"By March 4, 1865, the Civil War had slaughtered more than 700,000 Americans and left intractable wounds on the nation. That day, after a morning of rain-drenched fury, tens of thousands crowded Washington's Capitol grounds to see Abraham Lincoln take the oath for a second term. As the sun emerged, Lincoln rose to give perhaps the greatest inaugural address in American history, stunning the nation by arguing, in a brief 701 words, that both sides...

Lincolns White House is the first book devoted to capturing the look, feel, and smell of the executive mansion from Lincolns inauguration in 1861 to his assassination in 1865. We see the constant stream of visitors, from ordinary citizens to visiting dignitaries and diplomats. Relying on fresh research and a character-driven narrative and drawing on untapped primary sources, Conroy takes the reader on a behind-the-scenes tour that provides new insight...