Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #255024 in Books
• Published on: 1996-11-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 720 pages

Synopsis
Draws extensively on Lincoln's personal papers and legal writings to present a biography of the president.

Customer Reviews

Great biography of a legendary American president
Regarded by many as America's greatest president ever, Abraham Lincoln has left a massive impression on its collective imagination. Much of who he is comes to us as almost folkloric imagery - the young 'railsplitter' on the frontier, the small-town attorney, Stephen Douglas' adversary in the most famous debates in American history, the bearded father figure who led the nation through its most divisive conflict before his assassination at the hands of a deranged actor. Few biographers have been better equipped to study the man behind the myth than David Herbert Donald, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and longtime scholar of the era.

The result is impressive. Donald sifts through the mythology and interpretations to lay Lincoln bare, often using Lincoln's own words to define the man. He presents a man of considerable ambition and a healthy ego, which helped him overcome the formidable challenges he faced in life. While Donald's argument that Lincoln was controlled by events is difficult to sustain, his portrait of a master politician who maintained his authority over a young party though tact and guile is excellent, as is his examination of Lincoln's constant problems with the Union army's high command. For readers seeking an introduction to the life of a legendary American leader, this is the book to read.

Well done!
This retelling of a classic tale-the life of Abraham Lincoln-is exceptional for its use of original historical sources. As a lawyer, I enjoyed the in-depth study of Lincoln's work as a small town circuit lawyer and as a soldier I enjoyed the examination of President Lincoln's decision-making process during our bloody kin-slaying. As an historian, I felt that Mr. Donald has done quite a job focusing on original sources and avoided the use of previous biographical works. This is important. One biographer's work is often carried into another and ruins the value of the picture drawn by a following writer. That doesn't happen here and it is one of the greatest strengths of the book.-Kelly Whiting

Lincoln as Lincoln
Many of us grow up as fans of someone. But when we get older, we find out that our heroes did not, and perhaps could never, live up to our expectations. Abraham Lincoln is different, at least for me. After reading Donald's Lincoln you walk away as though you had met the man and had a long -- and honest -- coversation with him. As opposed to many biographies of Lincoln, Donald relies on the president's own words and perceptions, not the author's opinions or views. An important contribution to the study of Lincoln Donald provides is the humanity in which he treats the president's failures. We find out how he failed at business, politics and love before the successes he accomplished later. When viewed through the lense of Lincon's life and times, he becomes even greater. The president was not popular, not well-supported by his own political party and not a saint. Lincoln is a politician, a detached but loyal husband, a thinker but not an idealogue and a genuinely funny guy. Donald's greatest achievement is allowing Lincoln to be Lincoln. I highly recommend this book. Michael D. Cohen, Ph.D.