Walter Stahr's Stanton

[Gene C]

I enjoyed this book. It's not the easiest to read, but it seems to me a well balanced view of his life. He was probably the most important person in Lincoln's administration.
For me, Stanton's activities following Lincoln's assassination are the most interesting part of the book. As i understand it, Stanton was almost always against President Johnson's policies of reconstruction, and frequently the lone voice of opposition in the cabinet.
During this time period he had more friends and political support in the senate and congress than he had at the White House.

He was a tireless, dedicated worker all through his public career, he basically worked himself to death by the age of 55 and died of heart failure and asthma

I think the book is worth reading and enjoyed the book. Stahr does a good job of covering the events of his life, the positive and negative aspects of his actions as Secretary of War. He was an incredibly good administrator in a tough job.

I give it a B, mainly due to Stahr's style of writing as Tom Bogar mentions. It didn't bother me as much as it did for Tom, but it probably would have if I had been less interested in the subject. I liked it better than Stahr's book on Seward.

Affordable copies available from online retailers
https://www.amazon.com/Stanton-Lincolns-...668&sr=1-7