New books from the Concise Lincoln Library

The first four books of our new series are available, and our excitement continues to grow as we prepare for the next two books, expected out this Spring.

Lincoln and the Constitution, by Brian R. Dirck

In this highly readable study of Abraham Lincoln’s thoughts and actions concerning the U.S. Constitution, Brian R. Dirck combines extensive primary research and thoughtful, accessible consideration of Lincoln’s views to reveal new insights into Lincoln’s impact on the U.S. Constitution. In the statesman’s roles as a leading antebellum politician, an ardent critic of slavery, and the president of the United States during the Civil War, Lincoln fashioned a strong antislavery constitutional ideology and articulated a constitutional vision of the Civil War that reinforced his determination to restore the Union.

"Anyone who reads his accessible, vivid, even entertaining book will understand why Abraham Lincoln cannot be ignored in any account of the constitutional history of the United States."--Mark E. Neely, McCabe-Grier Professor of the History of the Civil War Era at Penn State University


Lincoln and Race, by Richard Striner

Abraham Lincoln is known as the Great Emancipator, yet his personal views on race have long been debated. While Lincoln took many actions to fight slavery throughout his political career, his famously crafted speeches can be interpreted in different ways: at times his words suggest personal bigotry, but at other times he sounds like an enemy of racists. Lincoln and Racetakes on one of the most sensitive subjects of Abraham Lincoln’s legacy, exploring in depth Lincoln’s mixed record and writings on the issue of race.

“With lawyerly precision, Richard Striner mines the speeches and writing of our 16th president to make a compelling case for a President Lincoln who, contrary to contemporary belief, had a long and abiding commitment not just to the end of slavery, but also to equality before the law for all men, whatever the color of their skin.”-Clay Risen, staff editor at the New York Times