{"product_id":"2940191634425","title":"Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom a renowned biographer comes the greatest untold story of the Civil War: how two American presidents faced off as the fate of the nation hung in the balance-and how Abraham Lincoln came to embrace emancipation as the last, best chance to save the Union. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Of all the books written on Abraham Lincoln, there has been one surprising gap: the drama of how the “railsplitter” from Illinois grew into his critical role as U.S. commander-in-chief, and managed to outwit his formidable opponent, Jefferson Davis, in what remains history's only military faceoff between rival American presidents. Davis was a trained soldier and war hero; Lincoln a country lawyer who had only briefly served in the militia. Confronted with the most violent and challenging war ever seen on American soil, Lincoln seemed ill-suited to the task: inexperienced, indecisive, and a poor judge of people's motives, he allowed his administration's war policies to be sabotaged by fickle, faithless cabinet officials while entrusting command of his army to a preening young officer named George McClellan - whose defeat in battle left Washington, the nation's capital, at the mercy of General Robert E. Lee, Davis's star performer.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The war almost ended there. But in a Shakespearean twist, Lincoln summoned the courage to make, at last, a climactic decision: issuing as a “military necessity” a proclamation freeing the 3.5 million enslaved Americans without whom the South could not feed or fund their armed insurrection. The new war policy doomed the rebellion-which was in dire need of support from Europe, none of whose governments now would dare to recognize rebel “independence” in a war openly fought over slavery. The fate of President Davis was sealed.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e With a cast of unforgettable characters, from first ladies to fugitive coachmen to treasonous cabinet officials, \u003ci\u003eLincoln vs. Davis\u003c\/i\u003e is a spellbinding dual biography from renowned presidential chronicler Nigel Hamilton: a saga that will surprise, touch, and enthrall.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Hachette Audio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46318128627953,"sku":"2940191634425","price":49.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0674\/5433\/7265\/files\/2940191634425_p0.jpg?v=1764951158","url":"https:\/\/shop.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940191634425","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble","version":"1.0","type":"link"}