Lincolns Autocrat, William Marvel
Lincolns Autocrat, William Marvel
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
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Lincoln's Autocrat
The Life of Edwin Stanton

Author: William Marvel

Narrator: Norman Dietz

Unabridged: 27 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/09/2015

Synopsis

Edwin M. Stanton (1814–1869), one of the nineteenth century's most impressive legal and political minds, wielded enormous influence and power as Lincoln's secretary of war during most of the Civil War and under Johnson during the early years of Reconstruction. In the first full biography of Stanton in more than fifty years, William Marvel offers a detailed reexamination of Stanton's life, career, and legacy. Marvel argues that while Stanton was a formidable advocate and politician, his character was hardly benign. Climbing from a difficult youth to the pinnacle of power, Stanton used his authority—and the public coffers—to pursue political vendettas, and he exercised sweeping wartime powers with a cavalier disregard for civil liberties.

Though Lincoln's ability to harness a cabinet with sharp divisions and strong personalities is widely celebrated, Marvel suggests that Stanton's tenure raises important questions about Lincoln's actual control over the executive branch. This insightful biography also reveals why men like Ulysses S. Grant considered Stanton—who was unashamed to use political power for partisan enforcement and personal preservation—a coward and a bully.

About William Marvel

William Marvel is the author of Lincoln's Darkest Year, Mr. Lincoln Goes to War, Lee's Last Retreat, Andersonville, and several other acclaimed books on the Civil War. He has won a Lincoln Prize, the Douglas Southall Freeman Award, and the Bell Award.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Steve on March 28, 2018

If you're in the mood for a long, densely detailed, terrifically readable biography of Edwin Stanton (and when aren't you, really?), you couldn't do better than this gloriously, um, opinionated book by William Marvel! My awestruck review is here: [URL not allowed]......more

Goodreads review by Steven on January 30, 2016

This is a fine--but brutal--biography of Lincoln's Secretary of War--Edwin Stanton. He has often been portrayed in a somewhat ambiguous manner. Capable but self-serving and maneuvering for advantage. This book emphasizes the negatives more than most works discussing Stanton. Indeed, sometimes I have......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on June 10, 2017

William Marvel’s remarkable biography, Lincoln’s Autocrat: The Life of Edwin Stanton, reads like an exposé. Up ‘til now, Secretary of War Stanton has had a reputation for being extremely effective and devoted to his job, although notorious for being a curmudgeon and roughly treating army officers. B......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on April 04, 2025

Although the author is considered to be a revisionist historian, I still found his treatment of Stanton to be fair and balanced. The author posits that Stanton wasn't above a bit of political scheming to get his way. He also portrays Stanton as being a bit duplicitous, which I think is fair, based o......more

Goodreads review by Sean on December 05, 2016

Normally I do not rate hatchet pieces this highly, but Marvel is peerless and Stanton has long been overdue for a more honest appraisal. I have long held Stanton in low regard, but I thought of him as at least being a committed Radical. I was wrong. The man of these pages is a liar on par with Lucif......more

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