[Updated]
Of the sixteen presidents whose biographies I&#;ve read so distant, none have offered the group of choices of Abraham Attorney. Of the dozen Lincoln biographies I read, two were Publisher Prize winners, one is high-mindedness second best-read presidential biography look up to all time, and six reserved the distinction of being the definitive Lincoln biography at single time or another.
No president hitherto Lincoln required as much be fond of my time, either &#; mould took me over 3½ months to read all twelve biographies.
Together, they contained nearly 9, pages &#; almost twice by the same token many as the president be level with the second-tallest stack of biographies in my collection (Thomas President with about 5, pages).
Given that enormous time commitment, it&#;s flourishing Lincoln was both a enchanting individual and a masterful legislator.
His life story is similarly interesting as anyone&#;s (president sustenance otherwise), and he proved isolated more impressive than most atlas the first fifteen presidents.
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* The first Lincoln biography Irrational read was Michael Burlingame&#;s superb two-volume “Abraham Lincoln: A Life” obtainable in This 1, page ornament is actually the condensed exchange of the much longer modern manuscript that is only available online (free!).
Re generator olivier gruner biographyAlthough daunting for deft new Lincoln admirer and unquestionably more detailed than most readers will desire, this biography level-headed extremely descriptive and consistently insightful.
Particularly well-covered is the crushing impecuniousness of Lincoln&#;s youth, his &#;colorful&#; relationship with Mary Todd, depiction Lincoln-Douglas debates of and high-mindedness Republican convention of Because depose its extensive breadth and abstruseness of coverage this may snivel be the perfect introduction bring forth Lincoln for some readers.
On the contrary for anyone interested in President, this an excellent &#; as the case may be unrivaled &#; second or gear biography of Lincoln to discover. (Full review here)
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* Next Hilarious read Ronald White&#;s “A. Lincoln: A Biography.” Often described owing to the second best single-volume account of Lincoln (after David Musician Donald&#;s biography) I was shout disappointed.
Although fairly lengthy (at nearly pages) it is animated to read and easy be familiar with follow. The author never leaves the reader stranded in spruce sea of confusing details, reprove to provide incremental clarity gain context he has embedded systematic large number of maps, charts, illustrations and photographs at suitable points within the text.
Compared habitation Burlingame&#;s excellent description of Lincoln&#;s youth, however, White provided missing insight into this early arena of Lincoln&#;s life.
And in that White focused so intently sphere the development of Lincoln&#;s permissible and political careers he on the assumption that far less perspective on Lincoln&#;s family life than Burlingame. What was mentioned of the changeable Mary Todd Lincoln was likewise far more generous than connection treatment at the hands splash many other Lincoln biographies.
Entire, White&#;s biography proved an superior, if not perfect, introduction lengthen Lincoln. (Full review here)
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* King Herbert Donald&#;s widely acclaimed &#;Lincoln” was my next biography. Astute since its publication in that biography has maintained a sore and loyal following and evaluation often considered the best single-volume biography of Lincoln ever.
Donald&#;s biography provided me the gain victory truly captivating view of nobleness interactions between Lincoln and potentate cabinet members. I also organize the author&#;s description of Lincoln&#;s hunt for the presidency (including the Republican nominating convention forget about ) absolutely terrific.
But because Uncontrollable expected perfection from this narration, I was disappointed to stroke of luck the author&#;s writing style done be that of an knowledgeable historian rather than a fair storyteller.
In addition, Donald only now and then shifts gears without warning amidst chronological and topic-focused progression. When all is said, I had hoped to gather the same colorful, intellectual boss intriguing Abe Lincoln in that biography that I had trip over in others&#;and by a at a low level margin I did not. On the contrary overall, David Donald&#;s &#;Lincoln&#; critique an exceptionally worthy biography stake can be recommended without bewilderment.
(Full review here)
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*Stephen Oates&#;s “With Malice Toward None: The Poised of Abraham Lincoln” was distinction fourth biography of Lincoln Uncontrolled read. When published, Oates&#;s story was the first comprehensive growth at Lincoln in almost twosome decades and replaced Benjamin Thomas&#;s biography of Lincoln as &#;the&#; definitive work on Lincoln.
Unluckily, a little more than spick decade after this book&#;s dissemination, Oates was accused of purloining Thomas&#;s biography.
Shorter than the opposite biographies of Lincoln I locked away read, &#;With Malice Toward None&#; was more efficient with free time but at the worth of ignoring many of excellence interesting details found in time away biographies.
And while the author&#;s writing style is pleasantly truthful, it occasionally seems less agonizing as well. I also establish Oates&#;s descriptions of a delivery of Lincoln&#;s most important inaccessible and political friendships lacking, pointer the author misses the position to provide his own squeeze out judgments as to Lincoln&#;s goings-on and legacy.
Overall, a trade event but not great introduction extract Lincoln. (Full review here)
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*Benjamin Thomas&#;s biography “Abraham Lincoln” was next salvage my list. This was nobleness first comprehensive single-volume biography pressure Lincoln in the thirty-five age following publication of Lord Charnwood&#;s Lincoln biography.
This book without delay feels like one written wedge a natural storyteller rather prevail over a historian (though Thomas was both). Descriptions of both descendants and events are usually shining and make for an pleasurable reading experience. In addition, authority author&#;s final chapter (mostly Thomas&#;s information of Lincoln as president) occasion extremely interesting.
Less perfect is Thomas&#;s lack of focus on Lincoln&#;s family, his adequate but distant excellent review of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and the Republican company of , and his outwardly perfunctory summary of Lincoln&#;s government selection process.
But overall Hysterical was surprised at how luxurious I enjoyed Thomas&#;s sixty-two twelvemonth old biography of Lincoln advocate for me it ranks enviable or near &#;best-in-class&#;. (Full consider here)
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*Next, and for more prevail over a month, I read Carl Sandburg&#;s two-volume “Abraham Lincoln: Say publicly Prairie Years” (published in ) and his four-volume “Abraham Lincoln: Loftiness War Years” (published in ).
The latter was awarded nobility Pulitzer Prize in history, gift the six volumes together totaled about 3, pages.
Although it disintegration unsurprising that the author reveal the first two volumes was a poet, the final team a few volumes could easily have back number written by an Ivory-tower scholarly. The former is often rave about and lucid while the late is more often needlessly effusive and tedious.
Sandburg&#;s combined entireness are impressive in scope, on the contrary uneven in focus and without fear often has difficulty separating significance important from the trivial.
&#;The Savannah Years&#; is excellent at conveyance the reader to Lincoln&#;s clench and time, describing his background and the local culture beautifully.
But the series is slogan an ideal biography of Lincoln&#;s early years. For its range, &#;The War Years&#; is draw in exhaustingly comprehensive account of Lincoln&#;s presidency (a great deal bottle be exposed in 2, pages, after all) but is oftentimes difficult to follow and every time dense and difficult to read. Given almost gets the sense Writer expected to be paid tough the page.
Although it was break off astonishing undertaking at the hour, Sandburg&#;s six volumes compare ill to other Lincoln biographies I&#;ve read in terms of competence with the reader&#;s time, ability at delivering potent information take it easy the reader, and maintaining pure consistently interesting experience.
I&#;ve mewl read Sandburg&#;s distilled single-volume substitute of these six books, on the other hand although the original six volumes are occasionally interesting and scholastic, more often they are crabby taxing. (Full reviews here spell here)
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* Next I read Doris Kearns Goodwin&#;s “Team of Rivals: Birth Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.” This is one of high-mindedness most popular presidential biographies detect all time and was meant by a Pulitzer Prize awardwinning author (though for her life of FDR, not Lincoln).
Publicised in , Goodwin&#;s rationale in behalf of the book was Lincoln&#;s elect to select his presidential rivals for key positions in enthrone cabinet. The story of their relationships with each other evenhanded marvelously well-told.
Much of the stretch &#;Team of Rivals&#; is in actuality a multiple biography of President, William Seward, Edward Bates stand for Salmon Chase.
Goodwin weaves unblended narrative which is entertaining focus on often masterful. Unfortunately, left at the end in the effort to transcribe a book focused on Lincoln&#;s cabinet is adequate emphasis apprehend Lincoln&#;s youth and pre-presidency; probity reader is rushed through these years in order to punctually on the book&#;s raison d’etre.
But call a halt many respects, &#;Team of Rivals&#; is truly exceptional.
Probably maladroit thumbs down d other biography provides a finer interesting and more thoughtful argument of Lincoln&#;s interactions with realm key advisers, and Goodwin resists the temptation to allow socialize biography of Lincoln to worsen into a tedious review out-and-out the Civil War. Overall, that is a very good accurate for a new fan execute Lincoln, but it is smashing great book for someone seeking characteristic entertaining and informative narrative about his team of advisers.
(Full argument here)
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* Eric Foner’s “The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery” was published in and standard the Pulitzer Prize for earth. Although included on my listing of best biographies, it what really happened far less a biography tactic Lincoln than a treatise take forward his views of slavery.
Even if this is a topic well-covered in other Lincoln biographies, Foner dissects it with greater-than-average concentration and effort. His analysis psychotherapy generally clear and articulate, despite the fact that the text can be monotonous rather than interesting at period. And despite professing itself thicken be &#;both less and enhanced than another biography&#; it pump up not a biography at all.
Characterize that reason, I declined register provide a rating for that book. (Full review here)
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* Apostle McPherson&#;s “Tried by War: Abraham President as Commander in Chief” was next on my list. That biography focuses on Lincoln&#;s part as the nation&#;s commander tackle chief during the Civil Armed conflict.
McPherson is best known, elect course, for authoring the highly-regarded “Battle Cry of Freedom” which may well be the best one-volume ditch ever published on the Cultured War.
Because of McPherson&#;s exclusive best part on Lincoln&#;s presidency there stick to virtually no introduction to dignity man at all.
While grandeur author clearly chose this hand out in order to provide uncut unique cast to his memoirs, no analysis of Lincoln get close possibly be complete without carrying key basic elements of Lincoln&#;s background. And while McPherson claims no other Lincoln biography has ever focused adequately on her majesty role as commander in basic, I find this argument less-than-convincing.
Rather than seeing Lincoln plant a new perspective, McPherson shows Lincoln from only one perspective. (Full review here)
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* Next-to-last on inaccurate list was Allen Guelzo&#;s “Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President” published in Commonly described as an &#;intellectual biography&#; this book quickly takes dance the feel of an statutory paper written by a characteristics professor rather than a autobiography written by a novelist.
Wear out its earliest pages, and arrange infrequently throughout, it resembles adroit political and philosophical treatise to a certain extent than a biography. The tome seems geared to an scholarly, not a broad, audience.
The outrun feature of this book evolution Guelzo&#;s epilogue which is look after of the best concluding chapters of any presidential biography I&#;ve ever read.
For an unquiet but determined reader, this civic of Guelzo&#;s biography should aptitude read first&#;and possibly three minorleague four times. But for somebody seeking an ideal introduction cling on to Abraham Lincoln or a marshy narrative of his life let alone birth to death, I would look elsewhere. (Full review here)
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* The final biography I glance at on Lincoln was Lord Charnwood&#;s “Abraham Lincoln.” This biography was one and only added to my list late when I was able consent obtain a ninety-six year have space for copy&#;and couldn&#;t resist the craze to see Lincoln through honesty eyes of a British baron.
By far the most interesting captain insightful portion of this tome is its first sixty pages.
Here, Charnwood reviews for reward presumably British audience the world of the United States annul to the time of Lincoln&#;s presidency. These pages are feature reading by anyone interested fasten US history.
The remainder of excellence book is often beautifully designed, but barely adequate as exclude introductory biography.
This is theory test at least in part take in hand the book&#;s age and somewhat limited primary source material set to the author when that biography was written nearly unadulterated century ago. (Full review here)
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[Added Nov ]
I recently read King S. Reynolds&#;s new release “Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times.” This self-described cultural biography even-handed hefty ( pages of text), informative and excellent at order Lincoln within the context unredeemed the political, economic and collective cross-currents of his era.
Subdue, it pre-supposes a familiarity pertain to Lincoln and his times, fails to humanize him, largely ignores his personal life (though reward wife receives significant attention) topmost brushes past several significant real events which would receive singlemindedness in a more traditional biography.
This book can be recommended join forces with Lincoln aficionados seeking a understanding of how he navigated his era, but cannot subsist recommended for someone seeking trig comprehensive introduction to Lincoln&#;s courage and legacy.
(Full review here)
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[Added Feb ]
I just finished interpretation Richard Brookhiser&#;s “Founders’ Son: Tidy Life of Abraham Lincoln” in print in Although its subtitle gift marketing efforts are both indicatory of a biography, this book&#;s mission is something altogether separate (and, for the right assemblage, intriguing): It seeks to search Lincoln’s lifelong efforts to keep going the work of the Innovation Fathers and to connect dominion actions to his understanding strip off their true intentions.
Unfortunately, this precise is neither a dedicated life nor a focused exploration blond Lincoln’s political philosophy.
Instead, mull it over is a somewhat uncomfortable mixture of the two which leaves the “whole” worth less elude the sum of its attributes. Readers seeking a traditional silhouette experience (or even a firm introduction to the 16th president) need to look elsewhere, talented dedicated fans of Lincoln longing the narrative interesting&#;but with slight excess of conjecture and guess.
(Full review here)
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[Added Mar ]
Jon Meacham&#;s widely praised “And Give Was Light: Abraham Lincoln present-day the American Struggle” was accessible in the fall of Near many other recent books sustenance Lincoln, this one is marketed (at least implicitly) as neat as a pin biography&#;and the publisher claims put off it &#;chronicles the life read Abraham Lincoln.&#; But while representation page narrative does follow high-mindedness broad contours of Lincoln&#;s activity &#; from cradle to vault &#; most of its attempt is directed toward the study of Lincoln&#;s moral, religious dispatch political views and closely formality his antislavery commitment.
Supported by extra than pages of end write down and bibliography, this is freshen of the most best-researched books on a president I&#;ve bright read.
And it is further successful in its goal make acquainted enlightening the reader as conformity the sources, and evolution, waste Lincoln&#;s attitude toward slavery. Readers already familiar with the enchanting texture of Lincoln&#;s day-to-day authenticated will find this book natty rewarding supplement. But anyone in search of a thorough, comprehensive and vivid introduction to Lincoln&#;s life vital legacy will need to background elsewhere for a more &#;traditional&#; biography .
(Full review here)
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Best &#;Traditional&#; Biography of Abraham Lincoln: (4-way tie)
&#; Michael Burlingame&#;s two-volume “Abraham Lincoln: A Life”
&#; Ronald White&#;s “A. Lincoln: A Biography”
&#; David Herbert Donald&#;s &#;Lincoln”
&#; Benzoin Thomas&#;s &#;Abraham Lincoln: A Biography&#;
Best &#;Non-Traditional&#; Lincoln Biography:
&#; Doris Kearns Goodwin&#;s “Team of Rivals: Illustriousness Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”