Lincoln & Churchill

Statesmen at War

Lewis E Lehrman

• Publisher: Stackpole Books
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9780811719674
• eBook ISBN: 9780811767453
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: Politics & International Relations

"With penetrating insight, Lehrman unfolds the contrasts and similarities between these two leaders . . . I savored every page of this magnificent work."—Doris Kearns Goodwin, #1  New York Times-bestselling author of  Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
 
Winner of the Abraham Lincoln Institute of Washington's 2019 book prize
Lewis E. Lehrman, a renowned historian and National Humanities Medal winner, gives new perspective on two of the greatest English-speaking statesmen—and their remarkable leadership in wars of national survival.
Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, as commanders in chief, led their nations to victory—Lincoln in the Civil War, Churchill in World War II. They became revered leaders—statesmen for all time. Yet these two world-famous war leaders have never been seriously compared at book length. Acclaimed historian Lewis Lehrman, in his pathbreaking comparison of both statesmen, finds that Lincoln and Churchill—with very different upbringings and contrasting personalities—led their war efforts, to some extent, in similar ways. As supreme war lords, they were guided not only by principles of honor, duty, and freedom, but also by the practical wisdom to know when, where, and how to apply these principles. Even their writings and speeches were swords in battle. Gifted literary stylists, both men relied on the written and spoken word to steel their citizens throughout desperate and prolonged wars. And both statesmen unexpectedly left office near the end of their wars—Lincoln by the bullet, Churchill by the ballot. They made mistakes, which Lehrman considers carefully. But the author emphasizes that, despite setbacks, they never gave up.
"Deeply researched and elegantly written. . . . a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the past. By expertly conjoining two great leaders in a single volume, he has enhanced our understanding of both." ? The Wall Street Journal
 
Includes illustrations and photographs

Table of contents

• Preface: Wars of National Survival
• Prologue
• Abraham Lincoln before the Civil War
• Winston Churchill before World War II
• The Lincoln Team
• The Churchill Team
• Lincoln at War: A Few Key Battles of the Civil War
• Churchill at War: A Few Key Military Operations in Europe during World War II
• A Comparison
• I. Men of Character: Quintessential Leaders with Different Personalities
• II. The Unlikely Emergence of Lincoln and Churchill
• III. The Rhetoric of Leadership
• IV. Anglo-American Relations
• V. Virtues of Great War Leaders
• VI. Managing Ministers and Legislators
• VII. Finding and Managing Generals
• VIII. Army Leadership
• IX. 1862/1942
• X. 1863/1943
• XI. 1864/1944
• XII. 1865/1945
• XIII. Reelection and Reconstruction
• XIV. Managing Men at War—Lincoln Style
• XV. Managing Men at War—Churchill Style
• XVI. Legacies
• XVII. Epilogue
• Historiography and Acknowledgments
• Selected Bibliography on Abraham Lincoln
• Selected Bibliography on Winston S. Churchill
• Endnotes
• Biography of Lewis E. Lehrman