Walter Stahr's Stanton

[Joe Di Cola]

(09-16-2017 09:32 AM)L Verge Wrote:  We've been selling William Marvel's 2015 book on Stanton: Lincoln's Autocrat at Surratt House and have now reduced it to $10. Has anyone read it and is willing to comment? Here's a review from Amazon:

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 a coward and a bully, who was unashamed to use political power for partisan enforcement and personal preservation.

I'd like to know what other members think about the book, too. I have read the Thomas-Hyman bio a few times and think it captures all of the details mentioned in the review posted above. So, I am wondering if I should put it on my list. Next on my list to read (in October) is Ron Chernow's bio of Grant. I got a signed copy,