Lincoln or America and the World

Lincoln

Author: David Herbert Donald

David Herbert Donald's Lincoln is astunningly original portrait of Lincoln's life and presidency. Donald brilliantly depicts Lincoln's gradual ascent from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to the ever- expandingpolitical circles in Illinois, and finally to the presidency of a country divided by civil war. Donald goes beyond biography, illuminating the gradual development of Lincoln's character, chronicling his tremendous capacity for evolution and growth, thus illustrating what made it possiblefor a man so inexperienced and so unprepared for the presidency to become a great moral leader. In the most troubled of times, here was a man who led the country out of slavery and preserved a shattered Union -- in short, one of the greatest presidents this country has ever seen.

Publishers Weekly

Pulitzer prize winner Donald's biography was a PW bestseller for 11 weeks. (Nov.)

Library Journal

Winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, most recently for Homeward: A Life of Thomas Wolfe (LJ 12/86), Donald proves himself the superb biographer of Lincoln, though two recent biographies, Michael Burlingame's The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln (LJ 4/1/94) and Merrill Peterson's Lincoln in American Memory (LJ 10/1/94), are both important studies. Donald's profile of the 16th president focuses entirely on Lincoln, seldom straying from the subject. It looks primarily at what Lincoln "knew, when he knew it, and why he made his decisions." Donald's Lincoln emerges as ambitious, often defeated, tormented by his married life, but with a remarkable capacity for growthand the nation's greatest president. What really stands out in a lively narrative are Lincoln's abilities to hold together a nation of vastly diverse regional interests during the turmoil and tragedy of the Civil War. Donald's biography will appeal to all readers and will undoubtedly corral its share of book awards. Highly recommended for all libraries.Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., Ala.

Chicago Tribune - Harold Holzer

Lincoln immediately takes its place among the best of the genre, and it is unlikely that it will be surpassed in elegance, incisiveness and originality in this century…a book of investigative tenacity, interpretive boldness and almost acrobatic balance.

The Atlantic Monthly - Jane M. McCherfon

Eagerly awaited, Lincoln fulfills expectations. Donald writes with lucidity and elegance.

America and the World: Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy

Author: David Ignatius

The status of the United States as a world power, and the nature of power itself, are at a historic turning point. It is essential that we understand and adapt to the new security environment in which we find ourselves.

Two of the most respected figures in American foreign policy are Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft—both former National Security Advisors under markedly different administrations. In America and the World they dissect, in spontaneous and unscripted conversations moderated by David Ignatius, the most significant foreign policy challenges facing the U.S.: the Middle East, Russia, China, Europe, the Developing World, the changing nature of power in a globalized world, and what Brzezinski has called the “global political awakening.” While one author is a Republican and the other a Democrat, they broadly agree on the need to adapt to a new international environment. Where they disagree, their exchanges are always both deeply informed and provocative.

America and the World will define the center of responsible opinion on American foreign policy at a time when the nation’s decisions could determine how long it remains a superpower.

The Washington Post - Moises Naim

Given the bitterness of partisan debates about foreign policy, now exacerbated by a tight race for the presidency, one might expect Brzezinski and Scowcroft to disagree vehemently about the challenges America faces abroad, the decisions that have shaped the nation's current travails and what the next president should do. Instead, they seem to see eye to eye on nearly every major foreign policy issue facing the United States…And, contrary to the operative assumption behind Sunday morning TV talk shows, it turns out that two wise interlocutors who concur can be as interesting and informative as experts with completely divergent views…The next president would do well to heed their counsel but should not underestimate the difficulty of sticking to it.

The New York Times - Michiko Kakutani

Mr. Brzezinski and Mr. Scowcroft…incisively discuss the fallout of the Bush administration's war in Iraq, including the empowerment of Iran, the recruitment of more terrorists and the inflaming of hatreds within the region. They also survey the foreign policy landscape as a whole…Their wide-ranging dialogue gives the reader an acute sense of the daunting challenges (including nuclear proliferation, global warming and terrorism) confronted by America in a rapidly changing international environment…What makes these discussions between Mr. Brzezinski and Mr. Scowcroft so bracing is their combination of common sense and an ability to place America's relationship with a particular country in both a historical perspective and a regional context of competing interests and threats. Their book should be required reading not only for the next president elect but also for any voters concerned with the foreign policy issues that will be on the next administration's plate.

Bob Nardini - Library Journal

Brzezinski (Johns Hopkins Univ.; Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower) and Scowcroft (president, the Scowcroft Group; coauthor, with George H.W. Bush, A World Transformed) were National Security Advisors to, respectively, Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush. In this book they are led in a series of conversations by David Ignatius (Washington Post), who is both a journalist and a novelist (Body of Lies), "to see if a prominent Democrat and a prominent Republican...could find common ground for a new start in foreign policy." By and large they do find it, in discussions of China, Russia, Israel and Palestine, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Korea, India, and other focal points, agreeing that Cold War institutions are outdated and that the United States will need renewed leadership, ingenuity, and engagement to meet the challenges of a world being changed by a "global political awakening." They offer an accessible survey of important questions that is recommended for public and academic libraries.