ePub The Samnyasa Upanisads: Hindu Scriptures on Asceticism and Renunciation by From Patrick Olivelle in History

Description

Americans interested in history need to make the pilgrimage to Gettysburg; writes Gabor Boritt in the Acknowledgments. In this book seven historians make that journey; five of them Pulitzer laureates; looking for Lincoln. Kenneth Stampp explores the issue of national self-determination; comparing the South's struggle for independence to others in history (including the post-Soviets in eastern Europe). Arthur Schlessinger; Jr. offers a provocative comparison of how Lincoln and our other outstanding war president; FDR; went beyond the limits of the Constitution--and why. David Brion Davis focuses on the moment of emancipation. Boritt traces Lincoln's transition from a strident war opponent as a young man to resolute war leader as president. Carl Degler compares the American attempt at national unification with the unifications of Italy; Germany; and other nations. Robert Bruce contrasts premonitions of civil war with Lincoln's reluctance to accept war as a possibility. And James McPherson establishes once and for all the war president's brilliance as a national strategist. These outstanding essays--all but one published here for the first time--offer a new understanding of a revolutionary epoch in American history; and of the role of the leader who helped transform the nation forever.