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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Can I give six stars? What a fantastic read. Meacham goes to great lengths to show the greatness of Abraham Lincoln along with his flaws and his humanity. In the end he makes clear that Lincoln's decision to free the slaves was a moral one about doing what was right, principles we lack in so many ways in our government today. Yet the same man advocated resettling freed slaves out of America and spoke of the white race being superior. Even with these flaws, he pressed forward on ending a practice he saw as immoral. Meacham quotes W.E.B Du Bois who wrote: "I love (Lincoln) not because he was perfect but because he was not and yet triumphed." Meacham writes: "Lincoln's life shows us that progress can be made by fallible and fallen presidents and peoples -- which, in a fallible and fallen world, should give us hope." In telling Lincoln's journey from childhood in Kentucky and Illinois to the end of the Civil War, Meacham writes in a clear and detailed way that is easy to read and full of relevant information and interesting anecdotes. It is an excellent book. I flew through it, and I recommend it with a full heart.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
This is the fourth biography I've read about Abraham Lincoln, and I still can't get enough. It's tough to meet or exceed Carl Sandburg's standards, but Meacham is right there. I will read every book Meacham writes. This book reaffirms Lincoln's greatness and Meacham's talent for research and storytelling.
I appreciate Meacham's injection of his faith in the storytelling and the incorporation of elements of Lincoln's faith, which was evolving and complicated. Lincoln's and America's history is complicated, and there are no saints. Lincoln was a politician well before he was a martyr, and as a politician, he articulated feelings about America's blacks that we would properly ostracize any individual for articulating today. If Lincoln believed what he said, or if he was playing politics at the time, we'll never know, but he would have unlikely been America's emancipator if he didn't play the game.
I personally believe God used Lincoln and, over time, opened his eyes, heart, mind, and soul to the revelation inherent in scripture, and the US Constitution, and that is that all men are created equal and are children of the Father.
I appreciate Meacham's injection of his faith in the storytelling and the incorporation of elements of Lincoln's faith, which was evolving and complicated. Lincoln's and America's history is complicated, and there are no saints. Lincoln was a politician well before he was a martyr, and as a politician, he articulated feelings about America's blacks that we would properly ostracize any individual for articulating today. If Lincoln believed what he said, or if he was playing politics at the time, we'll never know, but he would have unlikely been America's emancipator if he didn't play the game.
I personally believe God used Lincoln and, over time, opened his eyes, heart, mind, and soul to the revelation inherent in scripture, and the US Constitution, and that is that all men are created equal and are children of the Father.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
A wonderful biography that has much to offer for today’s political problems.
I would give this more a 3.5 but I always error on the side of rounding up. It was a little too dry for me but I did listen to this on Audible and I think it may have been better to physically read it because there is SO MUCH INFORMATION in this book and it’s easy to trail off when trying to listen. I loved this honest portrayal of Lincoln and showing both his faults and incredible moral compass that made him never really falter from doing the right thing. I enjoyed hearing about his relationships with prominent people, his thought process upon deciding the best way to emancipate enslaved people while trying to hold a country together. It’s really crazy to think he made it happen. Lots of close calls, but the miracle was possible and he accomplished it. I just would have loved to see him carry out his 2nd term because I truly believe we’d be living in a better America had he lived to finish his term.
medium-paced
This book is detailed in a way that makes the people written about come alive yet does not bog down the story.