The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery

Selected as a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review, this landmark work gives us a definitive account of Lincoln's lifelong engagement with the nation's critical issue: American slavery. A master historian, Eric Foner draws Lincoln and the broader history of the period into perfect balance. We see Lincoln, a pragmatic politician grounded in principle, deftly navigating the dynamic politics of antislavery, secession, and civil war. Lincoln's greatness emerges from his capacity for moral and political growth.

Eric Foner's major works have reshaped the fields of Civil War and Reconstruction history and won the Pulitzer, Bancroft, Parkman, Lincoln, and Los Angeles Times Book prizes. He is the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University.