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The Gettysburg Address- Words That Changed the World Jul 17, 2010
In "Lincoln at Gettysburg", author Garry Wills explores the most famous speech in American history- Lincoln's Gettysburg Address done on November 19, 1863 after the battle that changed the course of the war. Wills takes each line- every word- and gives the reader insights into how this great speech was crafted. Most people who have heard this speech- or read it in history class- do not know the depth which is present in these words.
Birth... death... and rebirth are all encapsulated in the Gettysburg Address. Wills gives meaning to each phrase...and explores the roots of the famous words which most history buffs know by heart, but don't fully understand. Anyone who truly wants to understand the thoughts going through the mind of Abraham Lincoln leading up to this famous speech should read this book...and by doing so- will have a greater understanding and appreciation of American history.
-Gene Pisasale
Author, "Lafayette's Gold- The Lost Brandywine Treasure" and
"Vineyard Days"
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Dispelling old myths Jun 15, 2010
There are times in every nation's history that serve as turning points, and the 1863 dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery is one of America's, largely due to the influence of Abraham Lincoln's 256 word speech. Garry Wills puts paid to the notion that Lincoln dashed something off on the train ride to Gettysburg, painstakingly tracing the cultural, literary, historic, and philosophical underpinnings to one of the world's oratory masterpieces. Wills also analyzes the surviving five drafts of the speech that were written in the President's own hand, concluding that the one given to Alexander Bliss is most likely the one from which Lincoln spoke. He also attempts to pinpoint the location of the dias within the cemetery, which was not, as the Park Service contended, at the site of the Soldiers' Monument.
Readers searching for information about Lincoln's activities on that fateful day will find little of interest in this slim volume, but for those interested in the best known address in American history, Lincoln at Gettysburg fills the bill.
 Chuck Mayer Feb 27, 2010
Exceptional writing and detailed scholarship evaluate one of the most important speeches in the English language. More critically, it looks the the movements in the 19th century that lead to the construction of the speech and, more importantly, it's purpose. It doesn't try to put the reader in President Lincoln's head, but rather make the reader familiar with the "zeitgeist" driving America's thought process.
It's broken into 5 chapters and an Epilogue:
1) Greek funereal oratory
2) Rural cemetaries
3) Trancendentalism and the Declaration of Independence
4) Revolution in Style - why the 272 words of the Address carried so much power, and why such a short speech was radical
5) Revolution in Thought - why the ideas in the Address, many considered part and parcel of the American identity now, were a change in Civil War
E) A brief look at Lincoln's other masterpiece (the Second Inaugural)
It also considers the different versions of the Address with more detail in the Appendices. All versions are included, as is some additional relevant material (including Edward Everett's "keynote" at the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetary).
Brilliant, compact book, with a tremendous amount to stimulate the reader's thinking and interest.
A Serious Examination Of Lincolns Most Impressive Work Sep 12, 2009
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.
A look at Lincoln's most famous words in the context of their times Jul 28, 2009
The subtitle of this book suggests that Lincoln's speech at Gettysburg changed America. The author argues, reasonably persuasively, the Lincoln was consciously using the speech to rally people to his view of the nature of the American experiment in democracy. While this book is somewhat dry and academic in its treatment of the material, it does place the Gettysburg Address in the context of the speech making styles of the time, and shows how Lincoln not only changed how people thought of the United States, but also how they made political speeches.
While most people today would probably take Lincoln's views on the nature of the Union that binds the states together, at the time of his speech, this was not only not universally accepted, but it was the very issue that Lincoln saw at the root of the Civil War. This book helps place Lincoln's most famous speech into the context of the politics, the war and the social climate of its time. The result is a deeper appreciation for the importance and impact of this short speech.
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