And There Was Light

Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle

By: Jon Meacham

Narrated by: Jon Meacham

Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham chronicles the life of Abraham Lincoln, charting how—and why—he confronted secession, threats to democracy, and the tragedy of slavery to expand the possibilities of America.

“Meacham has given us the Lincoln for our time.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Winner of the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize • Longlisted for the Biographers International Plutarch Award • One of the Best Books of the Year: The Christian Science Monitor, Kirkus Reviews

A president who governed a divided country has much to teach us in a twenty-first-century moment of polarization and political crisis. Hated and hailed, excoriated and revered, Abraham Lincoln was at the pinnacle of American power when implacable secessionists gave no quarter in a clash of visions bound up with money, race, identity, and faith. In him we can see the possibilities of the presidency as well as its limitations.

At once familiar and elusive, Lincoln tends to be seen as the greatest of American presidents—a remote icon—or as a politician driven more by calculation than by conviction. This illuminating new portrait gives us a very human Lincoln—an imperfect man whose moral antislavery commitment, essential to the story of justice in America, began as he grew up in an antislavery Baptist community; who insisted that slavery was a moral evil; and who sought, as he put it, to do right as God gave him to see the right.

This book tells the story of Lincoln from his birth on the Kentucky frontier in 1809 to his leadership during the Civil War to his tragic assassination in 1865: his rise, his self-education, his loves, his bouts of depression, his political failures, his deepening faith, and his persistent conviction that slavery must end. In a nation shaped by the courage of the enslaved of the era and by the brave witness of Black Americans, Lincoln’s story illustrates the ways and means of politics in a democracy, the roots and durability of racism, and the capacity of conscience to shape events.

©2022 Jon Meacham (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“In his captivating new book, Jon Meacham has given us the Lincoln for our time. And There Was Light brilliantly interweaves the best of gripping narrative history with a deeper search for the complex interplay among morality, politics, and power in a life, in a democracy, and in an America ripped apart over slavery. Here Meacham takes us to the heart of the president who shaped events at ‘the existential hour.’ In doing so, he fortifies us to meet our own.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

“Biography at its best, the great historian Barbara Tuchman wrote, paints an intimate portrait of an individual which simultaneously provides a sweeping view of history. With this deep, compelling work, Jon Meacham has achieved this gold standard. Written with wisdom and grace, his story of Lincoln’s complex moral journey to Emancipation mirrors America’s long quest to live up to its founding ideals.”—Doris Kearns Goodwin

“With his singular gift for compelling narrative and groundbreaking analysis, Jon Meacham illuminates not only Lincoln and his times but, just as much, the troubled society that we live in today.”—Michael Beschloss

Masterpiece

I’ve read a number of books on Lincoln but none like this . I believe we can now put this vreat man to rest as there’s nothing further to say about this man’s life & death . Jon Meacham has given mankind a gift for the ages to be savored & studied for ever & ever . Amen

Riveting

I have read many books on the life of Abraham Lincoln, who is truly one of the greatest Americans. This book presents many sides of a very complex man. It was hard for me to pause in the reading. The story is so heartfelt and the emotions of all the characters make the story so real, as if I were there. This is an excellent read, and I highly recommend it.

Lincoln in person. Excellent writing

Meachum has a gift for presenting the person as they were. He has researched down to the bottom of the soul . You learn who Lincoln was, where he came from, how he developed and educated himself and ultimately how he became President. And then the decisions he made, the diplomacy undertook to get where he wanted to go. He was a president truly working for the country- not promoting himself but rather the united country he sought to heal.
He is not who one might have thought him to be.

Outstanding!

Excellent work and I highly recommend. Expertly researched and written by a historian at the top of his field.

Really excellent

Really excellent book and great narration. Jon was able to craft a compelling and “page turner” of a story.

Great read or listening

You learn much about Lincoln’s progress through the darkest period of our history. He was the greatest statesman of the 19th century. While not perfect he sought to seek a long term solution to the issue of slavery. One does not know how he would of faced the challenge of the post Civil War period. But that is for another book that his predecessors failed to meet the challenge. Great insight into a great President who did the right thing in his time andhis leadership skills are missed in today’s world.

More Than I Can Say

Mr. Meacham has always found a profound voice from which to speak about conflict, calamity and calm in a world that does not fully understand this voice. My hope is that everyone reading or hearing this book can provoke themselves to understand that the mark of history rests upon us all. In the book about Abraham Lincoln, that that some inspired individuals readily place this yoke of relevance upon themselves. And more rare are those few people who can actual surpass this effort to see themselves as nothing less than others and never greater but clearly moral. The book transcends place and time to bear witness to the moral universe that A. Lincoln portrayed through the conditions through which he is unsurpassed.

Than you Mr. Meacham for this superlative work.

A must Read

This book is a masterful telling of Lincoln’s life and a valuable insight into his struggles. It is also a great reflection on the importance of how he handled the crisis of the day as compared to the struggles facing us today.

Lincoln as a Steady, Consistent Leader

Mr. Meacham portrays Mr. Lincoln as a man that clearly understood through his moral and functional thinking that Slavery needs to begin its evaporation from Society. Steady record of votes by Mr. Lincoln bears this out. As a politician knowing he must gather power around him, he moved with the "slows", as Mr. Lincoln pointed out in others. However, Mr. Lincoln morally knew that Slavery must end. He always did, but a politician does not have the luxury to campaign or ask for votes on moral grounds, especially in the 1850's. Mr. Meacham is not gambling by saying Lincoln had the idea of justice set in his mind early. Mr. Meacham instead relies on the historical record. Finally, Mr. Meacham delivered on Lincoln. I was wondering when he would, now he has. The book is nothing short of incredible. Mr. Meacham in my mind, goes further than previous Lincoln scholars, in taking the solid stand that Lincoln planned on, all along, his efforts, to remove the stain of Slavery. Fantastic book with tons of responsible thinking about the incredibly gifted Mr. Lincoln.

Bret K. Webster
Pueblo, CO

Truly wonderful!

I haven’t read many biographies so I don’t know how much new ground was covered, but it seems that the purpose of this book was to refute the idea that Lincoln didn’t deserve the reputation he’s gained as Americas greatest president. After reading this book I fully understand history’s judgment. Against all odds Lincoln changed the world. I wept over this book. Highest recommendation!