Lincoln

Additional Lincoln Information

In the bestselling tradition of Truman, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer David Herbert Donald offers a new classic in American history and biography -- a masterly account of how one man's extraordinary political acumen steered the Union to victory in the Civil War, and of how his soaring rhetoric gave meaning to that agonizing struggle for nationhood and equality.

Culminating his half-century of study of Lincoln and his times, Donald brilliantly traces Lincoln's rise from humble origins to the pinnacle of the presidency. He reveals the development of the future President's character and shows how Lincoln's enormous capacity for growth enabled one of the least experienced men ever elected to high office to become a giant in the annals of American politics. And he depicts a man who was basically passive by nature, yet ambitious enough to take enormous risks and overcome repeated defeats.

Much more than a political biography, Lincoln seats us behind the desk of a President who, was both a master of ambiguity and expediency and a great moral leader, as he makes the decisions that preserved the Union and shaped modern America.

What Customers Say About Lincoln:

I am a great admire of Abraham Linclon and David Herbert Donald's "Lincoln" is by far one of the best I have read. It's a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about our 16th president or has a fascination with our country's civil war such as myself.

The author spends a lot of time on the elections, which was not an interesting topic for me. The author stays very focused on the subject, which is Lincoln himself. His style is very readable and very matter of fact. There must be a biography more engaging to the reader than this. I enjoyed it, but its impact on me was limited. He tries very hard to have Lincoln speak for himself.

When Lincoln meets the freed slaves in the south shortly before the war ends, the slave call him Moses and Father Abraham. He covers Lincoln's entire life and the biography stops at the moment of his death. There are moments in the book which are very strong almost in spite of the author. The book is very readable. I'm not giving the book five stars because there must hundreds, if not thousands of biographies out there on Lincoln. This is very strong; however, there are very few moments like this book in a book that should have scores of moments like this.In summary, I strongly recommend the book a very readable, factual and accurate biography.

It was a triple, but not a homerun.

It does have a fuzzy time line. The amount of information in this biography can be, at times, overwhelming. It's not a leisurely weekend read, but I loved it. If you are not familiar with some of the events you could get a little cross eyed. Also, I know we have all read and possibly memorized the great speeches of Lincoln, but it would still be nice to have them in the book.

This was an excellent read. I didn't actually need all the political, etc. I was looking for something that gave me more insight into the man than just his politics and Civil War decisions. This book gave me everything I was looking for. details, but I realize that comes with the territory. I recommend this book to anyone who wants an inside look at the man.

This biography provides the reader with a good understanding of the struggles that Lincoln endured as a child, his broken relationship with his father and his experiences as he grew from a child to a young adult. It isn't until almost 2/3 the way through the book that Lincoln is elected President.I was surprised to learn that his election to the presidency has many of the same underlying dynamics as moderns day political elections. This book will help the reader understand the positive and negatives influences on Lincoln's life, from his childhood, through adulthood and to the time of his death and how these experiences shaped his thoughts and decision making. The focus isn't on soley on Lincoln as a president, but the experiences growing up that shaped him into the man he became. During the time of the Civil War era, the focus isn't on the Civil War battles, but on Lincoln's grief and distress with his generals, the progress of the war, the suffering of the soldiers and the future of the nation.I gained a much greater appreciation for the forces that made Lincoln who he was, the principles that guided his life and much like modern politicians, how politics sometimes influenced his decisions. Very good book.