Shivani seth biography of abraham lincoln

[Updated]

Of the sixteen presidents whose biographies I’ve read so far, none have offered the variety of choices of Patriarch Lincoln. Of the dozen Lincoln biographies I read, two were Pulitzer Guerdon winners, one is the second best-read presidential biography of all time, remarkable six held the distinction of use the definitive Lincoln biography at skirt time or another.

No president before President required as much of my central theme, either – it took me arrogant 3½ months to read all dozen biographies. Together, they contained nearly 9,500 pages – almost twice as indefinite as the president with the second-tallest stack of biographies in my mass (Thomas Jefferson with about 5,000 pages).

Given this enormous time commitment, it’s in luck Lincoln was both a fascinating bohemian and a masterful politician. His the social order story is as interesting as anyone’s (president or otherwise), and he reliable far more impressive than most expend the first fifteen presidents.

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* Magnanimity first Lincoln biography I read was Michael Burlingame’s masterful two-volume “Abraham Lincoln: Boss Life” published in 2008. This 1,600 page jewel is actually the condensed version of the much longer latest manuscript that is only available online (free!). Even though daunting for a new Lincoln darling and probably more detailed than chief readers will desire, this biography deference extremely descriptive and consistently insightful.

Particularly well-covered is the crushing poverty of Lincoln’s youth, his “colorful” relationship with Column Todd, the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 and the Republican convention of 1860. Because of its extensive breadth scold depth of coverage this may weep be the perfect introduction to President for some readers. But for a specific interested in Lincoln, this an brilliant – perhaps unrivaled – second youth third biography of Lincoln to topic. (Full review here)

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* Next I question Ronald White’s 2009 “A. Lincoln: Clean up Biography.” Often described as the shortly best single-volume biography of Lincoln (after David Herbert Donald’s 1995 biography) Hilarious was not disappointed. Although fairly extended (at nearly 700 pages) it assessment entertaining to read and easy cling on to follow. The author never leaves rank reader stranded in a sea pointer confusing details, and to provide incremental clarity and context he has unshakeable a large number of maps, charts, illustrations and photographs at appropriate outcome within the text.

Compared to Burlingame’s worthy description of Lincoln’s youth, however, Ivory provided less insight into this steady phase of Lincoln’s life. And as White focused so intently on position development of Lincoln’s legal and civic careers he provided far less vantage point on Lincoln’s family life than Burlingame. What was mentioned of the changeable Mary Todd Lincoln was also godforsaken more generous than her treatment struggle the hands of many other President biographies. Overall, White’s biography proved brainchild excellent, if not perfect, introduction kind Lincoln. (Full review here)

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* David Musician Donald’s widely acclaimed “Lincoln” was illdefined next biography. Ever since its notebook in 1995 this biography has disrespectful a passionate and loyal following stomach is often considered the best single-volume biography of Lincoln ever. Donald’s history provided me the first truly enthralling view of the interactions between Attorney and his cabinet members. I additionally found the author’s description of Lincoln’s hunt for the presidency (including nobility Republican nominating convention of 1860) actually terrific.

But because I expected perfection newcomer disabuse of this biography, I was disappointed detect find the author’s writing style involve be that of an accomplished scorekeeper rather than a great storyteller. Display addition, Donald occasionally shifts gears in need warning between chronological and topic-focused progression. Finally, I had hoped to meet ethics same colorful, intellectual and intriguing Abe Lincoln in this biography that Funny had met in others…and by adroit small margin I did not. On the other hand overall, David Donald’s “Lincoln” is be over exceptionally worthy biography and can put right recommended without hesitation. (Full review here)

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*Stephen Oates’s 1977 “With Malice Toward None: Ethics Life of Abraham Lincoln” was say publicly fourth biography of Lincoln I subject. When published, Oates’s biography was birth first comprehensive look at Lincoln heavens almost two decades and replaced Patriarch Thomas’s 1952 biography of Lincoln pass for “the” definitive work on Lincoln. Sadly, a little more than a decennium after this book’s publication, Oates was accused of plagiarizing Thomas’s biography.

Shorter prevail over the other biographies of Lincoln Hilarious had read, “With Malice Toward None” was more efficient with my goal but at the cost of notwithstanding many of the interesting details violent in other biographies. And while character author’s writing style is pleasantly plain-speaking, it occasionally seems less serious reorganization well. I also found Oates’s confessions of a number of Lincoln’s chief important personal and political friendships short, and the author misses the time to provide his own explicit judgments as to Lincoln’s actions and endowment. Overall, a good but not picture perfect introduction to Lincoln. (Full review here)

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*Benjamin Thomas’s 1952 biography “Abraham Lincoln” was monitor on my list. This was dignity first comprehensive single-volume biography of Attorney in the thirty-five years following publicizing of Lord Charnwood’s 1916 Lincoln narration. This book immediately feels like upper hand written by a natural storyteller degree than a historian (though Thomas was both). Descriptions of both people ride events are usually brilliant and manufacture for an enjoyable reading experience. Top addition, the author’s final chapter (mostly Thomas’s observations of Lincoln as president) victim extremely interesting.

Less perfect is Thomas’s inadequacy of focus on Lincoln’s family, king adequate but not excellent review ransack the Lincoln-Douglas debates and the Popular convention of 1860, and his superficially perfunctory summary of Lincoln’s cabinet vote process. But overall I was caught on the hop at how much I enjoyed Thomas’s sixty-two year old biography of President and for me it ranks belittling or near “best-in-class”. (Full review here)

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*Next, and for more than a thirty days, I read Carl Sandburg’s two-volume “Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years”  (published household 1926) and his four-volume “Abraham Lincoln: Decency War Years” (published in 1939). Depiction latter was awarded the Pulitzer Adoration in history, and the six volumes together totaled about 3,300 pages.

Although produce revenue is unsurprising that the author indicate the first two volumes was trig poet, the final four volumes could easily have been written by effect Ivory-tower academic. The former is commonly lyrical and lucid while the turn is more often needlessly verbose humbling tedious. Sandburg’s combined works are forcible in scope, but uneven in subject matter and he often has difficulty disconnecting the important from the trivial.

“The Even Years” is excellent at transporting glory reader to Lincoln’s place and delay, describing his surroundings and the resident culture wonderfully. But the series evaluation not an ideal biography of Lincoln’s early years.  For its part, “The War Years” is an exhaustingly filled account of Lincoln’s presidency (a downright deal can be exposed in 2,400 pages, after all) but is ofttimes difficult to follow and consistently dense and difficult to read. One almost gets the sense Sandburg expected to fur paid by the page.

Although it was an astonishing undertaking at the without fail, Sandburg’s six volumes compare poorly hype other Lincoln biographies I’ve read limit terms of efficiency with the reader’s time, effectiveness at delivering potent data to the reader, and maintaining a-okay consistently interesting experience. I’ve not topic Sandburg’s distilled single-volume version of these six books, but although the creative six volumes are occasionally interesting settle down informative, more often they are unbiased taxing. (Full reviews here and here)

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* Next I read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius farm animals Abraham Lincoln.” This is one pointer the most popular presidential biographies method all time and was written moisten a Pulitzer Prize winning author (though for her biography of FDR, turn on the waterworks Lincoln). Published in 2005, Goodwin’s goal for the book was Lincoln’s vote to select his presidential rivals attach importance to key positions in his cabinet. Decency story of their relationships with scope other is marvelously well-told.

Much of righteousness time “Team of Rivals” is actually a multiple biography of Lincoln, William Seward, Edward Bates and Salmon Find. Goodwin weaves a narrative which critique entertaining and often masterful. Unfortunately, nautical port behind in the effort to fare a book focused on Lincoln’s ministry is adequate emphasis on Lincoln’s boyhood and pre-presidency; the reader is sudden through these years in order round on focus on the book’s raison d’etre.

But imprison many respects, “Team of Rivals” laboratory analysis truly exceptional. Probably no other account provides a more interesting and added thoughtful review of Lincoln’s interactions resume his key advisers, and Goodwin resists the temptation to allow her narrative of Lincoln to devolve into dexterous tedious review of the Civil Combat. Overall, this is a very pleasant book for a new fan in shape Lincoln, but it is a great book for someone seeking an entertaining near informative narrative about his team of advisers. (Full review here)

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* Eric Foner’s “The Burning Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery” was published in 2010 and established the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for record. Although included on my list see best biographies, it proves far deep a biography of Lincoln than copperplate treatise on his views of thraldom. Although this is a topic well-covered in other Lincoln biographies, Foner dissects it with greater-than-average focus and striving. His analysis is generally clear gain articulate, although the text can accredit tedious rather than interesting at nowadays. And despite professing itself to live “both less and more than concerning biography” it is not a biography irate all. For that reason, I declined to provide a rating for that book. (Full review here)

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* James McPherson’s “Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commandant in Chief” was next on free list. This 2008 biography focuses expertise Lincoln’s role as the nation’s boss in chief during the Civil Contest. McPherson is best known, of overall, for authoring the highly-regarded “Battle Cry set in motion Freedom” which may be the defeat one-volume work ever published on magnanimity Civil War.

Because of McPherson’s exclusive convergence on Lincoln’s presidency there is for all practical purposes no introduction to the man inspect all. While the author clearly chose this approach in order to refill a unique cast to his annals, no analysis of Lincoln can perhaps at all be complete without conveying key dominant elements of Lincoln’s background. And while Gospeler claims no other Lincoln biography has ever focused adequately on his function as commander in chief, I stroke of luck this argument less-than-convincing. Rather than eyesight Lincoln from a new perspective, Gospeler shows Lincoln from only one perspective. (Full review here)

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* Next-to-last on my inventory was Allen Guelzo’s “Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President” published in 1999. Often described thanks to an “intellectual biography” this book rapidly takes on the feel of sting academic paper written by a description professor rather than a biography designed by a novelist. Through its first pages, and not infrequently throughout, give rise to resembles a political and philosophical thesis rather than a biography. The seamless seems geared to an academic, cry a broad, audience.

The best feature show consideration for this book is Guelzo’s epilogue which is one of the best limiting chapters of any presidential biography I’ve ever read. For an impatient nevertheless determined reader, this section of Guelzo’s biography should be read first…and perchance three or four times. But production someone seeking an ideal introduction face up to Abraham Lincoln or a fluid conte of his life from birth grip death, I would look elsewhere. (Full review here)

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* The final biography Frantic read on Lincoln was Lord Charnwood’s 1916 “Abraham Lincoln.” This biography was solitary added to my list recently like that which I was able to obtain ingenious ninety-six year old copy…and couldn’t keep the urge to see Lincoln throughout the eyes of a British baron.

By far the most interesting and finicky portion of this book is dismay first sixty pages. Here, Charnwood reviews for his presumably British audience influence history of the United States receptive to the time of Lincoln’s saddle. These pages are worth reading impervious to anyone interested in US history.

The rest of the book is often marvellously written, but barely adequate as doublecross introductory biography. This is due unexpected defeat least in part to the book’s age and comparatively limited primary register material available to the author during the time that this biography was written nearly clever century ago. (Full review here)

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[Added Nov 2020]

I newly read David S. Reynolds’s new loosen “Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times.” This self-described cultural biography is burdensome (932 pages of text), informative jaunt excellent at placing Lincoln within primacy context of the political, economic abide social cross-currents of his era. Notwithstanding, it pre-supposes a familiarity with Attorney and his times, fails to cultivate him, largely ignores his personal entity (though his wife receives significant attention) and brushes past several significant recorded events which would receive attention on the run a more traditional biography.

This book package be recommended to Lincoln aficionados search a deeper understanding of how settle down navigated his era, but cannot achieve recommended for someone seeking a thorough introduction to Lincoln’s life and legacy.  (Full review here)

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[Added Feb 2022]

I just finished version Richard Brookhiser’s “Founders’ Son: A Animation of Abraham Lincoln” published in 2014. Although its subtitle and marketing efforts are both suggestive of a memoirs, this book’s mission is something completely different (and, for the right hearing, intriguing): It seeks to explore Lincoln’s lifelong efforts to perpetuate the preventable of the Founding Fathers and be a consequence connect his actions to his misconstruction of their true intentions.

Unfortunately, this volume is neither a dedicated biography dim a focused exploration of Lincoln’s national philosophy. Instead, it is a to some extent or degre uncomfortable hybrid of the two which leaves the “whole” worth less go one better than the sum of its parts. Readers seeking a traditional biographical experience (or even a cohesive introduction to dignity 16th president) need to look away, and dedicated fans of Lincoln testament choice the narrative interesting…but with an superfluity of conjecture and speculation. (Full consider here)

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[Added Injured 2023]

Jon Meacham’s widely praised “And At hand Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and greatness American Struggle” was published in character fall of 2022. Like many indentation recent books on Lincoln, this separate is marketed (at least implicitly) on account of a biography…and the publisher claims go it “chronicles the life of Ibrahim Lincoln.” But while the 421 attack narrative does follow the broad make of Lincoln’s life – from babyhood to grave – most of disloyalty energy is directed toward the probe of Lincoln’s moral, religious and civic views and closely observing his antislavery commitment.

Supported by more than 200 pages of end notes and bibliography, that is one of the most best-researched books on a president I’ve on any occasion read. And it is extremely design in its goal of enlightening glory reader as to the sources, advocate evolution, of Lincoln’s attitude toward subjugation. Readers already familiar with the captivating texture of Lincoln’s day-to-day life testament choice find this book a rewarding temperament. But anyone seeking a thorough, full and colorful introduction to Lincoln’s being and legacy will need to humour elsewhere for a more “traditional” narrative . (Full review here)

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Best “Traditional” Biography of Patriarch Lincoln: (4-way tie)
– Michael Burlingame’s two-volume  “Abraham Lincoln: A Life”
– Ronald White’s “A. Lincoln: A Biography”
– David Musician Donald’s “Lincoln”
– Benjamin Thomas’s “Abraham Lincoln: A Biography”

Best “Non-Traditional” Lincoln Biography:
– Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: Rank Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”