Abraham Lincoln: A Presidential Life ebook

During the last several months, I have begun to read a number of biographies of Abraham Lincoln and recently finished two, this one and Ronald C. White, Jr.'s A. Lincoln. How different they are in terms of length as well as their scope and depth of coverage and yet they will, I am certain, attract and reward an abundance of appreciative readers. As James M. McPerson explains in his Preface, "I have written a lot about Abraham Lincoln in my career. [His most recently published work is Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief.] Others have written more. During this bicentennial commemoration of his birth, a large number of excellent biographies and other books about Lincoln have appeared and continued to appear. [Note: McPherson has praised White's A. Lincoln for it's `brilliant analysis of Lincoln's principal speeches and writing' and for his analysis `of Lincoln's evolving religious convictions, which shaped the core of his effective leadership, his moral integrity.' That's high praise indeed.] Most of these are substantial works; one definitive multivolume biography runs well over a million works. Amid this cascade of information, I believe there is room for a brief biography that captures the essential events and meaning of Lincoln's life without oversimplification or overgeneralization. This is what I have tried to do in the following pages."

I urge those who are curious about this book not to be deterred by its length of only 65 pages, plus Notes and Bibliography. McPherson intended to write a compact book, is among the most distinguished of Lincoln scholars, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for writing The Battle Cry of Freedom, and may well receive another for Tried by War. He succeeds again brilliantly when achieving his chief objectives for this brief biography. Although the narrative is lively throughout, I never had the feeling that I was being rushed from one key period in Lincoln's life to another. I especially appreciate McPherson's frequent provision of what I view as summary insights that combine several key points. For example, during the years in New Salem, Lincoln developed "a purpose and direction": he joined the debating society, developed a lifelong love of William Shakespeare and Robert Burns, and also acquired a passion for politics and announced his candidacy for the Illinois state legislature in 1932. "Although he failed to win the election, he received 92 percent of the votes in the New Salem district, where he was known. When he ran again in 1834, he campaigned throughout the county and won decisively." Lincoln's devotion to learning and especially to self-improvement continued until his death.

Here in Dallas, we have an area near downtown called the Farmers Market where several vendors offer a complimentary slice of fresh fruit so that people can have at least a taste of what is offered. In that spirit, I thought it would be of interest to those who read this review to sample an excerpt from the final chapter of McPherson's book that is representative of the quality of his analysis and the eloquence of his prose. Note how skillfully he addresses critically important issues "without oversimplification or overgeneralization."

"Union victory in the Civil War resolved two fundamental, festering problems that had been unresolved by the revolution of 1776 and the Constitution of 1787. The first problem was the survival of the republic as one nation, indivisible. The republic established by the Founders was a fragile experiment in a world bestrode by kings, queens, emperors, czars, dictators, and theories of aristocracy...The second problem left unresolved by the events of 1776 and 1787 was the issue of slavery. By the second quarter of the nineteenth century, a nation founded on a charter that declared all people deserving of the inalienable rights of liberty had become the largest slaveholding nation in the world. This was the `monstrous injustice' that made the United States s monument of hypocrisy in the eyes of the world, as Lincoln had expressed it in 1854. With the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln started the United States on the road to living up to its professed belief that all men are created equal."

For those interested in obtaining a brief and entertaining but comprehensive and historically sound discussion of the 16th President of the United States, here it is.

This book can be either an appetizer for readers just embarked on Lincoln studies, or a snack for those with little time to read. It is well printed, with a ribbon bookmark attached, and about the same size as a thorough encyclopedia article. Its annotation and bibliography are minimal. With only 65 pages of text, its merits lie entirely on the solid reputation of its author, who has studied Lincoln for fifty years, and his well known dedication to get things right. It follows in the wake of McPherson's latest masterwork, TRIED BY WAR: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF (2008), and can serve as a judicious summary of McPherson's views about Lincoln. As a summary, it is most likely to appeal to readers who want to know as much about Lincoln as they can get in an hour or so. The book mentions controversies about Lincoln's life without taking part in them. It sticks closely to what can be written surely, in a clear straightforward style, and offers quick clues to points of interest that are most likely to arouse curiosity. Its back cover relays praises from other major Lincoln scholars, including David Herbert Donald and Ronald White, whose full-length LINCOLN (1995) and ABRAHAM LINCOLN (2009) respectively, stand ready to satisfy readers wanting more.

Professor McPherson is a gifted writer. If you want to read a short biography of Abraham Lincoln this would an excellent choice. It contains all the essential facts of A. Lincoln's life and accomplishments sparing a lot of detail. The book is roughly 60 pages so you can learn about the essential Lincoln in two sittings.

This is a short book. a very short 70 or so pages book which the author itself mentions is a summary of Lincoln's life and accomplishments but is full of great info for someone just starting to get interested on the 16th President.

If you are student of American history with a lot of knowledge on Lincoln's life, then this book is probably just another for the collection. If you are, like me, interested on finding out how much you don't know about him, start here. Get a good feel for what he was like and what every person should know and then move to the bigger, more boring works full of details.

The price and the time it takes to read it don't start to cover what you get from the few pages. Fully recommended.

James McPherson's Abraham Lincoln is a well written and very readable book for anyone interested in a cursory biography of our 16th president 's life. It covers in broad strokes the major events of his life from birth to death. The chapters covering his presidency have the most detail. It is written from the perspective of the reader and does not contain lengthy dissertations. I would recommend this to readers from about an eighth grade reading level and up. It contains enough detail to be used for a high school level book report or term paper assignment. Overall, a fun read but not enough to give detailed insight into the mind and motivations of our greatest president and his contemporaries.

Sorry James McPherson, I watched the movie and loved it. I am sure people who love to read biographies are going to enjoy this. The film had much detail. I think your book is worth looking into.

The feeling I had after reading this little book was really like looking at a portrait. We get a very good overview of Lincoln's origins, motivations, and career. Of course don't expect details. I picked up this book some time after reading "Battle Cry of Freedom" and I found it was a great companion. Most of the political career of Abraham Lincoln would have been hard to to follow without that first reading (if you didn't go to High school in the US).

The greatest strength of this book is of course it's micro size, something really hard to achieve for the most famous of historical US presidents. If you're not familiar with the Civil War you may miss something, but the essence is still there.