Abe Lincoln came to the White House in 1860 unlettered in diplomacy and knowing little of the world outside his own Mid-Western milieu, though with a good grounding in local politics and the law, and an innate knowledge of people. The sophisticated people he chose for his cabinet thought him a rustic innocent, and considered the Civil War which soon broke out to be well beyond his powers to handle. Yet it was often they who made the blunders while Lincoln pulled the chestnuts out of the fire, showing the good sense and moderation which were part of his complex character. He was also a master of political timing and when war with Britain and/or France threatened, it was generally the President who defused dangerous situations. This book, which first appeared in 1945, still reads well and shows that Lincoln, in spite of his rectitude, could outmanoeuvre even the cleverest men when he had to.