"Harris’s book is a standout in its thorough and meticulous determination to explain precisely how Lincoln rose, in little more than a decade, from virtual obscurity as a one-term, western congressman to head the Republican Party, win the presidency, and assume moral leadership of the nation during the Civil War and beyond."—American Historical Review
"A compelling portrait of the man destined to save the Union and destroy slavery."—Civil War News
"Students of the Civil War era will want to read this book for the evolution of anti-slavery thought. For Lincoln fans, it is a must."—Blue & Gray
"Harris’s work ... reveals the wisdom of the Republicans’ choice, and does so in a manner accessible to a broad readership."—The Historian
"A thorough and provocative account of Lincoln’s path from little known ex-congressman to the White House. . . . The scope of Harris’s work and his conclusions make [this book] an ideal complement to other key books on the topic."—Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association
"Harris has done it again—another superb book on Abraham Lincoln. Building on his impressive body of work, as well as that of Douglas Wilson, Don Fehrenbacher, and others, Harris summarizes Lincoln’s emergence and ascendancy from obscurity to the Presidency. . . . All this, Harris has accomplished with thoroughness and justice. This is an excellent analysis of Lincoln’s political shrewdness and wisdom in the context of the times."—Civil War Book Review
"Harris presents a needed update to the literature on Lincoln’s early career in this well-written narrative. Harris argues that the key to understanding Lincoln’s political success lay in his conservatism, which stemmed from his border-state rural background as well as from the cautious nature of his personality. . . . Harris’s lively narrative illuminates important issues in Lincoln’s early political career. . . . [Despite these limitations] this book will remind scholars that Lincoln’s life before he achieved national prominence was as complex and rich as it was after he became president."—Journal of American History
"Harris retells a story hardly obscure, but with a wealth of detail from newly accessible documents and with distinctive emphasis upon a conservative, politically adroit Lincoln. . . . All will learn from this detailed analysis of Lincoln’s strategies. Harris portrays a shrewd, eloquent master politician who deserved rather than stumbled into the White House."—Choice
“Illuminates Lincoln’s remarkable rise from obscurity to the presidency and shows in fresh detail how he acquired, and exercised, the political skills and the wisdom that made him a great leader when he got there."—William Lee Miller, author of Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography
“An insightful account that convincingly portrays Lincoln as a tactically shrewd, strategically principled, and eloquently forceful leader and reconciler of the heterogeneous antislavery elements in both Illinois and the North at large. . . . A worthy companion to Harris’s prize-winning studies of Lincoln's presidency.”—Michael Burlingame, author of The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln
“A fine, well-written study that provides sophisticated and balanced insights.”—Phillip Shaw Paludan, author of The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln
