Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln
WINNER, Russell P. Strange Memorial Book of the Year Award from the Illinois State Historical Society, 2013!
University Press Books for Public and Secondary Schools, 2013 edition
Born in a boardinghouse but passing his last days at ease on a lavish country estate, Robert Lincoln played many roles during his lifetime. As a president's son, a Union soldier, an ambassador to Great Britain, and a U.S. secretary of war, Lincoln was indisputably a titan of his age. Much like his father, he became one of the nation's most respected and influential men, building a successful law practice in the city of Chicago, serving shrewdly as president of the Pullman Car Company, and at one time even being considered as a candidate for the U.S. presidency.
Along the way he bore witness to some of the most dramatic moments in America's history, including Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse; the advent of the railroad, telephone, electrical, and automobile industries; the circumstances surrounding the assassinations of three presidents of the United States; and the momentous presidential election of 1912. Giant in the Shadows also reveals Robert T. Lincoln's complex relationships with his famous parents and includes previously unpublished insights into their personalities. Emerson reveals new details about Robert's role as his father's confidant during the brutal years of the Civil War and his reaction to his father's murder; his prosecution of the thieves who attempted to steal his father's body in 1876 and the extraordinary measures he took to ensure it would never happen again; as well as details about the painful decision to have his mother committed to a mental facility. In addition Emerson explores the relationship between Robert and his children, and exposes the actual story of his stewardship of the Lincoln legacy--including what he and his wife really destroyed and what was preserved. Emerson also delves into the true reason Robert is not buried in the Lincoln tomb in Springfield but instead was interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
Meticulously researched, full of never-before-seen photographs and new insight into historical events, Giant in the Shadows is the missing chapter of the Lincoln family story. Emerson's riveting work is more than simply a biography; it is a tale of American achievement in the Gilded Age and the endurance of the Lincoln legacy.
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"Mr. Emerson's impressive research and eye for detail yield dozens of ... interesting though little-known historical tidbits. His writing is enjoyable and accessible..." --Wall Street Journal
"A fine addition to shelves of historians and Lincoln aficionados." --Kirkus Reviews
"Well written and well researched, this book should. . .become the go-to book on the life of this interesting son of a former president. Highly recommended." --Choice
"I found this book gripping, ingeniously argued, and exhaustively investigated. I could not put it down. . . . .And I suspect that every reader with an interest in Lincoln will feel exactly the same way. For me, and for them, this book will become an essential item in the history of the era in a way that Robert himself, try as Emerson does, can never be. Emerson reminds us at the outset that Robert Lincoln never wanted to be the subject of a biography. Well, like it or not, he has one now--and a fine one, too." --Civil War Monitor
"'Robert's life is a fantastic journey through a rich period of American history, ' writes Jason Emerson. And it is to his great credit as a biographer and historian that he so successfully brings Robert T. Lincoln out of history's shadows and the times in which he lived back to vivid life." --The American Spectator
"Emerson's biography of Robert Todd Lincoln is set within the context of Gilded Age culture, which was vastly different from that during the Civil War. His extensive and fresh research, as well as his inclusion of many never-before-seen photographs, should make this account one of choice for both scholars and Lincoln enthusiasts."--America's Civil War
"Jason Emerson, the premier young Lincoln scholar today, has written the definitive biography of one of America's neglected and misunderstood leaders in both 19th- and 20th-century industry, law and politics. Beautifully written and illustrated, this is one of the best Lincoln books to appear in many years."--Wayne C. Temple, author of Abraham Lincoln: From Skeptic to Prophet
"Here at last is the biography Lincoln aficionados have been waiting for. Historian Jason Emerson sweeps away a century of myths and misinformation about Robert T. Lincoln, including the musty old canard that he had no respect for his famous father and no sympathy for his emotionally fragile mother. This is an intimate, in-depth portrait that will be praised, quoted, and consulted for years to come."--Thomas J. Craughwell, author of Stealing Lincoln's Body
"This path-breaking biography tells the story of Lincoln's only surviving son: a man utterly unlike his father in talent and temperament, yet who nonetheless found his own way to national prominence. Contemporaries of this reticent yet extraordinarily successful figure often referred to him as 'Lincoln's Silent Son.' Now, thanks to Emerson's thorough scholarship, Robert T. Lincoln is silent no more."--Nora Titone, author of My Thoughts Be Bloody: The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth That Led to an American Tragedy
