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Lincoln's Greatest Speech : The Second Inaugural | 
 enlarge | Author: Ronald C. White Jr.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
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Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 204640
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 6.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 0743212991
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.7092
EAN: 9780743212991
ASIN: 0743212991
Publication Date: February 3, 2003
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Amazon.com
In the tradition of Garry Wills's modern classic Lincoln at Gettysburg, Ronald C. White Jr. offers a close reading of the speech Abraham Lincoln gave in 1865 at his second inauguration and declares it the man's finest and most important effort. It contains one of Lincoln's best-known lines ("With malice toward none; with charity for all"), which White admires as "a timeless promise of reconciliation." At the same time, White reminds readers that rather than yanking such brilliant rhetorical nuggets from their context, "We need to understand Lincoln's strategy for the complete speech." He provides this in some detail, describing the political environment in which Lincoln found himself, having recently won a presidential election that he nearly lost and also seeing the Confederacy begin to collapse for good. It was not a long speech, containing only 701 words of mostly one syllable each and requiring merely six or seven minutes to deliver, compared to about 35 minutes for the inaugural address he had given four years earlier. White calls these words Lincoln's "last will and testament to America." John Wilkes Booth, who attended the inaugural ceremony, would murder him the next month. Lincoln buffs in particular will appreciate this book, as will fans of Jay Winik's April 1865. --John Miller
Book Description
As the day for Lincoln's second inauguration drew near, Americans wondered what their sixteenth president would say about the Civil War. Would Lincoln guide the nation toward "Reconstruction"? What about the slaves? They had been emancipated, but what about the matter of suffrage? When Lincoln finally stood before his fellow countrymen on March 4, 1865, and had only 703 words to share, the American public was stunned. The President had not offered the North a victory speech, nor did he excoriate the South for the sin of slavery. Instead, he called the whole country guilty of the sin and pleaded for reconciliation and unity. In this compelling account, noted historian Ronald C. White Jr. shows how Lincoln's speech was initially greeted with confusion and hostility by many in the Union; commended by the legions of African Americans in attendance, abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass among them; and ultimately appropriated by his assassin John Wilkes Booth forty-one days later. Filled with all the facts and factors surrounding the Second Inaugural, Lincoln's Greatest Speech is both an important historical document and a thoughtful analysis of Lincoln's moral and rhetorical genius.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
Very Educational January 22, 2008
N. Osorio (Arcadia, CA United States)
This entire book is a thorough analysis of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Speech given towards the closing of the Civil War. In a time of great turmoil, Lincoln's words offered peace and reconciliation to a nation who had faced nearly four years of bloodshed. White's analysis of the speech is very insightful, as he covers everything from his word choice to people who may have inspired Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln is one of the most revered presidents today and White portrays him as the eloquent speaker he was.
I found the beginning of the book to be quite boring as White goes on to explain the historical context of the speech. Although this is important, I felt he dragged it out too much to a point where it resembled a U.S. history textbook. However, the real analysis comes shortly after in which White analyzes the opening paragraph of Lincoln's speech. I assumed it was just an introduction to get the audience pumped up, however, Lincoln failed to meet America's expectations as he blatantly admitted he would not punish the South for seceding. While disappointing many Americans at the time, I look back on this and realize that it was the appropriate thing to do given the harsh circumstances. White continues to break down the speech into small excerpts, going over each sentence in extensive detail. I found it quite interesting to learn that Lincoln used alliteration, parallel structure, words that were not inclusive, and allusions to God as methods of arousing hope among the American people. The speech was very simple, yet complex at the same time and I developed even more admiration for this humble president. It is evident that White did a lot of research to compile this book and I feel that I did indeed learn a great deal. This book convinced me that the Second Inaugural Address was truly Lincoln's greatest speech.
 Informative but not satisfying January 22, 2008
J. Lin
A book on analyzing Licoln's Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural by Ronald C. White focuses on the rhetorical strategies Lincoln employs in his speech. Although the book is very informative, this book is hardly deemed to be read for pleasure.
White does a good job of providing enough context to let readers know what the nation was going through at the time. It allowed me to understand what White was trying to say when he was analyzing Lincoln's speech. It becomes much clearer why Lincoln chooses certain words to say when one is fully informed of the situation.
For me personally, I learned a lot about history through this book alone, but I also learned more about rhetorical strategies and why certain words work and certain words do not in particular situations. The book made it clear what rhetorical devices were used and why. Although the book fully analyzed Lincoln's speech, I do feel White does go a little overboard with his analysis.
A good book to read, Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural is good for teaching people rhetorical strategies, but it is one book I would not read for the pleasure of reading.
 Yawn. BORING! January 21, 2008
alexanderlin
Speeches are boring. Not much to say there. But what White has done is just plain horrible. 256 pages of horrible actually. Though White's essay/book is informational and effective, it is extensive and overfilled with pointless history.
Breaking down Lincoln's speech, White provides powerful information about the rhetorical devices Lincoln uses to unify the nation. However, this `powerful' information is often drowned out by the incessant historical lessons. In reality, this story is more of a biography than an analysis on Lincoln' Second Inaugural address. Although this may excite some people, for most, myself included, this is more of a turn off.
So if you want to read some history, go ahead, pick up this book. But if your looking for information on Lincoln's Second Inaugural, I strongly suggest that you go on the internet to get your information.
Excellent Analysis but in an Excessively Long and Tedious Package January 21, 2008
Lawrance Chung (Arcadia, CA USA)
Ronald White does an outstanding job analyzing Lincoln's second inaugural speech, supporting his work with both historical context and social context. However, this book is presented in a way that has little to offer for the casual reader.
Understanding the power within Lincoln's words, White breaks down this speech to reveal the methods Lincoln used to persuade his audience. He traces, from Lincoln's early history as an orator to his final years, the growth and development of our sixth president and the affect it had on his speech. White analyzes the strategies Lincoln employed to convey his message of reconciliation; instead of merely focusing on the speech, he also includes the responses it produced upon the listeners. He sheds light to many elements of the speech that are unseen by the average reader. With an overall solid argument, this book will leave the reader amazed at the power of Lincoln's subtle language, if only the reader could finish the book. And that is the trouble.
Turing an analysis of a 701-word speech into a 265 page book means boredom. White's analysis is substantial and perceptive but by analyzing almost word by word, he has turned this book into a tiresome read. The unnecessary details that White sometimes includes are overwhelming at best. His arguments are sound but the extreme amount of support he provides reduces their impact. The reader gets carried away and lost within the paragraphs of history that White uses to support his claims. While there is much to be gleaned from his pages, the unnecessary length of this book is extremely unappealing. If White were to reduce his book to a summary of his claims with minimal but concise support, this book would be much more effective.
This book is a worthwhile read as there is much to be learned from White's careful analysis but because of its length it is extremely unappealing and almost impossible to reader with interest.
Good Analysis, Better as an Brief Essay than as a Book January 11, 2008
Alan Xie (Arcadia, CA)
A proof should be as simple and as elegant as possible, yet at the same time it should be full and rigorous. Ronald C. White provides an insightful essay on Lincoln's Second Inaugural address. Unfortunately, his proof is in the form of a 256 page book. Though effective and thoughtful, White's work is bogged down by its excessive history.
If White's work were in the form of a shorter paper, each paragraph would be meaningful and interesting. As it is, it is tempting to skim through White's work, as so much of it seems to serve only as filler and history to extend the length of the work and make it publishable in the form of a book. In a condensed form, White's arguments would simply be more potent.
White's analysis and the content of his work are, however, effective and insightful. Though some bits are sketchy, most of his analysis makes evident the method behind Lincoln's Second Inaugural. Paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence, and word by word, White breaks down the rhetorical devices which Lincoln used in his hope of reunifying the nation.
White's analysis is rich, ranging from explaining the effect of Lincoln's diction to the appeal to religion made when Lincoln's speaks of slavery. White goes through parallelism and imagery--he thoroughly covers all of Lincoln's methods. For readers who love history and all that is Lincoln and the Civil War, I recommend this book. But for everyone else who believes nonfiction in this era should yield maximum knowledge and understanding with minimum time, Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural is simply tedious.
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