Scan barcode
markk's review
3.0
With the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth just around the corner, readers are about to be swamped by a veritable deluge of books about our 16th president. Readers hoping to avoid getting swept away by this innundation of Lincoln works would do well to latch onto this book. In this extremely short and accessible work, the Pulitzer-prize winning historian presents an up-to-date encapsulation of Lincoln’s life and times. The presentation of Lincoln’s life is surprisingly balanced; though the Civil War years occupy the majority of the text, due attention is also spent on his early years in Indiana and Illinois.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the book is its freshness. Though the story of Lincoln’s life has been told innumerable times in virtually every medium, the abbreviated scope of McPherson’s work leads him to adopt a broader perspective. While nothing new is revealed about the man, the book nonetheless give a sense of his life that is hard to find in larger accounts of Lincoln’s life. It is this quality which makes McPherson’s biography an ideal starting point for understanding Lincoln’s life, while the useful bibliography at the end will help steer the newly informed reader to the next step towards discovering more about this remarkable man.
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the book is its freshness. Though the story of Lincoln’s life has been told innumerable times in virtually every medium, the abbreviated scope of McPherson’s work leads him to adopt a broader perspective. While nothing new is revealed about the man, the book nonetheless give a sense of his life that is hard to find in larger accounts of Lincoln’s life. It is this quality which makes McPherson’s biography an ideal starting point for understanding Lincoln’s life, while the useful bibliography at the end will help steer the newly informed reader to the next step towards discovering more about this remarkable man.
fiatal's review
4.0
I realized recently that I've accumulated a number (four) of books on Lincoln and I had better read some of them. I started with this one, since it's a short overview of his life. It's exactly what it says on the tin, an admirable distillation of Lincoln's life and major achievements, and I think it will help to set me up for my more serious and much longer books on Lincoln.
More...