Reviews for Inside The White House In War Times

The average rating for Inside The White House In War Times based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-11-08 00:00:00 David Zeglis William Stoddard was Lincoln's "third secretary," brought in during part of his presidency to assist John Nicolay and John Hay with the volumes of mail received each day. The book contains both Stoddard's memoir published in 1890 and a series of "sketches," narratives he wrote in 1866 as letters to the editor of the New York Citizen. The volume is edited by Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame, who provides ample annotation for his own Introduction and for each of the thirteen sketches. No notes are included for the memoir itself. As Burlingame notes in his introduction, Stoddard's narratives are somewhat suspect. Nicolay criticized his "great tendency to exaggeration," and Hay argued that Stoddard was becoming "more and more worthless." Stoddard clearly embellished on the depths of his involvement with day-to-day affairs in the White House. Still, his memoir does provide some insight into White House life during the war. Overall, the book was an interesting read, the notations by Burlingame were useful in fleshing out the offhand references to key characters, and the sketches provided perhaps more reliable accounts. It's worth a read if you enjoy the history, though you're unlikely to find anything really new.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-02-06 00:00:00 R. Seyforth Old book - excellent personal experiences of Bill Stoddard during his time as secretary behind Nicolay and Hay - in the White House. It has driven me to find Nicolay/Hay books on Lincoln and make them a part of my personal library. So many books, and time running out.