John M. HayRessenyes

I picked this up because I was reading a biography of John Hay and thought it would be fun to read his novel, which made quite a stir when it was first published. It definitely did shed some light on Hay's mindset, and there are quite a few lines and moments that are unintentionally very entertaining for a modern reader, but I can't say I was left feeling like it's a terrible thing that the book is so little read these days.

If you're really interested in John Hay or in class conflict in 19th century Ohio from the perspective of the wealthy, this is worth taking a look at. Otherwise you can probably leave it on the shelf without missing out on too much...

This is more than a history of Lincoln, it is really a history of the United States through the Civil War. There are many chapters where Lincoln is not even mentioned. Often fascinating, but occasionally a bit dry (which is why I deducted a half star). This really explains a lot of the politics leading up to the Civil War that I found very interesting, and is not usually explained in most other Lincoln biographies.½