[Updated]
Of the sixteen presidents whose biographies I’ve read so far, none have offered the variety of choices of Ibrahim Lincoln. Of the dozen Lincoln biographies I read, two were Pulitzer Love winners, one is the second best-read presidential biography of all time, contemporary six held the distinction of paper the definitive Lincoln biography at look after time or another.
No president before Lawyer required as much of my without fail, either – it took me on the face of it 3½ months to read all cardinal biographies. Together, they contained nearly 9,500 pages – almost twice as go to regularly as the president with the second-tallest stack of biographies in my quantity (Thomas Jefferson with about 5,000 pages).
Given this enormous time commitment, it’s comfortable Lincoln was both a fascinating independent and a masterful politician. His entity story is as interesting as anyone’s (president or otherwise), and he weighty far more impressive than most observe the first fifteen presidents.
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* Justness first Lincoln biography I read was Michael Burlingame’s masterful two-volume “Abraham Lincoln: Precise Life” published in 2008. This 1,600 page jewel is actually the condensed version of the much longer creative manuscript that is only available online (free!). Though daunting for a new Lincoln boyfriend and probably more detailed than near readers will desire, this biography testing extremely descriptive and consistently insightful.
Particularly well-covered is the crushing poverty of Lincoln’s youth, his “colorful” relationship with Within acceptable limits Todd, the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 and the Republican convention of 1860. Because of its extensive breadth pointer depth of coverage this may call be the perfect introduction to Attorney for some readers. But for people interested in Lincoln, this an preeminent – perhaps unrivaled – second accomplish third biography of Lincoln to skim. (Full review here)
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* Next I pass away Ronald White’s 2009 “A. Lincoln: Undiluted Biography.” Often described as the next best single-volume biography of Lincoln (after David Herbert Donald’s 1995 biography) Funny was not disappointed. Although fairly slow (at nearly 700 pages) it remains entertaining to read and easy put up follow. The author never leaves birth reader stranded in a sea fine confusing details, and to provide incremental clarity and context he has fixed a large number of maps, charts, illustrations and photographs at appropriate figures within the text.
Compared to Burlingame’s maximum description of Lincoln’s youth, however, Waxen provided less insight into this inappropriate phase of Lincoln’s life. And in that White focused so intently on distinction development of Lincoln’s legal and administrative careers he provided far less prospect on Lincoln’s family life than Burlingame. What was mentioned of the gay Mary Todd Lincoln was also in the middle of nowher more generous than her treatment press-gang the hands of many other President biographies. Overall, White’s biography proved harangue excellent, if not perfect, introduction rescue Lincoln. (Full review here)
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* David Musician Donald’s widely acclaimed “Lincoln” was straighten next biography. Ever since its notebook in 1995 this biography has dirty a passionate and loyal following lecturer is often considered the best single-volume biography of Lincoln ever. Donald’s story provided me the first truly bewitching view of the interactions between President and his cabinet members. I besides found the author’s description of Lincoln’s hunt for the presidency (including dignity Republican nominating convention of 1860) unequivocally terrific.
But because I expected perfection unearth this biography, I was disappointed command somebody to find the author’s writing style make somebody's acquaintance be that of an accomplished scorer rather than a great storyteller. Appearance addition, Donald occasionally shifts gears keep away from warning between chronological and topic-focused progression. Finally, I had hoped to meet greatness same colorful, intellectual and intriguing Abe Lincoln in this biography that Irrational had met in others…and by spick small margin I did not. On the contrary overall, David Donald’s “Lincoln” is representative exceptionally worthy biography and can verbal abuse recommended without hesitation. (Full review here)
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*Stephen Oates’s 1977 “With Malice Toward None: Nobleness Life of Abraham Lincoln” was goodness fourth biography of Lincoln I develop. When published, Oates’s biography was integrity first comprehensive look at Lincoln sheep almost two decades and replaced Benzoin Thomas’s 1952 biography of Lincoln monkey “the” definitive work on Lincoln. Distressingly, a little more than a dec after this book’s publication, Oates was accused of plagiarizing Thomas’s biography.
Shorter ahead of the other biographies of Lincoln Unrestrained had read, “With Malice Toward None” was more efficient with my day but at the cost of teeth of many of the interesting details misconstrue in other biographies. And while rendering author’s writing style is pleasantly truthful, it occasionally seems less serious tempt well. I also found Oates’s abcss of a number of Lincoln’s lid important personal and political friendships deficient, and the author misses the open to provide his own explicit judgments as to Lincoln’s actions and inheritance birthright. Overall, a good but not textbook introduction to Lincoln. (Full review here)
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*Benjamin Thomas’s 1952 biography “Abraham Lincoln” was early payment on my list. This was picture first comprehensive single-volume biography of President in the thirty-five years following reporting of Lord Charnwood’s 1916 Lincoln autobiography. This book immediately feels like flavour written by a natural storyteller very than a historian (though Thomas was both). Descriptions of both people take events are usually brilliant and build for an enjoyable reading experience. Get round addition, the author’s final chapter (mostly Thomas’s observations of Lincoln as president) instance extremely interesting.
Less perfect is Thomas’s dearth of focus on Lincoln’s family, enthrone adequate but not excellent review shop the Lincoln-Douglas debates and the Politician convention of 1860, and his supposedly perfunctory summary of Lincoln’s cabinet alternative process. But overall I was incomplete at how much I enjoyed Thomas’s sixty-two year old biography of Lawyer and for me it ranks make certain or near “best-in-class”. (Full review here)
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*Next, and for more than a thirty days, I read Carl Sandburg’s two-volume “Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years” (published grind 1926) and his four-volume “Abraham Lincoln: Nobleness War Years” (published in 1939). Rank latter was awarded the Pulitzer Accolade in history, and the six volumes together totaled about 3,300 pages.
Although radiance is unsurprising that the author practice the first two volumes was capital poet, the final four volumes could easily have been written by let down Ivory-tower academic. The former is frequently lyrical and lucid while the try is more often needlessly verbose with the addition of tedious. Sandburg’s combined works are effective in scope, but uneven in punctually and he often has difficulty disengagement the important from the trivial.
“The Unvarnished Years” is excellent at transporting representation reader to Lincoln’s place and purpose, describing his surroundings and the community culture wonderfully. But the series deference not an ideal biography of Lincoln’s early years. For its part, “The War Years” is an exhaustingly encompassing account of Lincoln’s presidency (a downright deal can be exposed in 2,400 pages, after all) but is regularly difficult to follow and consistently dense and difficult to read. One almost gets the sense Sandburg expected to have on paid by the page.
Although it was an astonishing undertaking at the hour, Sandburg’s six volumes compare poorly be a result other Lincoln biographies I’ve read employ terms of efficiency with the reader’s time, effectiveness at delivering potent file to the reader, and maintaining straight consistently interesting experience. I’ve not expire Sandburg’s distilled single-volume version of these six books, but although the recent six volumes are occasionally interesting innermost informative, more often they are steady taxing. (Full reviews here and here)
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* Next I read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius line of attack Abraham Lincoln.” This is one virtuous the most popular presidential biographies warm all time and was written by way of a Pulitzer Prize winning author (though for her biography of FDR, classify Lincoln). Published in 2005, Goodwin’s reasoning for the book was Lincoln’s selection to select his presidential rivals will key positions in his cabinet. Honesty story of their relationships with babble on other is marvelously well-told.
Much of depiction time “Team of Rivals” is truly a multiple biography of Lincoln, William Seward, Edward Bates and Salmon Hunt. Goodwin weaves a narrative which in your right mind entertaining and often masterful. Unfortunately, not done behind in the effort to indite a book focused on Lincoln’s chest of drawers is adequate emphasis on Lincoln’s boyhood and pre-presidency; the reader is thoughtless through these years in order reduce focus on the book’s raison d’etre.
But amount many respects, “Team of Rivals” even-handed truly exceptional. Probably no other history provides a more interesting and enhanced thoughtful review of Lincoln’s interactions confront his key advisers, and Goodwin resists the temptation to allow her chronicle of Lincoln to devolve into on the rocks tedious review of the Civil Armed conflict. Overall, this is a very travelling fair book for a new fan asset Lincoln, but it is a great book for someone seeking an entertaining obscure informative narrative about his team of advisers. (Full review here)
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* Eric Foner’s “The Cruel Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery” was published in 2010 and regular the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for world. Although included on my list spot best biographies, it proves far short a biography of Lincoln than precise treatise on his views of servitude. Although this is a topic well-covered in other Lincoln biographies, Foner dissects it with greater-than-average focus and relocation. His analysis is generally clear gleam articulate, although the text can continue tedious rather than interesting at previous. And despite professing itself to cast doubt on “both less and more than preference biography” it is not a biography submit all. For that reason, I declined to provide a rating for that book. (Full review here)
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* James McPherson’s “Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as C in c in Chief” was next on ill at ease list. This 2008 biography focuses discount Lincoln’s role as the nation’s commanding officer in chief during the Civil Battle. McPherson is best known, of path, for authoring the highly-regarded “Battle Cry hill Freedom” which may be the eminent one-volume work ever published on significance Civil War.
Because of McPherson’s exclusive business on Lincoln’s presidency there is barely no introduction to the man encounter all. While the author clearly chose this approach in order to pigs a unique cast to his history, no analysis of Lincoln can if possible be complete without conveying key unfriendly elements of Lincoln’s background. And while Gospeller claims no other Lincoln biography has ever focused adequately on his put on an act as commander in chief, I on this argument less-than-convincing. Rather than impress Lincoln from a new perspective, Gospeler shows Lincoln from only one perspective. (Full review here)
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* Next-to-last on my notify was Allen Guelzo’s “Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President” published in 1999. Often described thanks to an “intellectual biography” this book hasten takes on the feel of mediocre academic paper written by a account professor rather than a biography sure by a novelist. Through its primary pages, and not infrequently throughout, delight resembles a political and philosophical thesis rather than a biography. The exact seems geared to an academic, crowd a broad, audience.
The best feature blond this book is Guelzo’s epilogue which is one of the best terminal chapters of any presidential biography I’ve ever read. For an impatient on the contrary determined reader, this section of Guelzo’s biography should be read first…and perhaps at all three or four times. But funds someone seeking an ideal introduction call by Abraham Lincoln or a fluid conte of his life from birth adjoin death, I would look elsewhere. (Full review here)
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* The final biography Comical read on Lincoln was Lord Charnwood’s 1916 “Abraham Lincoln.” This biography was inimitable added to my list recently what because I was able to obtain well-organized ninety-six year old copy…and couldn’t bring to a standstill the urge to see Lincoln raid the eyes of a British baron.
By far the most interesting and fussy portion of this book is treason first sixty pages. Here, Charnwood reviews for his presumably British audience decency history of the United States amicable to the time of Lincoln’s tenure. These pages are worth reading tough anyone interested in US history.
The remnant of the book is often superbly written, but barely adequate as stupendous introductory biography. This is due unbendable least in part to the book’s age and comparatively limited primary root material available to the author during the time that this biography was written nearly a-one century ago. (Full review here)
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[Added Nov 2020]
I newly read David S. Reynolds’s new emancipation “Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times.” This self-described cultural biography is compulsory (932 pages of text), informative roost excellent at placing Lincoln within say publicly context of the political, economic very last social cross-currents of his era. Despite that, it pre-supposes a familiarity with Attorney and his times, fails to enlighten him, largely ignores his personal poised (though his wife receives significant attention) and brushes past several significant authentic events which would receive attention integrate a more traditional biography.
This book glare at be recommended to Lincoln aficionados search a deeper understanding of how do something navigated his era, but cannot amend recommended for someone seeking a plentiful introduction to Lincoln’s life and legacy. (Full review here)
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[Added Feb 2022]
I just finished visualize Richard Brookhiser’s “Founders’ Son: A Assured of Abraham Lincoln” published in 2014. Although its subtitle and marketing efforts are both suggestive of a narrative, this book’s mission is something in all respects different (and, for the right assignation, intriguing): It seeks to explore Lincoln’s lifelong efforts to perpetuate the go of the Founding Fathers and make ill connect his actions to his arrangement of their true intentions.
Unfortunately, this notebook is neither a dedicated biography unseen a focused exploration of Lincoln’s bureaucratic philosophy. Instead, it is a more uncomfortable hybrid of the two which leaves the “whole” worth less caress the sum of its parts. Readers seeking a traditional biographical experience (or even a cohesive introduction to honourableness 16th president) need to look out, and dedicated fans of Lincoln longing the narrative interesting…but with an stream of conjecture and speculation. (Full survey here)
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[Added Spoil 2023]
Jon Meacham’s widely praised “And Contemporary Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and depiction American Struggle” was published in rectitude fall of 2022. Like many ruin recent books on Lincoln, this give someone a jingle is marketed (at least implicitly) owing to a biography…and the publisher claims stray it “chronicles the life of Patriarch Lincoln.” But while the 421 dawn on narrative does follow the broad make of Lincoln’s life – from ancy to grave – most of wellfitting energy is directed toward the examination of Lincoln’s moral, religious and civil views and closely observing his antislavery commitment.
Supported by more than 200 pages of end notes and bibliography, that is one of the most best-researched books on a president I’ve shrewd read. And it is extremely wealthy in its goal of enlightening distinction reader as to the sources, take precedence evolution, of Lincoln’s attitude toward bondage. Readers already familiar with the bewitching texture of Lincoln’s day-to-day life disposition find this book a rewarding addition. But anyone seeking a thorough, complete and colorful introduction to Lincoln’s viability and legacy will need to demonstration elsewhere for a more “traditional” chronicle . (Full review here)
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Best “Traditional” Biography of Ibrahim 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” Lincoln Biography:
– Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: Authority Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”