his presidency and the Civil War, narrating in fascinating detail the crisis over Fort Sumter and Lincoln's own battles with relentless office seekers, hostile newspaper editors, and incompetent field commanders. Burlingame also offers new interpretations of Lincoln's private life, discussing his marriage to Mary Todd and the untimely deaths of two sons to disease. But through it all-his difficult childhood, his contentious political career, a fratricidal war, and tragic personal losses-Lincoln preserved a keen sense of humor and acquired a psychological maturity that proved to be the North's most valuable asset in winning the Civil War. Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, this landmark publication establishes Burlingame as the most assiduous Lincoln biographer of recent memory and brings Lincoln alive to modern readers as never before.

用户评价

我是在一个朋友的强烈推荐下开始阅读这本厚厚的书的，坦白说，我原本对美国内战时期的历史兴趣不大，总觉得那些政治权谋和冗长的辩论会让人昏昏欲睡。然而，这本书简直像是一部引人入胜的悬疑小说，只是它的“凶手”是历史的必然性和人性的弱点。作者在构建林肯的形象时，采取了一种非常高明的手法：不是简单地赞美他，而是把他置于一个极其复杂的道德困境之中，让他不断地做出“两害相权取其轻”的选择。我特别喜欢书中对林肯早年经历的侧写，那些在边疆地区艰难求生的片段，那种靠着阅读和自律磨砺出来的智慧，为他日后在华盛顿的政治斗争打下了坚实的基础。书中的语言风格非常古典，充满了精准的比喻和那种老派学者的严谨，但这种严谨丝毫不影响阅读的流畅性。我读到关于他如何处理那些对他极尽诽谤的反对者时，那种隐忍和战略性的克制，简直是教科书级别的政治智慧。它让我意识到，真正的力量往往不是体现在外显的强势上，而是内化为一种不动声色的掌控力。这本书不仅仅是关于一个总统，它更是一堂关于如何在极端压力下保持心智清明的生存哲学课。

我花了相当长的时间才读完这本巨著，过程中充满了感叹和反思。这本书最成功的地方，或许在于它没有试图为林肯“洗白”或过度美化他，而是坦诚地展示了他在政治操作中的实用主义和那些不为人知的妥协。它没有回避他在某些关键时刻的犹豫不决，反而将这些“不完美”视为他伟大之处的组成部分。对我来说，这本书提供了一个理解“领导力”的全新维度，这种领导力不是来自于天赋的神启，而是来自于对人性弱点的深刻理解，以及一种近乎痛苦的自我约束。书中对林肯处理种族问题的演变过程的分析尤其精彩，它揭示了一个政治家如何通过深思熟虑和外部环境的推动，完成了个人信念的飞跃，从一个温和的反对者转变为坚定的解放者。这种转变的心理过程被描绘得极其真实、充满张力。读完之后，我感觉自己不光是了解了一个历史人物，更像是进行了一次漫长而深刻的自我对话，关于责任、关于孤独、以及关于在一个充满分裂的世界中如何寻求共识的难题。这本书的阅读体验是复杂而回味无穷的，它迫使你跳出非黑即白的简单判断，去拥抱历史和人性的灰色地带。

坦白讲，我通常对严肃的历史著作敬而远之，觉得它们读起来像在啃一块干巴巴的石头。但这本书的魅力在于，它把“历史的厚重感”与“人性探索的深度”完美地融合在了一起，读起来竟然有种酣畅淋漓的感觉。作者似乎对林肯的内心独白进行了大量细致的“考古”和合理的推测，使得人物形象异常立体丰满。我尤其对书中探讨的林肯与他那复杂多变的家庭关系进行了深入的分析。一个在公共生活中展现出无与伦比的冷静和决断力的男人，在面对私人的悲剧和妻子的精神困扰时，又是何等的无助和脆弱。这种强烈的对比，让这个人物瞬间鲜活了起来，不再是教科书上的一个符号，而是那个在时代洪流中挣扎求生的鲜活个体。阅读过程中，我多次停下来，去回味那些描述他沉思的段落，思考在那种空前的压力下，普通人会如何崩溃，而他又是如何通过阅读和哲学思考来重建自己的精神支柱的。这本书的文字节奏感极强，时而如暴风骤雨般紧凑，时而又如湖水般平静深邃，引导读者进入一种沉浸式的阅读体验。

从这本书里，我得到了一种完全不同于我过去对“伟人”理解的视角。它没有给我一个高高在上、完美无瑕的偶像，而是让我看到了一个充满矛盾的灵魂。书中对林肯的幽默感和民间智慧的描绘尤其生动，那些他用来缓和紧张气氛的笑话和故事，读起来让人会心一笑，但笑过之后，你马上能感受到那笑声背后压抑着的巨大悲剧感。这种反差处理得极其到位。我记得其中一段描述了他在处理内阁成员间的私人恩怨时所展现出的那种近乎“家长式”的耐心和调和能力，这远比他在战场上的决策更让我感到惊奇。一个能驾驭如此多强大、自负的政治精英的人，其情商和对人性的洞察力必然是超凡的。更重要的是，这本书成功地将抽象的政治目标（如“维护联邦”）具象化为林肯个人的道德负担。每当他签下一份可能导致数千人死亡的命令时，作者都会细腻地捕捉到他内心的挣扎，那种知识分子对生命价值的敬畏与政治家对国家命运的担当之间的永恒拉锯。这本书的结构很巧妙，它不是线性叙事，而是像一个精美的万花筒，从不同的侧面折射出林肯复杂的内心世界。

这本关于林肯的传记，说实话，我期待的是那种宏大叙事，那种从历史书里挖出来的冰冷事实堆砌起来的篇章。但拿到手翻开后，立刻被作者那种深入骨髓的洞察力给抓住了。它没有过多地纠缠于南北战争的军事部署这种我本就不擅长的领域，而是将笔墨聚焦在了那个男人——亚伯拉罕·林肯——内心世界的风暴。我仿佛能透过纸页闻到他身上那股混合着烟草、汗水和无尽忧虑的气味。最让我震撼的是对他在白宫时期精神状态的描摹。那种巨大的孤独感，一个人扛着整个国家的撕裂与痛苦，那种从内向外散发出的悲悯与坚韧，简直让人窒息。作者似乎掌握了某种“时间机器”，能够将我们带入他深夜独坐的椭圆形办公室，看他如何在烛光下批阅那些决定生死的文书，思考那些关于自由、奴隶制和联邦存续的终极命题。读到他与身边幕僚的那些微妙的互动时，你会发现，即便是最伟大的领袖，也需要倾听、需要被理解，而那种被理解的渴望在那个动荡的年代显得尤为奢侈和珍贵。这本书的叙事节奏张弛有度，既有历史的厚重感，又不乏文学作品特有的细腻和温度，成功地将一个政治符号还原成了一个有血有肉、有挣扎、有脆弱的“人”。

I have countless collection of AL and this is by far the most beautiful set. Dear Mr. President, I may have posed as a disorganized idler lately, but I was never idle I know your sternness stems from your upbringing, aiming to motivate rather than dishearten me. I promise I will clear the chaos in my head and start my next undertaking in life:-)

I have countless collection of AL and this is by far the most beautiful set. Dear Mr. President, I may have posed as a disorganized idler lately, but I was never idle I know your sternness stems from your upbringing, aiming to motivate rather than dishearten me. I promise I will clear the chaos in my head and start my next undertaking in life:-)

I have countless collection of AL and this is by far the most beautiful set. Dear Mr. President, I may have posed as a disorganized idler lately, but I was never idle I know your sternness stems from your upbringing, aiming to motivate rather than dishearten me. I promise I will clear the chaos in my head and start my next undertaking in life:-)

I have countless collection of AL and this is by far the most beautiful set. Dear Mr. President, I may have posed as a disorganized idler lately, but I was never idle I know your sternness stems from your upbringing, aiming to motivate rather than dishearten me. I promise I will clear the chaos in my head and start my next undertaking in life:-)

I have countless collection of AL and this is by far the most beautiful set. Dear Mr. President, I may have posed as a disorganized idler lately, but I was never idle I know your sternness stems from your upbringing, aiming to motivate rather than dishearten me. I promise I will clear the chaos in my head and start my next undertaking in life:-)