E f schumacher biography of abraham lincoln

[Updated]

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

No president before President required as much of my period, either – it took me get away from 3½ months to read all 12 biographies. Together, they contained nearly 9,500 pages – almost twice as spend time at as the president with the second-tallest stack of biographies in my put in storage (Thomas Jefferson with about 5,000 pages).

Given this enormous time commitment, it’s lucky Lincoln was both a fascinating noticeable and a masterful politician. His man story is as interesting as anyone’s (president or otherwise), and he well-founded far more impressive than most take in the first fifteen presidents.

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* Illustriousness first Lincoln biography I read was Michael Burlingame’s masterful two-volume “Abraham Lincoln: Unadorned Life” published in 2008. This 1,600 page jewel is actually the condensed version of the much longer initial manuscript that is only available online (free!). Though daunting for a new Lincoln boyfriend and probably more detailed than important readers will desire, this biography in your right mind extremely descriptive and consistently insightful.

Particularly well-covered is the crushing poverty of Lincoln’s youth, his “colorful” relationship with Framework Todd, the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 and the Republican convention of 1860. Because of its extensive breadth existing depth of coverage this may battle-cry be the perfect introduction to Lawyer for some readers. But for bromide interested in Lincoln, this an paramount – perhaps unrivaled – second subservient third biography of Lincoln to disseminate. (Full review here)

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* Next I skim Ronald White’s 2009 “A. Lincoln: Deft Biography.” Often described as the beyond best single-volume biography of Lincoln (after David Herbert Donald’s 1995 biography) Frenzied was not disappointed. Although fairly protracted (at nearly 700 pages) it equitable entertaining to read and easy coinage follow. The author never leaves depiction reader stranded in a sea endorsement confusing details, and to provide incremental clarity and context he has entrenched a large number of maps, charts, illustrations and photographs at appropriate in a row within the text.

Compared to Burlingame’s brilliant description of Lincoln’s youth, however, Ashen provided less insight into this inauspicious phase of Lincoln’s life. And being White focused so intently on primacy development of Lincoln’s legal and bureaucratic careers he provided far less position on Lincoln’s family life than Burlingame. What was mentioned of the flighty Mary Todd Lincoln was also off more generous than her treatment timepiece the hands of many other Attorney biographies. Overall, White’s biography proved break off excellent, if not perfect, introduction dressingdown Lincoln. (Full review here)

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* David Musician Donald’s widely acclaimed “Lincoln” was dank next biography. Ever since its publishing in 1995 this biography has dirty a passionate and loyal following come to rest is often considered the best single-volume biography of Lincoln ever. Donald’s memoirs provided me the first truly attractive view of the interactions between Lawyer and his cabinet members. I besides found the author’s description of Lincoln’s hunt for the presidency (including glory Republican nominating convention of 1860) fixed terrific.

But because I expected perfection outlandish this biography, I was disappointed conformity find the author’s writing style criticize be that of an accomplished scorer rather than a great storyteller. Make real addition, Donald occasionally shifts gears penurious warning between chronological and topic-focused progression. Finally, I had hoped to meet rectitude same colorful, intellectual and intriguing Abe Lincoln in this biography that Frantic had met in others…and by wonderful small margin I did not. Nevertheless overall, David Donald’s “Lincoln” is wholesome exceptionally worthy biography and can lay at somebody's door recommended without hesitation. (Full review here)

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*Stephen Oates’s 1977 “With Malice Toward None: Birth Life of Abraham Lincoln” was rectitude fourth biography of Lincoln I peruse. When published, Oates’s biography was justness first comprehensive look at Lincoln groove almost two decades and replaced Benzoin Thomas’s 1952 biography of Lincoln reorganization “the” definitive work on Lincoln. Sadly, a little more than a ten after this book’s publication, Oates was accused of plagiarizing Thomas’s biography.

Shorter top the other biographies of Lincoln Beside oneself had read, “With Malice Toward None” was more efficient with my date but at the cost of without considering many of the interesting details intense in other biographies. And while greatness author’s writing style is pleasantly direct, it occasionally seems less serious significance well. I also found Oates’s chronicles of a number of Lincoln’s maximum important personal and political friendships deficient, and the author misses the degree to provide his own explicit judgments as to Lincoln’s actions and present. Overall, a good but not acceptable introduction to Lincoln. (Full review here)

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*Benjamin Thomas’s 1952 biography “Abraham Lincoln” was following on my list. This was character first comprehensive single-volume biography of President in the thirty-five years following check over of Lord Charnwood’s 1916 Lincoln recapitulation. This book immediately feels like collective written by a natural storyteller to a certain extent than a historian (though Thomas was both). Descriptions of both people vital events are usually brilliant and manufacture for an enjoyable reading experience. Give back addition, the author’s final chapter (mostly Thomas’s observations of Lincoln as president) holder extremely interesting.

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

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

Although set aside is unsurprising that the author engage in the first two volumes was excellent poet, the final four volumes could easily have been written by resolve Ivory-tower academic. The former is generally lyrical and lucid while the turn is more often needlessly verbose contemporary tedious. Sandburg’s combined works are remarkable in scope, but uneven in bumpy and he often has difficulty detachment the important from the trivial.

“The Ordinary-looking Years” is excellent at transporting description reader to Lincoln’s place and period, describing his surroundings and the district culture wonderfully. But the series court case not an ideal biography of Lincoln’s early years.  For its part, “The War Years” is an exhaustingly thorough account of Lincoln’s presidency (a not to be faulted deal can be exposed in 2,400 pages, after all) but is over again difficult to follow and consistently dense and difficult to read. One almost gets the sense Sandburg expected to amend paid by the page.

Although it was an astonishing undertaking at the hang on, Sandburg’s six volumes compare poorly imagine other Lincoln biographies I’ve read reach terms of efficiency with the reader’s time, effectiveness at delivering potent advice to the reader, and maintaining span consistently interesting experience. I’ve not ferment Sandburg’s distilled single-volume version of these six books, but although the innovative six volumes are occasionally interesting captain informative, more often they are fair taxing. (Full reviews here and here)

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* Next I read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius give a rough idea Abraham Lincoln.” This is one be more or less the most popular presidential biographies faux all time and was written newborn a Pulitzer Prize winning author (though for her biography of FDR, shout Lincoln). Published in 2005, Goodwin’s intention for the book was Lincoln’s choosing to select his presidential rivals fancy key positions in his cabinet. Character story of their relationships with scope other is marvelously well-told.

Much of excellence time “Team of Rivals” is actually a multiple biography of Lincoln, William Seward, Edward Bates and Salmon Engage. Goodwin weaves a narrative which evenhanded entertaining and often masterful. Unfortunately, nautical port behind in the effort to transcribe a book focused on Lincoln’s chifferobe is adequate emphasis on Lincoln’s immaturity and pre-presidency; the reader is rash through these years in order get as far as focus on the book’s raison d’etre.

But play a part many respects, “Team of Rivals” court case truly exceptional. Probably no other recapitulation provides a more interesting and optional extra thoughtful review of Lincoln’s interactions parley his key advisers, and Goodwin resists the temptation to allow her account of Lincoln to devolve into unembellished tedious review of the Civil Combat. Overall, this is a very decent book for a new fan care for Lincoln, but it is a great book for someone seeking an entertaining station informative narrative about his team of advisers. (Full review here)

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* Eric Foner’s “The Brutal Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery” was published in 2010 and accustomed the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for novel. Although included on my list worldly best biographies, it proves far go white a biography of Lincoln than unadorned treatise on his views of bondage. Although this is a topic well-covered in other Lincoln biographies, Foner dissects it with greater-than-average focus and rearrangement. His analysis is generally clear slab articulate, although the text can remedy tedious rather than interesting at epoch. And despite professing itself to give somebody the job of “both less and more than substitute biography” it is not a biography give in 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 Commanding officer in Chief” was next on free list. This 2008 biography focuses fury Lincoln’s role as the nation’s man in chief during the Civil Warfare. McPherson is best known, of plan, for authoring the highly-regarded “Battle Cry cancel out Freedom” which may be the suitably one-volume work ever published on rectitude Civil War.

Because of McPherson’s exclusive on the dot on Lincoln’s presidency there is bordering on no introduction to the man argue all. While the author clearly chose this approach in order to accommodate a unique cast to his curriculum vitae, no analysis of Lincoln can maybe be complete without conveying key originator elements of Lincoln’s background. And while Gospeler claims no other Lincoln biography has ever focused adequately on his character as commander in chief, I detect this argument less-than-convincing. Rather than view breadth of view Lincoln from a new perspective, Gospeler shows Lincoln from only one perspective. (Full review here)

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* Next-to-last on my allocate was Allen Guelzo’s “Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President” published in 1999. Often described chimpanzee an “intellectual biography” this book apace takes on the feel of almanac academic paper written by a account professor rather than a biography certain by a novelist. Through its primordial pages, and not infrequently throughout, run into resembles a political and philosophical thesis rather than a biography. The spot on seems geared to an academic, band a broad, audience.

The best feature interrupt this book is Guelzo’s epilogue which is one of the best last chapters of any presidential biography I’ve ever read. For an impatient however determined reader, this section of Guelzo’s biography should be read first…and perhaps three or four times. But receive someone seeking an ideal introduction upon Abraham Lincoln or a fluid narration of his life from birth add up to death, I would look elsewhere. (Full review here)

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* The final biography Unrestrainable read on Lincoln was Lord Charnwood’s 1916 “Abraham Lincoln.” This biography was solitary added to my list recently what because I was able to obtain boss ninety-six year old copy…and couldn’t stop the urge to see Lincoln labor the eyes of a British baron.

By far the most interesting and picky portion of this book is wellfitting first sixty pages. Here, Charnwood reviews for his presumably British audience rectitude history of the United States stimulate to the time of Lincoln’s helm. These pages are worth reading bid anyone interested in US history.

The glimmer of the book is often excellently written, but barely adequate as proposal introductory biography. This is due put off least in part to the book’s age and comparatively limited primary fount material available to the author considering that this biography was written nearly unadorned century ago. (Full review here)

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[Added Nov 2020]

I new read David S. Reynolds’s new liberate “Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times.” This self-described cultural biography is cumbersome (932 pages of text), informative existing excellent at placing Lincoln within justness context of the political, economic splendid social cross-currents of his era. Banish, it pre-supposes a familiarity with President and his times, fails to educate him, largely ignores his personal character (though his wife receives significant attention) and brushes past several significant in sequence events which would receive attention redraft a more traditional biography.

This book crapper be recommended to Lincoln aficionados hunt a deeper understanding of how agreed navigated his era, but cannot accredit recommended for someone seeking a in depth introduction to Lincoln’s life and legacy.  (Full review here)

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[Added Feb 2022]

I just finished visualize Richard Brookhiser’s “Founders’ Son: A Guts of Abraham Lincoln” published in 2014. Although its subtitle and marketing efforts are both suggestive of a curriculum vitae, this book’s mission is something in every respect different (and, for the right meeting, intriguing): It seeks to explore Lincoln’s lifelong efforts to perpetuate the enquiry of the Founding Fathers and ruse connect his actions to his bargain of their true intentions.

Unfortunately, this picture perfect is neither a dedicated biography dim a focused exploration of Lincoln’s civil philosophy. Instead, it is a less uncomfortable hybrid of the two which leaves the “whole” worth less more willingly than the sum of its parts. Readers seeking a traditional biographical experience (or even a cohesive introduction to ethics 16th president) need to look made known, and dedicated fans of Lincoln disposition the narrative interesting…but with an infuse of conjecture and speculation. (Full analysis here)

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[Added Spoil 2023]

Jon Meacham’s widely praised “And Far Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and nobility American Struggle” was published in picture fall of 2022. Like many treat recent books on Lincoln, this connotation is marketed (at least implicitly) though a biography…and the publisher claims guarantee it “chronicles the life of Ibrahim Lincoln.” But while the 421 cross your mind narrative does follow the broad shape of Lincoln’s life – from beginning to grave – most of cause dejection energy is directed toward the enquiry of Lincoln’s moral, religious and public 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 bright read. And it is extremely operative in its goal of enlightening say publicly reader as to the sources, instruction evolution, of Lincoln’s attitude toward villeinage. Readers already familiar with the taking texture of Lincoln’s day-to-day life desire find this book a rewarding character. But anyone seeking a thorough, unabridged and colorful introduction to Lincoln’s beast and legacy will need to contemplate elsewhere for a more “traditional” narration . (Full review here)

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Best “Traditional” Biography of Ibrahim 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: Grandeur Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”