Lincoln's Confidant

The author, Wayne C. Temple has been lauded with the title "Lincoln scholar extraordinare" and has spent much of his life devoted to studying, writing and teaching about the 16th president who reunified and redefined the USA . Temple's original university master's thesis and dissertation was on the life of Lincoln's friend and confidant Noah Brooks (October 24, 1830 – August 16, 1903) and this book is based on this work which launched Temple on his over seventy years of scholarship. 

This is a meticulously researched scholarly and at the same time readable account of a man whose career spanned not only journalism and newspaper editorship but also the writing of fiction, history, travel writing, biography and children stories. An esteemed and influential man of letters, Noah Brooks would end up being venerated as a pillar of the literary establishment and was instrumental in the founding of the Authors Club of New York as well as enjoying membership of other prestigious establishments. 

However for the general reader it is Brooks friendship with Lincoln which began in Illinois before Brooks moved to California that is of most interest.  Here we get a fascinating insight into not only the personality of Lincoln and members of his family but also the political maneuverings that he faced during his presidency. With visits to the nearby battle front and the constant possibility of an attack on Washington the immediacy of how near war would have been to Lincoln and Brooks is conveyed. Brooks was there on that fateful day in April 1865 when with a small group of the president's friends and associates he saw the Lincoln's off to their theatre engagement from which of course Lincoln would not return. 

As a UK reader I was quite fascinated to read of the profound changes that the USA was undergoing during the mid to late 19th century with the opening up of the west which was documented by Brooks. It is amazing to think that before the completion of the railways in order to travel from the east to the west coast the journeys  that Brooks frequently made were by sea via Panama.

I really enjoyed this book but unfortunately it was slightly diminished by certain letters and more importantly all figures (i.e all dates) being omitted on the received Kindle review copy. However this remains still an impressive work of biography and would be of interest to those interested in American history.

Thank you to NetGalley and Univ. of Illinois Press for allowing me to read the ARC of Lincoln's Confidante, by Wayne C. Temple. This is an extraordinary account of Noah Brooks, a journalist from Illinois, who befriended, as well as highly respected Abe Lincoln. Because of their close relationship, especially during the Civil War, he has been quoted by many biographers because of his information. He was a literary man, often involved in relationships with such authors as Brett Harte and Mark Twain. Noah Brooks provided historians with priceless information about our past and the people who helped define our country. This was an interesting book.