Horace Greeley

Greeleys was a remarkable life. And Robert Williams paints it in full. . . . [He] does a creditable job relating all of this, and his book is thoroughly researched and ably written. . . . [His] continuing theme of Greeley’s relationship to evolving notions of liberty and freedom is solid. . . . Horace Greeley was unquestionably the dominant journalist, and one of the leading politicians, of the Civil War era. And his story has never been better told than it is here. * New York Sun *
A comprehensive biography of Greeley (181172), deftly analyzing the price he paid to brook no intrusion, partisan or otherwise, on his principles. . . . Powerful portrait of a publisher who became the voice of Middle America during the nation's deepest crisis. * Kirkus (starred review) *
[An] accessible study by a seasoned historian is based on an impressive collection of primary resources. * Library Journal *
We should be grateful for and even astonished by this graceful and absorbing account of a species practically extinct, a newspaper publisher for whom focus groups and stockholders aren’t true north on his moral compass. * Harper's Magazine *
The author seeks to ennoble the erratic, odd-mannered editor, who had a squeaky voice, wispy hair, and a white Irish linen jacket, and advised young men to & Go West!...Students of the CIvil War era will welcome the author's investigation of Greeley's life and influence. invesitgation * ForeWord *
Biographer Williams recounts Greeley’s rise from obscurity to prominence, relying for a unifying theme on Greeley’s dedication to social reform and personal improvement. . . . General readers interested in the who, what, when, where, and how of Greeley have got it all in Williams stolid presentation. * Booklist *
Williams elevates Greeley to his proper place as a progressive nineteenth-century writer/activist. An excellent companion work is Robert D. Richardson’s Emerson: The Mind on Fire * Choice *
This new biography comes, refreshingly, from outside journalism. It was written by a veteran historian whose starting point was his interest in understanding the words ‘liberty’ and & freedom, and the distinctions between them. Williams found that much of the nineteenth-century discussion of these concepts flowed through a single figure, Horace Greeley. . . . Williams captures Greeley not only as the white-haired, badly dressed odd duck, but also as a formidable presenceoutspoken but not quarrelsome, ambitious but principled, fearless but not reckless. . . . Williams conveys well an era in which politics was many-hued, rather than merely red and blue. * Columbia Journalism Review *
Williamss work is an essential one for those wanting to understand the social and political climate in the United States during the time between some have called the two American revolutions- ones that was fought for liberty and one that was pursued for freedom. * Civil War Book Review *
Through research involving many new primary sources, Williams opens our eyes to many unknown or unappreciated facets of this fearless editor and political strategist, as well as his influence over Abraham Lincoln, William Seward, and reforms of society of all types….[E]ssential for those wanting to understand the social and political climate in the United States during the time between what some have called the two American revolutionsone that was fought for liberty and one that was pursued for freedom. * Civil War Book Review *
A comprehensive biography of the veteran journalist and intellectual. * Publisher's Weekly *
Americas most open-minded newspaper editor, Horace Greeley, promoted many a good cause in the pages of his paper, and regularly suffered the consequences of expressing what he thought. Rather than catering to public opinion, he confronted and changed it. This fine biography reintroduces him as a foremost champion of human freedom. -- Donald A. Ritchie,author of Reporting from Washington: The History of the Washington Press Corps
By far the most important biography of Horace Greeley to appear in the past half century. -- Daniel W. Howe,author of Making the American Self: Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln and Rhodes Professor of American History, Oxford University
Williams describes the Civil War editor and politician Horace Greeley as a & great mind and heart. I agree. Greeley should be better known. This book may make him so. -- Joy Hakim, author of the ten volume series, A History of US
Williams gives a straightforward account . . . [and] argues that Greeley unswervingly devoted himself to a single idealAmerican freedomand was, in turn, crucial to its development. * The New Yorker *
A splendid telling of a story that couldn’t be more timely now that we are in another difficult and controversial war. * The Wall Street Journal *
In Mr. Williams hands, Greeley comes through as a warm-hearted eccentric whose influence was greater than that of any editor today. * Washington Times *
From James Patrons 1855 Life of Horace Greeley through Greeley’s 1868 autobiography Recollections of a Busy Life, and down to the present, dozens of voices have told the story and legend of Horace Greeley. Williamss rich and well-presented account of his ideological and political legacy is a welcome addition to that chorus. It is certainly worth hearing. * The Journal of American History *
The celebrated reformer Horace Greeley edited The New York Tribune, has a tiny but elegant oasis in Midtown named for him, and may be best remembered for having memorably advised young men to go west. In Horace Greeley: Champion of American Freedom, Robert C. Williams places this 19th-century New Yorker in a broader political context. . . . Succeeds in portraying [Greeley] as a leading figure in the struggle to define freedom & as a universal good better than the liberty that tolerated slavery. * The New York Times *