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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
What really interested me about this book: how high and low public/political opinion of Lincoln was in his own lifetime; how even those who thought he was a little dense or misguided granted that he was a kind, honest man; the touching physicality people recorded, the kinds of things you don't think about people doing long, long ago: laying down full-length on his stomach, on the floor, to read a book--putting his feet up on his desk--going for walks with his young sons, holding their hands (SO many mentions of him holding his sons' hands) -- visiting an injured member of his cabinet who couldn't move his head, and laying down next to him on the bed so he could have a face-to-face talk. He had his faults, didn't do everything right, was a man limited by his time's limited perspective...but, all in all, was a very wise and good person.
Abraham Lincoln. It's a name that is recognisable to a lot of individuals throughout the world however, curiously, I didn't know much about him apart from the fact that he was the great emancipator. Sometime in 2012 my curiosity piqued and I started researching biographies. Being Australian, by knowledge of American history is almost non-existent, and I was eager to learn. Lincoln just seemed like a natural choice, I couldn't tell you why I was drawn to him but I didn't regret my decision.
I landed on the one volume tome by David Herbert Donald and was extremely impressed with the results. Donald does a remarkable job at recounting a remarkable life and condensing it down. He takes us on a journey through the whole of Lincoln's life, from birth to death, and concentrates almost solely on Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln was not perfect, he was flamed just like we all are, but he was an absolute man of his time. He was presented with some of the greatest challenges that America has ever seen and he stood tall and did his best to face them with steely determination.
Lincoln was an impressive specimen. Not only was he a strong force of determination, but he was also quietly spoken and humorous. He would often tell hilarious anecdotes to lighten the mood and enjoyed a god joke and a funny song. The thing that surprised me most was just how much he was disliked at the time, especially by his own party. Members of his own cabinet thought that emancipation was a bad idea and tried to convince him of the same. Many people thought that he was crazy and he had several death threats made against him, so much so that he ordered his secretaries to filter them out of his mail and to not show or tell him about them.
Despite all the hardships he faced, Lincoln stood tall (literally, he was 6'3 in a time when people were 5'10), and took them all head on. He freed the slaves, he saw the end of the civil war, and he fought disruption inside his own party and was re-elected. Even though I knew how this was all going to end, I was still devastated when it happened. Lincoln had so much more good to do, but unfortunately he never got the chance. While shot at 10 at night he didn't die until 7:22 the next morning, a fact which I didn't before know.
All these facts would not have been taken in so well if it had not been for the excellent writing of David Herbert Donald, whose love for Lincoln really shines through but does not affect his ability to write objectively about him. He shows his flaws and failures as well as his triumphs. He was also able to make this as exciting and interesting as any fiction novel, which is impressive because, as I mentioned earlier, its ending is already known by many people throughout the world.
This was a fantastic book and really taught me a lot about Abraham Lincoln and a brief look at the other events that were happening at the time. If you want to learn more about Lincoln, or are just a little curious, give it a read. All the information you could want and all in one volume.
I landed on the one volume tome by David Herbert Donald and was extremely impressed with the results. Donald does a remarkable job at recounting a remarkable life and condensing it down. He takes us on a journey through the whole of Lincoln's life, from birth to death, and concentrates almost solely on Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln was not perfect, he was flamed just like we all are, but he was an absolute man of his time. He was presented with some of the greatest challenges that America has ever seen and he stood tall and did his best to face them with steely determination.
Lincoln was an impressive specimen. Not only was he a strong force of determination, but he was also quietly spoken and humorous. He would often tell hilarious anecdotes to lighten the mood and enjoyed a god joke and a funny song. The thing that surprised me most was just how much he was disliked at the time, especially by his own party. Members of his own cabinet thought that emancipation was a bad idea and tried to convince him of the same. Many people thought that he was crazy and he had several death threats made against him, so much so that he ordered his secretaries to filter them out of his mail and to not show or tell him about them.
Despite all the hardships he faced, Lincoln stood tall (literally, he was 6'3 in a time when people were 5'10), and took them all head on. He freed the slaves, he saw the end of the civil war, and he fought disruption inside his own party and was re-elected. Even though I knew how this was all going to end, I was still devastated when it happened. Lincoln had so much more good to do, but unfortunately he never got the chance. While shot at 10 at night he didn't die until 7:22 the next morning, a fact which I didn't before know.
All these facts would not have been taken in so well if it had not been for the excellent writing of David Herbert Donald, whose love for Lincoln really shines through but does not affect his ability to write objectively about him. He shows his flaws and failures as well as his triumphs. He was also able to make this as exciting and interesting as any fiction novel, which is impressive because, as I mentioned earlier, its ending is already known by many people throughout the world.
This was a fantastic book and really taught me a lot about Abraham Lincoln and a brief look at the other events that were happening at the time. If you want to learn more about Lincoln, or are just a little curious, give it a read. All the information you could want and all in one volume.
Three and a half stars, really. I was impressed with how the author dealt with Lincoln's life pre-presidency. It was interesting and very readable, with good pacing and style.
However, the book really got bogged down once it hit the presidency. The good pacing disappeared, it got bogged down in he said/she said nonsense, and it actually lost sight of Lincoln himself in favor of discussing issues of the war and of politics. This second half of the book compared poorly to [b:Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln|2199|Team of Rivals The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln|Doris Kearns Goodwin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347278868l/2199._SY75_.jpg|2861004], and it was much harder to get through than the first half.
Still, a pretty straightforward biography, and one that dealt well with Lincoln's early life.
However, the book really got bogged down once it hit the presidency. The good pacing disappeared, it got bogged down in he said/she said nonsense, and it actually lost sight of Lincoln himself in favor of discussing issues of the war and of politics. This second half of the book compared poorly to [b:Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln|2199|Team of Rivals The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln|Doris Kearns Goodwin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347278868l/2199._SY75_.jpg|2861004], and it was much harder to get through than the first half.
Still, a pretty straightforward biography, and one that dealt well with Lincoln's early life.
FINALLY. This focused a little too tightly on Lincoln and ignored some of the larger historical context I would have been interested in (though that probably isn't a terribly legitimate criticism of a biography). The other main thing I noticed is that the book describes Mary Todd Lincoln like an absolute disaster. I'm not sure if it was the book, an artifact of how the primary sources (and the era's sexisms) describe her, or if she was actually a wreck, but I did not feel like she got a fair shake.
The most focused, comprehensive, and enjoyable tome about our greatest president.
You know you have read too many Lincoln biographies when even the most trivial of facts included in a comprehensive biography is not new information. That was a personal hurdle I had to overcome before being able to objectively review this book.
Donald composed a tight yet expansive narrative that clearly aligns with his outlined thesis and supporting points in the introduction. Donald states that he intends to stick closely to the events that Lincoln himself would have been personally aware of and involved in. I appreciated this approach after reading far too many Lincoln biographies that stray widely into military battle history. Information about the battles found its way into Donald's narrative but in a fashion that fit with Donald's stated objective.
I highly recommend this biography as the one to read about Lincoln. Donald's historiography stands heads and shoulders - like his subject - above the rest.
Donald composed a tight yet expansive narrative that clearly aligns with his outlined thesis and supporting points in the introduction. Donald states that he intends to stick closely to the events that Lincoln himself would have been personally aware of and involved in. I appreciated this approach after reading far too many Lincoln biographies that stray widely into military battle history. Information about the battles found its way into Donald's narrative but in a fashion that fit with Donald's stated objective.
I highly recommend this biography as the one to read about Lincoln. Donald's historiography stands heads and shoulders - like his subject - above the rest.
On the cover of my paperback edition to this book, Geoffrey C. Ward, one of the writers behind the great documentary "Ken Burns' The Civil War," is quoted as saying that his book is "richly researched." That is a a bit of an understatement. Mr. Donald, who seems to specialize in mid-19th century American history, has brought nearly every available bit of information on Lincoln to bear in order to illuminate one of the most complicated historical figures. One of the greatest strengths of this biography, as explained in the introduction, is "a biography written from Lincoln's point of view." Thus, events that may have occurred earlier in the timeline don't get mentioned until Lincoln actually knew about it. This is great as it keeps the focus solely on Lincoln and giving the reader the chance to see Lincoln's remarkable growth as a person throughout his entire life. But it is also its greatest weakness as it isolates Lincoln from the times he lived in rather than a person of those times. This is especially frustrating during his pre-presidential years as key events in American history that would lead to the Civil War and Lincoln's presidency are given little, if no, acknowledgement. Not only that, but when Lincoln dies, the story ends. No epilogue on the funeral train or Lincoln's legacy. A little more credence to historical events and more analysis of Lincoln's historical significance would have been nice . In the end, this is a great study of the man and what made him tick and led to his major decisions as president. This a great place to start for anyone interested in Lincoln.
Lincoln was one of the Presidents I was most looking forward to reading about. This biography wasn't necessarily a page-turner, but it was super informative and seemingly stuck to the important points. I didn't find the book bogged down by any unnecessary information. I think Donald did a great job focusing on the President. By that I mean, it didn't get bogged down into specific details of the Civil War - but kept it within the focus of Lincoln & the decisions he made throughout that time. It was almost as if we were observing things alongside him.
This time in American history was obviously one of our darkest, so I was interested to learn more about politics at the time and how things played out - but pre, during and post Civil War.
There's a lot I didn't know about Abe & his presidency - a lot I think most people don't know. I like him. He felt more human to me than some of the other presidents. I'm sad his life was cut short. I would have enjoyed seeing how he ran his second term.
Not sure I can claim to be a big fan of Mary Todd Lincoln, though she would've made a great addition to a Real Housewives season.
This time in American history was obviously one of our darkest, so I was interested to learn more about politics at the time and how things played out - but pre, during and post Civil War.
There's a lot I didn't know about Abe & his presidency - a lot I think most people don't know. I like him. He felt more human to me than some of the other presidents. I'm sad his life was cut short. I would have enjoyed seeing how he ran his second term.
Not sure I can claim to be a big fan of Mary Todd Lincoln, though she would've made a great addition to a Real Housewives season.
The book is chock full of interesting information, facts and anecdotes about the man most people consider to be one of the greatest presidents our country has ever had. What this book lacked for me was an attention grabbing narrative that was present in both biographies I read from Ron Chernow.
Despite this perceived lack of a story, I was grateful for Donald's clearly well researched facts that allowed me to humanize one more titan of the ages in my mind. My favorite thing that I learned was that President Lincoln was a Washington newcomer, outsider and was perceived as being quite "hokey". Don't know why this is a surprise, we was from Illinois by way of Indiana and Kentucky.
I also would have appreciated an epilogue about post-Lincoln reconstruction or maybe a follow up about Mary Todd. His death ended the book quite abruptly.
Overall, a good read for anyone interested in Presidential history.
Despite this perceived lack of a story, I was grateful for Donald's clearly well researched facts that allowed me to humanize one more titan of the ages in my mind. My favorite thing that I learned was that President Lincoln was a Washington newcomer, outsider and was perceived as being quite "hokey". Don't know why this is a surprise, we was from Illinois by way of Indiana and Kentucky.
I also would have appreciated an epilogue about post-Lincoln reconstruction or maybe a follow up about Mary Todd. His death ended the book quite abruptly.
Overall, a good read for anyone interested in Presidential history.