WAMU 88.5 : The Diane Rehm Show

Filed Under:

David Von Drehle: "Rise to Greatness" (Rebroadcast)

January 21, 2013
comments

Jan. 1, 1862, was the beginning of a perilous year for President Abraham Lincoln and the nation. The Civil War was in its ninth month. The Treasury Department was broke. The War Department was a corrupt shambles. Foreign governments threatened to side with the Confederacy. Lincoln was under pressure from Congress, his generals, his cabinet and abolitionists. Even his wife presented him with considerable challenges. Historian David Von Drehle explains how Lincoln rose to greatness in the next 12 months by turning the tide of war in the Union’s favor, defining the role of commander-in-chief, establishing a blueprint for modern America and gaining support for the Emancipation Proclamation.

Read An Excerpt

Excerpt from "Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America's Most Perilous Year" by David Von Drehle. Copyright 2012 by David Von Drehle. Reprinted here by permission of Henry Holt and Co. All rights reserved.

Arts & Culture

NPR

James Gandolfini Dies; 'Sopranos' Actor Was 51

Actor James Gandolfini, 51, has reportedly died. Variety magazine reports that he suffered a "sudden stroke." The cause of death is not yet known with certainty, but HBO says the actor may have suffered a heart attack.

Food

NPR

And The Winner Of The World Food Prize Is ... The Man From Monsanto

The prize is sometimes called the "Nobel Prize for food and agriculture." And this year's winners include Monsanto executive Robert Fraley, a pioneer in genetically engineered crops. If there's a single person who personifies the company's controversial role in American agriculture, it's probably Fraley.

Politics

NPR

How Ted Cruz's Father Shaped His Views On Immigration

The Texas senator says giving a path to citizenship to immigrants in the U.S. illegally would be unfair to immigrants who followed the rules, like his own father, 74-year-old Rafael Bienvenido Cruz. He portrays his dad as a kind of Cuban Horatio Alger.

Technology

NPR

In More Cities, A Camera On Every Corner, Park And Sidewalk

A growing number of cities are using surveillance cameras in the hope of fighting crime, but all that video is almost useless without powerful search tools to sort the material. The municipal camera trend is proving to be big business for companies that design video analytics software.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.