Lincoln and the Jews - by Jonathan D Sarna & Benjamin Shapell (Paperback)

About the Book

"In this expanded edition to a groundbreaking work, now in paperback, Lincoln and the Jews: A History, With a New Preface, Jonathan D. Sarna and Benjamin Shapell reveal how Abraham Lincoln's unprecedentedly inclusive relationship with American Jews broadened him as president, and, as a result, broadened America"--

Book Synopsis

Explores the little-known connection between Lincoln and the Jews

Lincoln and the Jews provides the first full-scale history of Abraham Lincoln's relationship with American Jews. Newly republished in a second revised edition and incorporating rarely seen historical manuscripts and documents, the volume explores how Lincoln's remarkable regard for American Jews affected his path to the presidency and his policy decisions once in the White House. Lincoln counted Jews among his closest friends and, as president, placed Jews in positions of authority and both extended and protected Jewish rights.

The first edition of Lincoln and the Jews won three prizes and was hailed by famed Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer as "the definitive study of a long-neglected aspect of Civil War history and Lincoln biography." This edition features little known and rarely seen documents, including some not included in the earlier edition, as well as new research and material, including a new preface highlighting the theme of antisemitism and insights which can be gleaned from this history for today.

Lincoln and the Jews affirms that Lincoln's warm relationships with Jews not only broadened Lincoln personally, but, in effect, broadened America. A groundbreaking work, this stunning volume contributes to Civil War-era Jewish American history and uncovers a new facet to Abraham Lincoln's legacy.

Review Quotes

"Lincoln and the Jews affirms that Lincoln's warm relationships with Jews not only broadened Lincoln personally, but, in effect, broadened America. A groundbreaking work, this stunning volume contributes to Civil War-era Jewish American history and uncovers a new facet to Abraham Lincoln's legacy."-- "JewishMediaReview"

"It cannot be said that Lincoln spent a great deal of time thinking about Jews or Judaism, or that Jewish questions formed a significant part of the politics of the period. But Sarna and his coauthor Shapell, a Civil War collector who provided many of the documents and artifacts that illustrate it, show that Lincoln encountered a surprising number of Jews throughout his life."--Adam Kirsch "Jewish Review of Books"

"Jonathan Sarna and Benjamin Shapell have produced a groundbreaking and enlightening book, an accessible source for scholars and general readers alike. This new study broadens our understanding of the American Jewish experience during the Civil War. Most illuminating, though, is the book's portrayal of Abraham Lincoln, the first president to truly interact with Jews and to welcome them into leading American circles. Lincoln and the Jews is an essential addition to any library on American Jewish and U.S. history."--Michael Oren, Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States

"Nothing brings history to life more vividly than handwritten letters, maps, and photographs. This book is a spectacular collection of primary documents that cast new light on Lincoln...it is a treasure."--Doris Kearns Goodwin, New York Times bestselling author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

"One comes away from the book--which features almost 100 items signed by Lincoln--with fresh appreciation for his spare, rhythmic style and his abiding concern for justice."--Richard Wightman Fox "Moment"

"This book is one of the most fascinating troves of American history and Jewish history I have ever seen. It is inexhaustibly interesting and deeply moving. Lincoln and the Jews portrays an essential chapter in the history of freedom."--Joseph Lieberman, Former US Senator of Connecticut

"We who love history not only appreciate the power of yesterday's ideas but the texture of the past, which is rendered powerfully here thanks to dozens of colour photographs allowing readers to revel in these living links to history, to our story."--Gil Troy "The Canadian Jewish News"

"With a dazzling mastery of the subject, and a compelling style that transforms a scholarly book into a page-turner, Jonathan Sarna and Benjamin Shapell have provided nothing less than the definitive study of a long-neglected aspect of Civil War history and Lincoln biography. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this book is further elevated, and exponentially, by the prominence of hundreds of magnificent illustrations--many from the amazing Shapell archive, and quite a few of them new to this old hand at Lincoln relics and portraiture. The result is that happiest marriage of text and images: an instant classic."--Harold Holzer, Roger Hertog Fellow, New York Historical Society

About the Author

Jonathan D. Sarna (Author)
Jonathan D. Sarna is University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University and Chief Historian of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. He has written, edited or coedited almost forty books, including American Judaism: A History, winner of the "Jewish Book of the Year" award from the Jewish Book Council.

Benjamin Shapell (Author)
Benjamin Shapell is the founder of the Shapell Manuscript Foundation, an independent educational organization whose collection includes original documents of world-renowned individuals.