Geoffrey Perret: Lincoln's War: The Untold Story of America's Greatest President as Commander in Chief

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2004, Geoffrey Perret visited the library to talk about his latest book, Lincoln's War: The Untold Story of America 's Greatest President as Commander in Chief. Geoffrey Perret received his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California, was awarded a graduate fellowship at Harvard and studied law at the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Perret has written There's a War to Be Won, Winged Victory, Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life of Douglas MacArthur, Ulysses S. Grant, Eisenhower and JACK: A Life Like No Other. Mr. Perret has also been a consultant on several televised historical documentaries.

Lincoln is lauded for his skills as a political leader, his moral strength, and his unyielding devotion to popular government in the U.S. as the "last, best, hope of man." He is seldom praised for his military acumen or even for his choice of subordinates in his role as commander in chief. Perret has written three presidential biographies and four works of military history. Here he provides an interesting and sometimes provocative view of Lincoln that credits him with far greater skills as a commander than is generally realized. Furthermore, Perret asserts that Lincoln redefined forever the role of commander in chief, assuming powers that were previously considered the province of Congress. This is a well-argued work that will be a valuable addition to Civil War collections. -Booklist