Includes bibliographical references (pages 401-503) and index.

Preface : wars of national survival -- Prologue -- Abraham Lincoln before the Civil War -- Winston Churchill before World War II -- The Lincoln team -- The Churchill team -- Lincoln at war : a few key battles of the Civil War -- Churchill at war : a few key military operations in Europe during World War II -- A comparison -- Men of character : quintessential leaders with different personalities -- The unlikely emergence of Lincoln and Churchill -- The rhetoric of leadership -- Anglo-American relations -- Virtues of great war leaders -- Managing ministers and legislators -- Finding and managing generals -- Army leadership -- 1862/1942 -- 1863/1943 -- 1864/1944 -- 1865/1945 -- Reelection and reconstruction -- Managing men at war : Lincoln style -- Managing men at war : Churchill style -- Legacies -- Epilogue -- Historiography and acknowledgments -- Selected bibliography on Abraham Lincoln -- Selected bibliography on Winston S. Churchill -- Endnotes -- Index.

"Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, as commanders in chief, led their nations to victory--Lincoln in the Civil War, Churchill in World War II. They became revered leaders--statesmen for all time. Yet these two world-famous war leaders have never been seriously compared at book length. Acclaimed historian Lewis Lehrman, in his pathbreaking comparison of both statesmen, finds that Lincoln and Churchill--with very different upbringings and contrasting personalities--led their war efforts, to some extent, in similar ways. As supreme war lords, they were guided not only by principles of honor, duty, freedom, but also by the practical wisdom to know when, where, and how to apply these principles. They made mistakes which Lehrman considers carefully. But the author emphasizes that, despite setbacks, they never gave up. Even their writings and speeches were swords in battle. Gifted literary stylists, both men relied on the written and spoken word to steel their citizens throughout desperate and prolonged wars. Both statesmen unexpectedly left office near the end of their wars--Lincoln by the bullet, Churchill by the ballot."-- Dust jacket.