Mr Lincoln's T-Mails: How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
Mr Lincoln's T-Mails: How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War
By (Author) Tom Wheeler
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Collins
1st February 2008
United States
Classifications
General
Non Fiction
Early modern warfare (including gunpowder warfare)
Political leaders and leadership
Military and defence strategy
History of engineering and technology
History of the Americas
973.7092
Physical Properties
Paperback
256
Width 135mm, Height 203mm, Spine 17mm
204g
Description
Abraham Lincoln's two great legacies to history - his extraordinary power as a writer and his leadership during the Civil War - come together in this close study of the President's use of the telegraph. Invented less than two decades before he entered office, the telegraph came into its own during the Civil War. First it was an instrument of military command and control; then Lincoln seized upon it as a means to take the reins of his generals and lead the war effort. In a jewel-box of historical writing, Wheeler captures Lincoln as he encountered this tool and adapted his folksy rhetorical style to the telegraph creating an intimate bond with his generals, especially Ulysses S. Grant.
Reviews
"Wheeler [reveals] our now god-like 16th President to be an astute manipulator of modern technology." -- Ken Burns, Filmmaker, PBS's The Civil War
"A fascinating, succinct and original history of how a great President used cutting-edge technology to save his country." -- Michael Beschloss, presidential historian, author of The Conquerors
"Just when we might think nothing new can be written about Lincoln comes Wheeler's captivating take on the Lincoln legacy." -- Harold Holzer, co-chairman, U.S. Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, author of Lincoln at Cooper Union
"Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails is an accessible jaunt through this formative American event." -- USA Today
A lively account that crackles with revealing anecdotes and insights, offering new ways to appreciate Lincoln's genius. -- Library Journal
The book thunders along, following the "messages of lightning" down the wires....The writing is focused and lean. -- Bloomberg News
". . . an original take on Lincoln's presidency" -- Washington Post Book World
Author Bio
Tom Wheeler is managing director of Core Capital and the author of Take Command: Leadership Lessons from the Civil War. He is chairman and president of the Foundation for the National Archives, a nonprofit organization dedicated to telling the American story through its documents, and a former director of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). He lives in Washington, D.C.
