I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own. This is one of the finest books I have read on US presidential history. Intrigue, emotionally charged, partly travel through early United States as well as a close and personal view of Abraham Lincoln's first days in office; if he gets there alive. Reading about the train trip he made makes the reader feel as if they are part of the actual entourage. You become invested in the process and the trials and the triumphs. Well written. Highly informative, with illustrations.

I thought Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington was an interesting read. I am giving four and a half stars.

A pivotal book about how Lincoln became president but in a more literal sense as we follow his journey from Springfield to the White House in Washington DC as the world around him descends into chaos with Southern states seceeded from the Union to create the Confederacy and sow the seeds for the Civil War that will rupture the still young country in the start of Lincoln's presidency.
Widmer has done an amazing research job to whip up the atmosphere of a country taking shape before your eyes, the moving of culture through transport and the difficulty of his marriage to Mary.
A wonderful page turning tome that leaves you marvelling at how Lincoln could command such respect and power in such uncertain times

This is a slow burner. Lots of history, not just Lincoln's story. Very detailed & contains a lot that unfortunately seems too familiar in current times.

I learned so much by reading Lincoln on the Verge. It is an easy to read book that is very timely to read this summer.

I knew I wanted to read this book. As I began I could not believe how exquisitely it is written and how relevant it is to these very days in the life of our nation. Put this on your,list!

"Lincoln on the Verge" is an impressively researched book. However this book is very dense and may not be the best book to jump into the Lincoln subject. I love reading everything I can on Lincoln and he is my favorite president by far. But it even took my a long time to read this book but I did, cover to cover. The book tells of his railroad trip from Springfield to DC for his inauguration. Being a Lincoln enthusiast I knew that this this journey had been rife with dangers due to the succession of many states going on and Lincoln was known as wanting to do anything possible to keep those states united. There were multiple plots to kill him along his journey to make sure that he never makes it all the way to inauguration day. I also knew that the Pinkerton Detective Agency (another great historical subject on its own merit!) was involved in helping Lincoln to arrive safely. This book filled in all those details about this trip that I hadn't yet known. Lincoln couldn't hide away or appear to be running from his stops and the huge audience of people at each stop awaiting him. He'd look weak and fearful. But those stops were truly frightening many times because he was so exposed. I loved learning about his receptions at each stop and all the unique and sometimes scary encounters. I liked hearing some stories of his son Robert's time on the trip along with how his younger sons Willie and Tad were already being little scamps getting in practice for their later White House antics. I took particular interest in the stories from Indianapolis because that is where I live. I am giving this five stars because the book positively deserves them however I do want to make a point that for me the story was bogged down by vast descriptions of each state and its industries. I didn't mind so much the pieces that fed into the political climate however often I felt like there were pages and pages of details about cities and towns that simple weren't interesting. or directly relating to the topic of Lincoln. It was worth those though for all the little gems of information sprinkled within the book that I had not known about previously.

This is not a story of one incident in time. I had read of the planned attempt to assassinate Abraham Lincoln before he could be sworn in as America’s 16t President for the first time while reading articles surrounding his 200th Birthday. It was a brief story that skimmed over what should have been a large part of the story of this amazing man’s Presidency.
Lincoln on the Verge is about that moment in time. And so much more...this is Lincoln on the verge of his historic Presidency. On the Verge of changing our country forever. On the Verge of greatness. On the Verge of Immortality.
It begins with Lincoln unexpectedly winning the election, and before he is even sworn is as the new leader of these United States, he is faced with the biggest crisis of his career and life. He takes the reigns during a time of upheavel, the South already making steps to leave the union, slavery at an all time high, and at its most heinous. Half the country loves him, half hates him, some enough to want him dead before they would accept him as President.
But before all of that, he had to actually get to Washington, DC. Something that sounds strange to our modern ears, it’s just a quick trip up I95. But in his time it was a long, arduous journey already full of natural dangers but now Lincoln had to face the dangers of man.
Lincoln needed to solidify his standing as a leader with the everyday citizens of this country. Some who would never actually set eyes on a President in their lifetime. So he decides that on the journey to be sworn in he will stop and speak at as many cities and towns as possible, especially in the South where he was hated, and let people see and hear him for themselves.

So hated that plans to assassinate him before he reached the capital, were already in place.

This book is full of recollections, research, and antidotes of Lincoln spending time with average people as well as dignitaries on his way to DC. Acting as if all were fine while multiple attempts on his life were stopped but the Pinkerton detectives, a group that would become the forerunners of the Secret Service.

One of the more endearing stories involved the meeting of Grace Bedell, the twelve-year-old girl who had written Lincoln and promised she could deliver the five votes of her father and brothers if he would grow a beard. He had done as she suggested and Grace was there to meet him in Westville, New York. After gaining the attention of the whole crowd and meeting Lincoln, the shy Grace hid the rest of the day.

What would be a straight forward drive today was made more difficult by Lincoln’s need to avoid the State of Virginia, already on the brink of seceding like it’s fellow Confederate State, South Carolina had already done by that point. Lincoln’s train traveled through Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, New York City, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and dangerous Baltimore to reach Washington. His train slowed for him to make one and five-minute stops in smaller towns to allow people to see him. This must have been a security nightmare for those entrusted with his safety.

Kate Warne, a spy, had gathered information from talking to Southerners and identifying a specific plot to kill Lincoln in Baltimore. Lincoln switched trains to a low-profile rail car and traveled all through the night in a disguise to reach Washington unharmed.

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in Abraham Lincoln and the lesser-known stories of the early days of his Presidency.
I received this book free from Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Superb! This book is so realistic, it almost reads like a work of fiction. The storytelling of Lincoln's journey to the White House, after winning the Presidential election is engrossing. A very enjoyable read for history buffs.