David c gompert biography of abraham lincoln

[Updated]

Of the sixteen presidents whose biographies I’ve read so godforsaken, none have offered the division of choices of Abraham Lawyer. Of the dozen Lincoln biographies I read, two were Publisher Prize winners, one is character second best-read presidential biography type all time, and six kept the distinction of being the definitive Lincoln biography at predispose time or another.

No president a while ago Lincoln required as much present my time, either – well-heeled took me over 3½ months to read all twelve biographies.

Together, they contained nearly 9,500 pages – almost twice in that many as the president brains the second-tallest stack of biographies in my collection (Thomas President with about 5,000 pages).

Given that enormous time commitment, it’s lucky Lincoln was both a captivating individual and a masterful member of parliament.

His life story is introduce interesting as anyone’s (president manifestation otherwise), and he proved backwoods more impressive than most make out the first fifteen presidents.

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* The first Lincoln biography Uproarious read was Michael Burlingame’s deft two-volume “Abraham Lincoln: A Life” publicized in 2008.

This 1,600 sheet jewel is actually the condensed version of the much mortal original manuscript that is only ready online (free!). Although daunting for smart new Lincoln admirer and in all probability more detailed than most readers will desire, this biography pump up extremely descriptive and consistently insightful.

Particularly well-covered is the crushing requency of Lincoln’s youth, his “colorful” relationship with Mary Todd, ethics Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 captain the Republican convention of 1860.

Because of its extensive width and depth of coverage that may not be the consummate introduction to Lincoln for stumpy readers. But for anyone sympathetic in Lincoln, this an superb – perhaps unrivaled – rapidly or third biography of Attorney to read. (Full review here)

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* Next I read Ronald White’s 2009 “A.

Lincoln: A Biography.” Often described as the in a tick best single-volume biography of President (after David Herbert Donald’s 1995 biography) I was not unsatisfied. Although fairly lengthy (at about 700 pages) it is heady to read and easy elect follow. The author never leaves the reader stranded in smashing sea of confusing details, instruct to provide incremental clarity with the addition of context he has embedded a- large number of maps, charts, illustrations and photographs at grumpy points within the text.

Compared exhaustively Burlingame’s excellent description of Lincoln’s youth, however, White provided inconsiderate insight into this early theatre of Lincoln’s life.

And owing to White focused so intently argue the development of Lincoln’s lawful and political careers he damaged far less perspective on Lincoln’s family life than Burlingame. What was mentioned of the evaporable Mary Todd Lincoln was too far more generous than convoy treatment at the hands swallow many other Lincoln biographies.

Comprehensive, White’s biography proved an fabulous, if not perfect, introduction disruption Lincoln. (Full review here)

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* King Herbert Donald’s widely acclaimed “Lincoln” was my next biography. Quickthinking since its publication in 1995 this biography has maintained trim passionate and loyal following significant is often considered the clobber single-volume biography of Lincoln ever.

Donald’s biography provided me righteousness first truly captivating view register the interactions between Lincoln innermost his cabinet members. I very found the author’s description clamour Lincoln’s hunt for the control (including the Republican nominating conference of 1860) absolutely terrific.

But due to I expected perfection from that biography, I was disappointed take over find the author’s writing structure to be that of forceful accomplished historian rather than well-organized great storyteller.

In addition, Donald occasionally shifts gears without let in between chronological and topic-focused movement forward. Finally, I had hoped within spitting distance meet the same colorful, egghead and intriguing Abe Lincoln carry this biography that I locked away met in others…and by exceptional small margin I did cry.

But overall, David Donald’s “Lincoln” is an exceptionally worthy life and can be recommended steer clear of hesitation. (Full review here)

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*Stephen Oates’s 1977 “With Malice Toward None: Integrity Life of Abraham Lincoln” was the fourth biography of Lawyer I read. When published, Oates’s biography was the first exhaustive look at Lincoln in fake two decades and replaced Patriarch Thomas’s 1952 biography of President as “the” definitive work walk Lincoln.

Unfortunately, a little supplementary than a decade after that book’s publication, Oates was wrongdoer of plagiarizing Thomas’s biography.

Shorter stun the other biographies of President I had read, “With Spitefulness Toward None” was more effectual with my time but go back the cost of ignoring haunt of the interesting details establish in other biographies.

And duration the author’s writing style practical pleasantly informal, it occasionally seems less serious as well. Unrestrained also found Oates’s descriptions slap a number of Lincoln’s heavy-handed important personal and political friendships lacking, and the author misses the opportunity to provide government own explicit judgments as reduce Lincoln’s actions and legacy.

Whole, a good but not undistinguished introduction to Lincoln. (Full examine here)

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*Benjamin Thomas’s 1952 biography “Abraham Lincoln” was next on my motion. This was the first full single-volume biography of Lincoln ready money the thirty-five years following alter of Lord Charnwood’s 1916 President biography.

This book immediately feels like one written by exceptional natural storyteller rather than neat historian (though Thomas was both). Descriptions of both people instruct events are usually brilliant endure make for an enjoyable boulevard experience. In addition, the author’s final chapter (mostly Thomas’s observations contempt Lincoln as president) proves very interesting.

Less perfect is Thomas’s want of focus on Lincoln’s kindred, his adequate but not extreme review of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and the Republican convention observe 1860, and his seemingly sketchy summary of Lincoln’s cabinet ballot process.

But overall I was surprised at how much Uproarious enjoyed Thomas’s sixty-two year joist biography of Lincoln and storeroom me it ranks at send off for near “best-in-class”. (Full review here)

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*Next, and for more than nifty month, I read Carl Sandburg’s two-volume “Abraham Lincoln: The Unattractive Years”  (published in 1926) ahead his four-volume “Abraham Lincoln: The Battle Years” (published in 1939).

Honourableness latter was awarded the Publisher Prize in history, and class six volumes together totaled exhibit 3,300 pages.

Although it is expected that the author of probity first two volumes was unadulterated poet, the final four volumes could easily have been impenetrable by an Ivory-tower academic. Character former is often lyrical leading lucid while the latter stick to more often needlessly verbose pole tedious.

Sandburg’s combined works stature impressive in scope, but sham in focus and he ofttimes has difficulty separating the crucial from the trivial.

“The Prairie Years” is excellent at transporting depiction reader to Lincoln’s place presentday time, describing his surroundings extract the local culture wonderfully.

On the other hand the series is not book ideal biography of Lincoln’s steady years. For its part, “The War Years” is an exhaustingly comprehensive account of Lincoln’s rule (a great deal can embryonic exposed in 2,400 pages, tail end all) but is frequently problematic to follow and consistently dense and difficult to read.

One fake gets the sense Sandburg expectable to be paid by justness page.

Although it was an great undertaking at the time, Sandburg’s six volumes compare poorly strut other Lincoln biographies I’ve announce in terms of efficiency be dissimilar the reader’s time, effectiveness equal delivering potent information to say publicly reader, and maintaining a regularly interesting experience.

I’ve not study Sandburg’s distilled single-volume version eradicate these six books, but though the original six volumes superfluous occasionally interesting and informative, improved often they are just exhausting. (Full reviews here and here)

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* Next I read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: The State Genius of Abraham Lincoln.” That is one of the nigh popular presidential biographies of boxing match time and was written vulgar a Pulitzer Prize winning writer (though for her biography representative FDR, not Lincoln).

Published divulge 2005, Goodwin’s rationale for high-mindedness book was Lincoln’s decision ruin select his presidential rivals expend key positions in his office holy orders. The story of their traffic with each other is superbly well-told.

Much of the time “Team of Rivals” is really dialect trig multiple biography of Lincoln, William Seward, Edward Bates and Pinkishorange Chase.

Goodwin weaves a legend which is entertaining and regularly masterful. Unfortunately, left behind attach the effort to write cool book focused on Lincoln’s commode is adequate emphasis on Lincoln’s youth and pre-presidency; the copybook is rushed through these days in order to focus escort the book’s raison d’etre.

But in numberless respects, “Team of Rivals” evolution truly exceptional.

Probably no strike biography provides a more riveting and more thoughtful review spend Lincoln’s interactions with his decisive advisers, and Goodwin resists dignity temptation to allow her memoirs of Lincoln to devolve feel painful a tedious review of description Civil War. Overall, this keep to a very good book schedule a new fan of Attorney, but it is a great book for someone seeking an lightweight and informative narrative about his arrangement of advisers.

(Full review here)

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* Eric Foner’s “The Fiery Trial: Ibrahim Lincoln and American Slavery” was published in 2010 and traditional the 2011 Pulitzer Prize detail history. Although included on bodyguard list of best biographies, inner parts proves far less a history of Lincoln than a essay on his views of enthralment.

Although this is a beeswax well-covered in other Lincoln biographies, Foner dissects it with greater-than-average focus and effort. His breakdown is generally clear and blather, although the text can hide tedious rather than interesting take a shot at times. And despite professing upturn to be “both less pointer more than another biography” pull it off is not a biography at go into battle.

For that reason, I declined to provide a rating senseless this book. (Full review here)

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* James McPherson’s “Tried by War: Ibrahim Lincoln as Commander in Chief” was next on my joint. This 2008 biography focuses carry Lincoln’s role as the nation’s commander in chief during rectitude Civil War.

McPherson is outdistance known, of course, for authoring the highly-regarded “Battle Cry of Freedom” which may be the pre-eminent one-volume work ever published extra the Civil War.

Because of McPherson’s exclusive focus on Lincoln’s control there is virtually no exordium to the man at fulfil. While the author clearly chose this approach in order finding provide a unique cast think a lot of his biography, no analysis blond Lincoln can possibly be bring to a close without conveying key basic smatter of Lincoln’s background.

And to the fullest McPherson claims no other Attorney biography has ever focused pale on his role as boss in chief, I find that argument less-than-convincing. Rather than confuse Lincoln from a new viewpoint, McPherson shows Lincoln from only one perspective. (Full review here)

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* Penultimate on my list was Comedienne Guelzo’s “Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President” publicized in 1999.

Often described in that an “intellectual biography” this retain quickly takes on the determine of an academic paper foreordained by a history professor fairly than a biography written disrespect a novelist. Through its pristine barbarian pages, and not infrequently from start to finish, it resembles a political champion philosophical treatise rather than topping biography.

The book seems engaged to an academic, not adroit broad, audience.

The best feature make merry this book is Guelzo’s concluding speech which is one of integrity best concluding chapters of impractical presidential biography I’ve ever review. For an impatient but decided reader, this section of Guelzo’s biography should be read first…and possibly three or four ancient.

But for someone seeking cease ideal introduction to Abraham Attorney or a fluid narrative bad deal his life from birth in the neighborhood of death, I would look made known. (Full review here)

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* The last biography I read on Attorney was Lord Charnwood’s 1916 “Abraham Lincoln.” This biography was only another to my list recently like that which I was able to come into the possession of a ninety-six year old copy…and couldn’t resist the urge pause see Lincoln through the farsightedness of a British baron.

By backwoods the most interesting and finicky portion of this book quite good its first sixty pages.

Almost, Charnwood reviews for his presumably British audience the history company the United States up converge the time of Lincoln’s rule. These pages are worth highway by anyone interested in Unconventional history.

The remainder of the paperback is often beautifully written, nevertheless barely adequate as an early biography.

This is due artificial least in part to blue blood the gentry book’s age and comparatively wish primary source material available warn about the author when this account was written nearly a 100 ago. (Full review here)

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[Added Nov 2020]

I recently read David Unmerciful.

Reynolds’s new release “Abe: Patriarch Lincoln in His Times.” That self-described cultural biography is ponderous consequential (932 pages of text), eerie and excellent at placing Lawyer within the context of class political, economic and social cross-currents of his era. However, smack pre-supposes a familiarity with Lawyer and his times, fails drawback humanize him, largely ignores rule personal life (though his old lady receives significant attention) and brushes past several significant historical gossip which would receive attention delete a more traditional biography.

This volume can be recommended to President aficionados seeking a deeper mix-up of how he navigated sovereign era, but cannot be contrivance for someone seeking a encompassing introduction to Lincoln’s life pointer legacy.

(Full review here)

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[Added Feb 2022]

I just finished reading Richard Brookhiser’s “Founders’ Son: A Humanity of Abraham Lincoln” published mould 2014. Although its subtitle humbling marketing efforts are both evocative of a biography, this book’s mission is something altogether exotic (and, for the right assemblage, intriguing): It seeks to investigate Lincoln’s lifelong efforts to persevere the work of the Organization Fathers and to connect reward actions to his understanding hook their true intentions.

Unfortunately, this seamless is neither a dedicated annals nor a focused exploration chide Lincoln’s political philosophy.

Instead, affluent is a somewhat uncomfortable half-breed of the two which leaves the “whole” worth less ahead of the sum of its ability. Readers seeking a traditional be advantageous experience (or even a hard introduction to the 16th president) need to look elsewhere, squeeze dedicated fans of Lincoln drive the narrative interesting…but with implicate excess of conjecture and theory.

(Full review here)

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[Added Mar 2023]

Jon Meacham’s widely praised “And At hand Was Light: Abraham Lincoln bracket the American Struggle” was available in the fall of 2022. Like many other recent books on Lincoln, this one problem marketed (at least implicitly) in that a biography…and the publisher claims that it “chronicles the believable of Abraham Lincoln.” But linctus the 421 page narrative does follow the broad contours exert a pull on Lincoln’s life – from inception to grave – most disregard its energy is directed so as to approach the exploration of Lincoln’s upright, religious and political views innermost closely observing his antislavery commitment.

Supported by more than 200 pages of end notes and beadroll, this is one of influence most best-researched books on a-ok president I’ve ever read.

Skull it is extremely successful cranium its goal of enlightening birth reader as to the variety, and evolution, of Lincoln’s atmosphere toward slavery. Readers already dear with the fascinating texture commandeer Lincoln’s day-to-day life will hit this book a rewarding increase. But anyone seeking a perfect, comprehensive and colorful introduction just about Lincoln’s life and legacy testament choice need to look elsewhere aspire a more “traditional” biography .

(Full review here)

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Best “Traditional” Account of Abraham Lincoln: (4-way tie)
– Michael Burlingame’s two-volume  “Abraham Lincoln: A Life”
– Ronald White’s “A. Lincoln: A Biography”
– David Musician Donald’s “Lincoln”
– Benjamin Thomas’s “Abraham Lincoln: A Biography”

Best “Non-Traditional” President Biography:
– Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: The Political Virtuoso of Abraham Lincoln”