A review by skitch41
Lincoln by David Herbert Donald

4.0

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.