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Summary: James Salisbury
Review: Let me start by saying what an incredible book. This book tells the truth about a man and his myth an anti-constitutionalist and murder of innocent Americans. The book is backed up by facts and not revisionist history as most books about Lincoln and American history are today. It goes to the heart of Lincoln and his ultimate goal of creating a centralized government with absolute control over all Sovereign States in order to push his parties economical and social agenda which they were unsuccessful at achieving politically, so he used a bloody war to crush his opposition to the South even Northern states were threaten at the point of a bayonet to submit to the will of his government or pay with their lives. The book also does a great job of dispelling the myth of Lincolns "Emancipation Proclamation" he was never during his entire life an abolitionist in fact he would distant himself from them. Go ahead and read the reviews below especially the negative ones (e.g. Aaron Smith) then read the book then go back to the negative reviews and you will see first hand how brainwashed so many people are in this country even after the straight forward facts of this book tell it like it was and remains today they still don't want to believe it. The Lincoln myth has been, concocted by the leftist to advance their socialist agendas by creating this false hero of liberty and freedom, which you will see Lincoln was not. So do yourself and your future generations a favor and pick up this book before it disappears, and share it with everyone you know because the school system in America is not going to teach the truth to your children only you can.DEO VINDICE
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Summary: rebel dumpty sat on the wall, rebel dumty had a big fall
Review: in times of peace, a democracy should run like a democracy. in times of internal revolt, rebellion, or secession within a democracy, individual liberties must take a back seat to reestablishing internal order. dilorenzo's book, by an almost mystical inverse relation to its purpose, has shown me that abe lincoln was justified in the steps he took to save this wonderful country. he also did the south a tremendous favor by fighting it back into the union. even while the civil war raged, a few state governments within the condfederacy were itching to secede from THAT governmental conglomerate. if they had won their independence, it would not have been long before the former american south had split itself into 6 or 7 individual countries, with no hope of defending itself...from one another. if not for abe lincoln and the republican government in washington, the "lost cause" myth would relate not to what-ifs about winning the civil war, but rather to those grand days of peace and liberty (though 4 million slaves weren't liberated yet) back in the old union. mr. dilorenzo's book is a stubborn read, very miopic in its presentation of negative information regarding lincoln. dilorenzo has not given us a balanced look at the man who, by reuniting the united states of america through fighting the civil war, saved this land from a legacy of "war on every other thursday" that europe has experienced FOREVER! but dilorenzo's book is not worthless. again, the crafty reader will be able to spot the red-herrings and not be fooled by the chauvinistic arrangement of arguments.
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Summary: must reading for students of history and the constitution
Review: I disagree with the criticism of A.M. Rush, who was listed first on the reviewer list. I do not believe that Mr. DeLorenzo would approve of President Bush's unconstitutional actions while he denounces those of Lincoln. Professor DeLorenzo's points, which the reviewer seemed to miss, was that Lincoln set a precedent for future presidents to emulate, a precedent of violating the constitution and assuming dictatorial powers in the name of the national interest, whatever that may be at the moment. I also do not agree with the reviewer that he contradicts himself. The creation of the West Virginia was not initiated by the people, it was created by politicians. The succession he argues for is voluntary succession initiated by the people, not politicians!
Professor DeLorenzo gives a comprehensive review of Lincoln's career, his motives, and his actions in light of the constitution, and the destruction and unnecessary nature of the War between the States.
A very readable book. You could give this to a bright high school student who is studying the Civil War and Lincoln.
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Summary: Interesting alternative view, but reveals the author's bias
Review: When I came upon this book, the premise fascinated me: here was a totally different view of a man lionized in American history classes and in most conventional accounts of his era. As I began reading the book, the text detailed several truths about Lincoln that are not taught in history classes: that he did not think black Americans should be treated equally to white Americans (in fact he believed black Americans should have been colonized), that he suspended civil liberties during the Civil War, that he would have kept slavery to preserve the Union, and that the Civil War was not fought over slavery.
However, the further I got along in the book, the more derogatory references to any form of taxation, to any government spending, and to presidents such as FDR did the author keep inserting into the text, and the more the author revealed his bias against these concepts, equating them with socialism. This is when the author began to lose credibility with me. By the end of the book when I was aware of his agenda, I began to long for an objective view of Abraham Lincoln. I also learned that the author, Thomas DiLorenzo, and the writer of the foreword, Walter Williams, are both conservative columnists who, despite hating Lincoln for his "dictatorship" during the Civil War, probably think George W. Bush is justified in performing similar actions today.
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Summary: Reevaluating the "Great Emancipator."
Review: This is a very enjoyable, well-written polemic on Abraham Lincoln, our deified sixteenth president. DiLorenzo shows that Lincoln cared little about the freedom of the black race, and everything about consolidating power in the national government. Slavery was the pretense, not the cause of the "Civil War," more accurately called the War of Northern Aggression (I am not a Southerner).
As DiLorenzo points out, every other country in the world was able to abolish slavery without a bloody war. He further points out that the "Great Emancipator" cared very little for the freedom of Northern white men who opposed the war, jailing them by the thousands, suspending habeas corpus and shutting down newspapers. Lincoln acted more like a dictator throughout the war than an elected president.
The Real Lincoln ought to be required reading at our high schools and colleges. I highly recommend this excellent book to anyone with an interest in American history who wants to shed the myths taught in school. Thanks, Professor!
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Summary: A different look at Lincoln.
Review: 'The Real Lincoln' is a different look at one of the most respected American icons. The picture drawn of Lincoln by DiLorenzo is probably more realistic than the one we have been fed our entire lives. To the shock of many people, the Civil War was not fought to end slavery. It is one of the biggest lies, if not THE biggest lie in American history. If one sees politics and war for what they really are, one will realizes their actions have very little humanatarian purposes. The American Civil War is no exception. The Civil War was fought to keep a strong economic system together and in tact. It was fought to keep the Union together, and the slavery reason was a deceptive political trick, just like the "terrorism" reason for going to war with Afganistan and Iraq.
Thomas DiLorenzo is too one-sided though. His book is too simple, and the Civil War is much too complex to examine than as done in this short book. One has to read and understand other books in order to gain a fuller understanding, but DiLorenzo is not far off the mark. DiLorenzo also repeats himself too much in the book. Find me one other war in the history of the world that was started to end slavery. It makes no sense. It makes no sense to go to war to end slavery. Other countries ended slavery in much simpler fashions. Lets bring Abraham Lincoln down from his heroic and angelic stature and see him for what he really was; a shrewd and cunning politicians who started the war for cynical reasons and not for "freedom" and "democracy".
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Summary: A Real Eye-Opener, and a Heart Breaker.
Review: Be warned: read this book only if you ready for a real eye-opener, and a heart breaker, about the rise of corporate power in the US. This is not some southern polemic, but a well researched and powerful analysis of one of the great myths of American politics. Dilorenzo takes you to the head waters of the flow of events in our history that led to the replacement of our decentralized, American republic advancing the liberty of our people, with a centralize American empire serving corporate power. I was both convinced and deeply shocked that much of what we learn in both high school and college about the civil war is largely nonsense, spun origionally in the 1860s by the mercantile faction of the republican party to justify the creation of a centralized state to service corporate interests, and an unnecessary, awful war that was used to create the opportunity to radically alter the course of our history.
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Summary: No apologies
Review: Controversial and frankly inflammatory, DiLorenzo has assembled a masterful accounting of "Saint Lincoln's" conduct during what has to be the darkest chapter in all of American history. One of the first Americans to "smell a rat" (to borrow a phrase from Patrick Henry) in the months preceding the first shots at Fort Sumter was Lysander Spooner, who penned a particularly harsh letter to future Secretary of State William Seward. In this letter Spooner decries Seward's (and Lincoln's) "unfaithfulness to freedom" and excoriated them for riding "into power on the two horses of Liberty and Slavery." This letter pretty much sets the entire tone of DiLorenzo's book: every step along the way from Lincoln's earliest political career up through his assassination is examined through the lens of civil liberties. DiLorenzo is unrelenting: Educated in Whig principles and repeatedly in favor of high protective tariffs and "internal improvements," Lincoln had essentially declared himself a "benevolent" dictator when he suspended habeas corpus, mass-arrested dissenters (including the entire Maryland state legislature), shut down newspapers, ordered an attack on New York City draft protesters by federal troops, deported an outspoken Democratic opponent, censored all telegraph communication, nationalized the railroads, confiscated private property, rigged Northern elections, and sent bloodthirsty generals like William Tecumseh Sherman to wage war on civilians as well as combatants. The reason Lincoln gives for all of these assaults on the Bill of Rights is to "save the Union," or, as a growing number of scholars interpret it, to permanently abolish the voluntary union of the Framers -Lincoln erroneously declared the Union to be older (and thereby more sacrosanct) than the states themselves. The issue of slavery almost becomes secondary in this 300-page rush of Constitutional crimes; although DiLorenzo does point out that Lincoln himself never really opposed the institution of slavery until the war was well underway. The issue of states' rights was settled once and for all with Lee's surrender to Grant, and with it the spirit (if not the letter) of the Tenth Amendment was buried for all time.
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Summary: Disturbing...could cause a total reevaluation
Review: We like to think that mythology is the domain of the ancients, Greeks or the Romans. But much history is just that. To die at the very moment of your greatest success is to assure an almost mythological status; John Kennedy, George Patton and modern rock stars are good examples. In all of American history this is never more true than with Lincoln.
This excellent book strips away the veneer of hero worship and reveals a man who is very troubling. It is always important to remenber that he was an ambitious attorney who made a personal fortune advancing the agenda of the rich and powerful who needed big government to realize their goals. The problem? A little thing called the Constitution. As president he began an unconstitutional war not to free slaves but to protect revenues. 90% of tariffs fell on the South and 90% once collected were spent, mainly on infrastructure in the north.
He closed over 300 newspapers. He incarcerated 15,000 civilians without the benefit of trial. He waged an illegal and immoral war on an independent nation. He in fact violated every amendment of the very Constitution he was charged to uphold and protect.
Many have said how unfortunate the South was that he was assassinated. Perhaps. But the Constitution had been so emasculated by that point that he made possible the most corrupt period in our entire history, Reconstruction. By 1877 most of the nation's wealth was controlled by 5 robber barons.
A more balanced approach could have been employed here and it is possible Lincoln was driven by higher motives. But in order to get to that kind of dialogue this man has to be honestly examined in light of overwhelming and damning historical record. This book achieves that brilliantly
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Summary: Honest Abe Exposed
Review: Wow! If you've got a brain in your head, you gotta read this. Now, I'm sure the author had in mind the sort of book he wanted to write before he got started. But at least a quarter of the thickness of this book is references, so he's not making any of this up. I tell you, if you're a Southerner, this book will piss you off. I really can't stand Lincoln, and I want to piss on Sherman's grave. For the "duh" generation, this might not hold any interest at all. But for those who read history, especially civil war era books, you can't miss this one. I just happened to pick it up not really expecting much, but I was wrong. You could teach a college history class with this book alone. The strongest feeling I came away with was that I wish JWB had found Lincoln a few years earlier. Order this now.
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