Books by John Burt

In their famous debates, Lincoln and Douglas struggled with how to behave when an ethical conflict like slavery strained democracy's commitment to rule by both consent and principle. What conscience demands and what it can persuade others to agree to are not always the same. Ultimately, this tragic limitation of liberalism led Lincoln to war.

Robert Penn Warren has distinguished himself in many areas of endeavor-as a poet, a novelist, a critic, and an observer of American history and politics. In this book, John Burt examines Warren's writings in these apparently disparate fields and shows how they are tied together not only by their common themes but also by an inner logic that captures the analogies between artistic and political problems.