Retrieve Giant In The Shadows: The Life Of Robert T. Lincoln Penned By Jason Emerson Document

decided to read Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T, Lincoln by Jason Emerson for the simple reason that I was curious what it would have been like to be the son of the “Great Emancipator, ” Mr. Emerson did not let me down, The reader is presented with a portrait of Abraham Lincoln through the eyes of his only surviving son and a wonderful and detailed narrative history of the Lincoln family from thes through thes.
Emerson has written what I would describe as a “comfortable” book where the reader is invited into the mindset of Robert Lincoln, We see the many crises that “young” Lincoln suffered, the politics of the period, the expansion of the American economy and his role in it, in addition to his personal issues relating to both of his parents.
We learn that Abraham Lincoln was an overindulgent parent in spite of the fact that Robert was mostly raised by his mother Mary since his father spent a great deal of time traveling the judicial circuit before pursuing a political career.
The material that is presented on Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln, the death of their children, and the political background is written in an engaging style and is concisely presented though many of the details are not new.

What are new are the details of Roberts relationship with his mother, Emerson drawing in part on his previous work on Mary Todd Lincoln provides an intricate description of his mothers mental health following the assassination of his father.
The emotional collapse, debts, and wrenching familial details eventually forced Robert to have his mother committed, Fromhis mothers mental state dominated a significant amount of time and Robert grew mortified by his mothers behavior, Robert was deeply concerned about his familys historical legacy throughout his life so dealing with a mother who was probably bipolar was a challenge, Robert went so far as having his mother followed by Pinkerton detectives as she continued to spend inordinate amounts of money on clothing, furniture, and spiritualists, Eventually Robert consulted his fathers friends for advice and all agreed she should be institutionalized, The reader is witness to this entire episode which focuses in part on the state of mental health treatment in the United States at the time, After a short stay, under pressure from Mary and fearing publicity Robert approves of his mothers release and he comes to terms in dealing with his her sickness as best he can.

Robert Lincoln emerges as a remarkable man, One can hardly imagine what it must have been like to bury two brothers, a father and mother, and witness three presidential assassinations, In addition, Robert Lincoln was not a well man who probably suffered from Brights Disease in addition to experiencing repeated bouts of depression, Despite these obstacles Robert Lincoln became an exceptional corporate lawyer, a wise business man who amassed a fortune, ambassador to England, was appointed Secretary of War, served as the CEO of The Pullman Palace Car Company, among his many achievements to the point that he was seriously thought of as a presidential candidate in thes.
Emerson takes the reader through all of these aspects of Roberts life and pulls no punches in evaluating his subject, The key dichotomy is how the son differed from his father and Emerson concludes that despite the sons antilabor Pullman Strike and probusiness stances he was not that different in outlook from his father.

A key theme that is followed throughout the book is Robert Lincolns concern for his fathers place in history, Robert refused to allow historians, except for John G, Nicolay and John Hay, his fathers former secretaries during the Civil War access to presidential papers and other documents until twenty one years after his death, He reasoned that there was too much information that could impact people in a negative way that were still alive, There was nothing too small for Robert Lincoln to become involved with if it related to his father, Whether it was the creation of monuments, paintings, museums and documents Robert was the prime decision maker, Robert Lincoln lived a remarkable life that Jason Emerson captures very nicely, I am certain this book will become the standard treatment of its subject for years to come and though it may be an esoteric subject for some, it is lively and well worth the time to read.

I liked this book, but mainly because of my Lincoln obsession, The writing is a bit dry, and I felt that there wasn't a lot of insight into who Lincoln was as a person, This may be due to his own reticence and desire for privacy, so I cut Emerson some slack still,pages is a lot to read about someone who never really comes alive.
Fascinating to learn about the life of Robert Lincoln, the eldest son of Abraham and the only to survive into adulthood, I came across this book on a visit to Hildene Robert Lincoln's estate in Vermont in late adulthood worth a visit!, Robert Lincoln had quite the life himself Secretary of War, President of the Pullman Railroad Company, etc, in addition to all the intrigue surrounding his relationships with his father and especially his mother Mary Todd Lincoln, Its fascinating to view the events of Abraham Lincoln's life election, dealing with Civil War, assassination, etc, through the perspective of his son, The book was a great read highly recommended for history fans! I have been curious about Robert Lincoln so this book has been long overdue for a read.
This man lost three brothers, a father to assassination and a son to perhaps school discipline and the for sure unsanitary medical practice of the day, He had to deal with intrusive celebrity and the negative headlines his mother generated, Despite all this, he became a very successful lawyer and businessman,

Jason Emerson has produced a very thorough book, starting with the parenting of Abe and Mary Lincoln, There is Roberts courtship and marriage, both characterized by months long separations, The death of his brothers, his son and his proximity to the assassinations of Presidents Garfield and McKinley meaningpresidents makes you wonder how he bore all of it.
You learn of his time in government service Secretary of War and Minister to England and his rise in the private sector, His large and sumptuous “summer home” in Vermont is described as having extensive lands and servants quarters, The bio ends with Mary Harlan Lincoln changing the longstanding Springfield burial plan to bring Robert and their son to Arlington, and a short sketch of the Lincoln progeny.


Jason Emerson clarifies the record on Mary Lincoln, You read of her role in the family and her extraordinary shows of grief upon loss its members until only she and Robert remain, There is not much on her many relatives, but a bit on their pressure on Robert for government jobs, You learn, from Roberts side, the reasons for her commitment to what sounds more like a spa than an asylum and her means of “escape”, I was surprised at Marys actual financial state, It appears that Abraham left his wife and son very well off, Marys clothing sale and pleas for a pension are not rooted in need, She left an estate of,, . . which was not poverty then nor in today's dollar worth,

While Robert had a short career in government and campaigned for Republicans he did not like public life and mentioned the financial sacrifice of it.
He was offered support for presidential runs but did not pursue nomination opportunities, As a private sector lawyer he was well networked with famous tycoons, At Pullman he was not in a position to be responsible for the famous strike, but his labor record later as its President and CEO shows he was not by any means progressive.
He

seems to be the image of a business baron Republican of his era with little knowledge of his workers and a great suspicion of Democrats, I regret the editors chose “democrat” to be used as an adjective as well as a noun,

The legacy of his father is shown as a great weight, There are invitations for honoring events, statues to be commissioned and writers looking for content, There is good background on the Lincoln memorials, reburials and the custodianship of the family home and mementos, Emerson shows how Robert declined recognition he could have basked in, He does not show how the Lincoln name also opened doors but he notes that some skeptical that his meteoric was based on ability alone, Emerson portrays the Lincoln legacy as universally positive he does not show any angry southerners, whom I presume made themselves known to him from time to time.


Roberts children and grandchildren are covered in a positive way, The little bit here on Jessie and her children, from what I understand of them, is heavily airbrushed but this is Roberts book,

The chapter on Robert Lincolns role in the publication of his fathers biographies shows the depth of Emersons knowledge of the Lincoln bibliography, The parts on the donation of the Lincoln papers to the Library of Congress show his knowledge of their provenance and what could be missing and why.


The photos and illustrations relate to the text, The chapters are mostly chronological and arranged for content, I was familiar with most names and events so did not try out what looks like a very good index,

While not a page turner he did not have that sort of life it is highly readable, This will stand as the definitive biography for some time, I expect that in the future someone will build on this and produce a more interpretive biography with reflections on issues such as grief, survivor's guilt, the effect of celebrity, maternal mental illness, the gilded age mind set and the marital separations and the effect of all this on future generations of Lincolns.


I recommend this for those interested in the personal side of President Lincoln and the Gilded Age that followed, .