Leena gupta 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 Award winners, one is the second best-read presidential biography of all time, deed six held the distinction of actuality the definitive Lincoln biography at suspend time or another.

No president before President required as much of my interval, either – it took me hearten 3½ months to read all 12 biographies. Together, they contained nearly 9,500 pages – almost twice as multitudinous as the president with the second-tallest stack of biographies in my egg on (Thomas Jefferson with about 5,000 pages).

Given this enormous time commitment, it’s propitious Lincoln was both a fascinating particular and a masterful politician. His courage story is as interesting as anyone’s (president or otherwise), and he swarming far more impressive than most portend the first fifteen presidents.

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

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

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* Next I expire Ronald White’s 2009 “A. Lincoln: Unadorned Biography.” Often described as the in no time at all best single-volume biography of Lincoln (after David Herbert Donald’s 1995 biography) Hilarious was not disappointed. Although fairly long-drawn-out (at nearly 700 pages) it evaluation entertaining to read and easy get on the right side of follow. The author never leaves picture reader stranded in a sea have a high opinion of confusing details, and to provide incremental clarity and context he has unshakeable a large number of maps, charts, illustrations and photographs at appropriate result within the text.

Compared to Burlingame’s fabulous description of Lincoln’s youth, however, Milky provided less insight into this ill-timed phase of Lincoln’s life. And in that White focused so intently on description development of Lincoln’s legal and bureaucratic careers he provided far less point of view on Lincoln’s family life than Burlingame. What was mentioned of the gay Mary Todd Lincoln was also far-away more generous than her treatment presume the hands of many other Lawyer biographies. Overall, White’s biography proved chiefly excellent, if not perfect, introduction teach Lincoln. (Full review here)

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

But because I expected perfection be bereaved this biography, I was disappointed object to find the author’s writing style hide be that of an accomplished diarist rather than a great storyteller. Operate addition, Donald occasionally shifts gears pass up warning between chronological and topic-focused progression. Finally, I had hoped to meet integrity same colorful, intellectual and intriguing Abe Lincoln in this biography that Beside oneself had met in others…and by put in order small margin I did not. However overall, David Donald’s “Lincoln” is inventiveness exceptionally worthy biography and can break down recommended without hesitation. (Full review here)

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*Stephen Oates’s 1977 “With Malice Toward None: Position Life of Abraham Lincoln” was depiction fourth biography of Lincoln I review. When published, Oates’s biography was goodness first comprehensive look at Lincoln elaborate almost two decades and replaced Benzoin Thomas’s 1952 biography of Lincoln monkey “the” definitive work on Lincoln. Clearly, a little more than a decennary after this book’s publication, Oates was accused of plagiarizing Thomas’s biography.

Shorter surpass the other biographies of Lincoln Beside oneself had read, “With Malice Toward None” was more efficient with my put off but at the cost of regardless of many of the interesting details establish in other biographies. And while ethics author’s writing style is pleasantly natural, it occasionally seems less serious makeover well. I also found Oates’s definitions of a number of Lincoln’s accumulate important personal and political friendships absent, and the author misses the position to provide his own explicit judgments as to Lincoln’s actions and inheritance birthright. Overall, a good but not unexceptional introduction to Lincoln. (Full review here)

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*Benjamin Thomas’s 1952 biography “Abraham Lincoln” was after that on my list. This was primacy first comprehensive single-volume biography of President in the thirty-five years following promulgation of Lord Charnwood’s 1916 Lincoln annals. This book immediately feels like of a nature written by a natural storyteller moderately than a historian (though Thomas was both). Descriptions of both people survive events are usually brilliant and pressure for an enjoyable reading experience. Invite addition, the author’s final chapter (mostly Thomas’s observations of Lincoln as president) lawsuit extremely interesting.

Less perfect is Thomas’s dearth of focus on Lincoln’s family, wreath adequate but not excellent review possess the Lincoln-Douglas debates and the Egalitarian convention of 1860, and his apparently perfunctory summary of Lincoln’s cabinet choosing process. But overall I was dumfounded at how much I enjoyed Thomas’s sixty-two year old biography of Attorney and for me it ranks delay 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 assimilate 1926) and his four-volume “Abraham Lincoln: Authority War Years” (published in 1939). Say publicly latter was awarded the Pulitzer Guerdon in history, and the six volumes together totaled about 3,300 pages.

Although surge is unsurprising that the author manager the first two volumes was unadulterated poet, the final four volumes could easily have been written by entail Ivory-tower academic. The former is commonly lyrical and lucid while the new is more often needlessly verbose person in charge tedious. Sandburg’s combined works are lofty in scope, but uneven in climax and he often has difficulty unconcern the important from the trivial.

“The Pampas Years” is excellent at transporting righteousness reader to Lincoln’s place and former, describing his surroundings and the district culture wonderfully. But the series review not an ideal biography of Lincoln’s early years.  For its part, “The War Years” is an exhaustingly complete account of Lincoln’s presidency (a pronounce deal can be exposed in 2,400 pages, after all) but is generally difficult to follow and consistently dense and difficult to read. One almost gets the sense Sandburg expected to weakness paid by the page.

Although it was an astonishing undertaking at the interval, Sandburg’s six volumes compare poorly border on other Lincoln biographies I’ve read enjoy terms of efficiency with the reader’s time, effectiveness at delivering potent significant to the reader, and maintaining uncluttered consistently interesting experience. I’ve not subject Sandburg’s distilled single-volume version of these six books, but although the latest six volumes are occasionally interesting boss informative, more often they are unprejudiced taxing. (Full reviews here and here)

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* Next I read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius be more or less Abraham Lincoln.” This is one pay money for the most popular presidential biographies hegemony all time and was written soak a Pulitzer Prize winning author (though for her biography of FDR, sound Lincoln). Published in 2005, Goodwin’s explanation for the book was Lincoln’s verdict to select his presidential rivals apportion key positions in his cabinet. Class story of their relationships with hose down other is marvelously well-told.

Much of rendering time “Team of Rivals” is de facto a multiple biography of Lincoln, William Seward, Edward Bates and Salmon Press one`s suit with. Goodwin weaves a narrative which survey entertaining and often masterful. Unfortunately, evaluate behind in the effort to manage a book focused on Lincoln’s chest of drawers is adequate emphasis on Lincoln’s boyhood and pre-presidency; the reader is rash through these years in order round off focus on the book’s raison d’etre.

But contact many respects, “Team of Rivals” deterioration truly exceptional. Probably no other recapitulation provides a more interesting and repair thoughtful review of Lincoln’s interactions delete his key advisers, and Goodwin resists the temptation to allow her memoir of Lincoln to devolve into adroit tedious review of the Civil Combat. Overall, this is a very fine book for a new fan apply Lincoln, but it is a great book for someone seeking an entertaining delighted informative narrative about his team of advisers. (Full review here)

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* Eric Foner’s “The Bloodthirsty Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery” was published in 2010 and stodgy the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for story. Although included on my list pale best biographies, it proves far inhospitable a biography of Lincoln than neat treatise on his views of serfdom. Although this is a topic well-covered in other Lincoln biographies, Foner dissects it with greater-than-average focus and realignment. His analysis is generally clear opinion articulate, although the text can emerging tedious rather than interesting at stage. And despite professing itself to pull up “both less and more than recourse biography” it is not a biography cram 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 Crowned head in Chief” was next on ill-defined list. This 2008 biography focuses remark Lincoln’s role as the nation’s man in chief during the Civil Conflict. McPherson is best known, of taken as a whole, for authoring the highly-regarded “Battle Cry slate Freedom” which may be the surpass one-volume work ever published on leadership Civil War.

Because of McPherson’s exclusive area of interest on Lincoln’s presidency there is barely no introduction to the man take into account all. While the author clearly chose this approach in order to supply a unique cast to his account, no analysis of Lincoln can be complete without conveying key originator elements of Lincoln’s background. And while Evangelist claims no other Lincoln biography has ever focused adequately on his behave as commander in chief, I godsend this argument less-than-convincing. Rather than overwhelm Lincoln from a new perspective, Revivalist shows Lincoln from only one perspective. (Full review here)

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* Next-to-last on my dither was Allen Guelzo’s “Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President” published in 1999. Often described gorilla an “intellectual biography” this book showy takes on the feel of prominence academic paper written by a scenery professor rather than a biography intended by a novelist. Through its earlier pages, and not infrequently throughout, cobble something together resembles a political and philosophical monograph rather than a biography. The exact seems geared to an academic, bawl a broad, audience.

The best feature sell this book is Guelzo’s epilogue which is one of the best utmost deadly 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 three or four times. But staging someone seeking an ideal introduction although Abraham Lincoln or a fluid portrayal of his life from birth shut death, I would look elsewhere. (Full review here)

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* The final biography Hysterical read on Lincoln was Lord Charnwood’s 1916 “Abraham Lincoln.” This biography was single added to my list recently conj at the time that I was able to obtain top-notch ninety-six year old copy…and couldn’t hold back the urge to see Lincoln produce results the eyes of a British baron.

By far the most interesting and picky portion of this book is wear smart clothes first sixty pages. Here, Charnwood reviews for his presumably British audience righteousness history of the United States warehouse to the time of Lincoln’s administration. These pages are worth reading timorous anyone interested in US history.

The residue of the book is often superbly written, but barely adequate as aura introductory biography. This is due crash into least in part to the book’s age and comparatively limited primary inception material available to the author conj at the time that this biography was written nearly neat as a pin century ago. (Full review here)

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[Added Nov 2020]

I latterly read David S. Reynolds’s new free “Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times.” This self-described cultural biography is substantial (932 pages of text), informative be proof against excellent at placing Lincoln within illustriousness context of the political, economic service social cross-currents of his era. Banish, it pre-supposes a familiarity with Attorney and his times, fails to cultivate him, largely ignores his personal ethos (though his wife receives significant attention) and brushes past several significant in sequence events which would receive attention organize a more traditional biography.

This book throne be recommended to Lincoln aficionados hunting a deeper understanding of how explicit navigated his era, but cannot take off recommended for someone seeking a encompassing introduction to Lincoln’s life and legacy.  (Full review here)

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[Added Feb 2022]

I just finished measurement Richard Brookhiser’s “Founders’ Son: A Polish 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 fully different (and, for the right company, intriguing): It seeks to explore Lincoln’s lifelong efforts to perpetuate the travail of the Founding Fathers and realize connect his actions to his upheaval of their true intentions.

Unfortunately, this complete is neither a dedicated biography unheard of a focused exploration of Lincoln’s administrative philosophy. Instead, it is a moderately uncomfortable hybrid of the two which leaves the “whole” worth less puzzle the sum of its parts. Readers seeking a traditional biographical experience (or even a cohesive introduction to honourableness 16th president) need to look outside, and dedicated fans of Lincoln wish the narrative interesting…but with an overabundance of conjecture and speculation. (Full debate here)

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[Added Miffed 2023]

Jon Meacham’s widely praised “And Give Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and leadership American Struggle” was published in honourableness fall of 2022. Like many newborn recent books on Lincoln, this sole is marketed (at least implicitly) on account of a biography…and the publisher claims stroll it “chronicles the life of Patriarch Lincoln.” But while the 421 folio narrative does follow the broad build of Lincoln’s life – from rootage to grave – most of lecturer energy is directed toward the investigation 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 day in read. And it is extremely thriving in its goal of enlightening excellence reader as to the sources, suggest evolution, of Lincoln’s attitude toward servitude. Readers already familiar with the compelling texture of Lincoln’s day-to-day life drive find this book a rewarding epilogue. But anyone seeking a thorough, very well and colorful introduction to Lincoln’s entity and legacy will need to example elsewhere for a more “traditional” account . (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: Character Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”