Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln

Civil War Monitor

— Harold Holzer

The American Spectator

— John R.Coyne, Jr.

Wall Street Journal

— Ryan L. Cole

From the Publisher

“Mr. Emerson’s impressive research and eye for detail yield dozens of. . .interesting though little-known historical tidbits. His writing is enjoyable and accessible...” —Wall Street Journal

“A fine addition to shelves of historians and Lincoln aficionados.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Well written and well researched, this book should. . .become the go-to book on the life of this interesting son of a former president. Highly recommended.”—Choice

“I found this book gripping, ingeniously argued, and exhaustively investigated. I could not put it down. . . . .And I suspect that every reader with an interest in Lincoln will feel exactly the same way. For me, and for them, this book will become an essential item in the history of the era in a way that Robert himself, try as Emerson does, can never be. Emerson reminds us at the outset that Robert Lincoln never wanted to be the subject of a biography. Well, like it or not, he has one now—and a fine one, too.” —Civil War Monitor

 “‘Robert’s life is a fantastic journey through a rich period of American history,’ writes Jason Emerson. And it is to his great credit as a biographer and historian that he so successfully brings Robert T. Lincoln out of history’s shadows and the times in which he lived back to vivid life.” —The American Spectator

“Emerson’s biography of Robert Todd Lincoln is set within the context of Gilded Age culture, which was vastly different from that during the Civil War. His extensive and fresh research, as well as his inclusion of many never-before-seen photographs, should make this account one of choice for both scholars and Lincoln enthusiasts.”—America’s Civil War

“Jason Emerson, the premier young Lincoln scholar today, has written the definitive biography of one of America’s neglected and misunderstood leaders in both 19th- and 20th-century industry, law and politics. Beautifully written and illustrated, this is one of the best Lincoln books to appear in many years.”—Wayne C. Temple, author of Abraham Lincoln: From Skeptic to Prophet

“Here at last is the biography Lincoln aficionados have been waiting for. Historian Jason Emerson sweeps away a century of myths and misinformation about Robert T. Lincoln, including the musty old canard that he had no respect for his famous father and no sympathy for his emotionally fragile mother. This is an intimate, in-depth portrait that will be praised, quoted, and consulted for years to come.”—Thomas J. Craughwell, author of Stealing Lincoln’s Body

“This path-breaking biography tells the story of Lincoln’s only surviving son: a man utterly unlike his father in talent and temperament, yet who nonetheless found his own way to national prominence. Contemporaries of this reticent yet extraordinarily successful figure often referred to him as ‘Lincoln’s Silent Son.’ Now, thanks to Emerson’s thorough scholarship, Robert T. Lincoln is silent no more.”—Nora Titone, author of My Thoughts Be Bloody: The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth That Led to an American Tragedy

Kirkus Reviews