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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
FIRST LINE REVIEW: "Abraham Lincoln was not interested in his ancestry." Nor was I. Get to the good stuff! Unfortunately, it took more than half the book (as is often the case with these presidential biographies) before they get into the White House. Regardless, this was still a richly detailed (sometimes too much) march through the trials and tribs of this pretty remarkable man. Read during a time when our country is again lead by an inexperienced politician, the singular telling difference was the Abe was "honest." And that made all the difference!
I violated my "travel is for re-reading" rule with this book for four weeks in a row, and it took me quite a while to get through. That being said, it is a very complete look at Lincoln's life, and the author avoids writing an overly positive book about such an idolized figure.
Instead he very clearly shows how Lincoln wasn't even considered to be a very good president during most of his first term, and rarely consulted his cabinet (I'm curious to someday read [b:Team of Rivals|2199|Team of Rivals The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln|Doris Kearns Goodwin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347278868s/2199.jpg|2861004] and see what it says regarding this).
Perhaps the bravest choice of this book was to end with Lincoln's death. Most biographers are tempted to eulogize and reflect on the subject's place in history, but Donald simply closes the book without falling to that temptation. I think the book is better for it- Lincoln's place in history speaks for itself.
Instead he very clearly shows how Lincoln wasn't even considered to be a very good president during most of his first term, and rarely consulted his cabinet (I'm curious to someday read [b:Team of Rivals|2199|Team of Rivals The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln|Doris Kearns Goodwin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347278868s/2199.jpg|2861004] and see what it says regarding this).
Perhaps the bravest choice of this book was to end with Lincoln's death. Most biographers are tempted to eulogize and reflect on the subject's place in history, but Donald simply closes the book without falling to that temptation. I think the book is better for it- Lincoln's place in history speaks for itself.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Extensive and in-depth history of the president. The length makes it a bit of a challenge, but worth it for the insight it offers.
While it was overly detailed and a slow read. It just demonstrates how great Lincoln was with all he had to endure from childhood until his unfortunate demise. A TRULY GREAT PRESIDENT!
I didn't really know very much about Lincoln sans the common knowledge before reading this book. It was enjoyable because Donald's tone is closer to a novel than a life story. The book actually comes across as a format for reading aloud and sharing in oral tradition.
Donald is definitely a Lincoln fan, which is fine, but sometimes it feels like he's trying to dump all of the bad stuff about Lincoln he knows into the pages just so that his readers won't know he really respects the man. Other than that, I had no issues with it (except that it was assigned reading for a class, so that's never as much fun). It's really good writing from a respected historian, and it gives a comprehensive view of our 16th president, and actually shows that he had a life beyond dealing with the Civil War, which isn't something we hear a whole lot about. For Abraham Lincoln fans, I think it's a very engaging, rewarding read.
Really excellent, extremely readable biography. Focused on Lincoln and political and wartime events as he would have perceived them, so you're not overwhelmed with too much other information. My only nitpick is that like many other presidential biographies I've read, it abruptly ends with the subject's death. I'd love an epilogue showing evaluations of the subject's life after their death, both from contemporaries and historians. Otherwise, this was very well written biography with the right balance of personal focus and broader context. One of my favorites of the presidents so far.