[1] The Fiery Trial, which derives its title from Lincoln's Annual Message to Congress of December 1, 1862,[2] was the 22nd book written by Foner, the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University.

In the preface to The Fiery Trial, Eric Foner states his intention to trace "the evolution of Lincoln's ideas and policies about slavery from his early life through his career in the Illinois legislature in the 1830s, his term in Congress in the 1840s, his emergence as a leader of the new Republican party in the 1850s, and his presidency during the Civil War".

Lincoln was a moderate, attempting to bridge the gap between the abolitionist Radical Republicans and conservative Democrats, including those in the slave-holding states, whom he hoped would choose preserving the Union over steadfastly defending slavery.

[6] Foner concludes with a quotation by abolitionist Lydia Maria Child: I think we have reason to thank God for Abraham Lincoln ... With all his deficiencies, it must be admitted that he has grown continuously; and considering how slavery had weakened and perverted the moral sense of the whole country, it was great good luck to have the people elect a man who was willing to grow.

"[13] James M. McPherson, a previous winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History, stated of the book that "No one else has written about [Lincoln's] trajectory of change with such balance, fairness, depth of analysis, and lucid precision of language.

[16] In the San Francisco Chronicle, David W. Blight called The Fiery Trial "a distinctive and valuable book, showing persuasively that we should not understand Lincoln from the myth-glazed outcome reading backward, but from the beginning, through one transformative event after another, looking forward.

"[17] In a review for The Historian, Lawrence Frederick Kohl wrote of the book that "Eric Foner's prodigious research and his deep knowledge of the era allow him to provide perhaps the best account of this subject available today.