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In a 24-hour, Internet-fueled news cycle, political campaign reporters often seem to be focused on what just happened, and only what just happened. But presidential candidates profess to take a longer view: They consciously link their critiques and promises to the influential figures and debates of the past.

In a new series, Morning Edition will take a fresh look at American political history, beginning with the figure who loomed over the 2008 and 2012 campaign — that tall, well-spoken senator from Illinois, often hailed for his significance in the history of American race relations. No, not President Obama. We're talking about Abraham Lincoln.

President Obama and presidential hopefuls Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum each have put forward their own narratives of the life of Lincoln, fine-tuned to their own political purposes. But their versions of Lincoln are just drops in a veritable ocean of books — almost 15,000, to be precise — that assay Lincoln's legacy.

Where should a reader begin? Perhaps the most well-known biography is Lincoln , by the late historian David Herbert Donald. Eric Foner, a professor of history at Columbia University and author of The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery , recommends Donald's book as the best one-volume account of Lincoln's life.

"[Donald] avoided the two pitfalls that people fall into. One is just hagiography — you know, [Lincoln] was born with a pen in his hand ready to sign the Emancipation Proclamation; and the other is the opposite, of course — [he was] just a racist or didn't really care about slavery at all. Donald sort of navigates between them," Foner says.

David Herbert Donald was an American historian who specialized in the Civil War and Reconstruction. David Schaefer/Courtesy of Simon & Schuster hide caption

David Herbert Donald was an American historian who specialized in the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Foner notes, however, that the book is not without its flaws — notably that Donald's portrayal of Lincoln may have been influenced by current events in the mid-'90s, particularly by President Clinton.

"[Donald] sort of sees Lincoln as a person without any deep convictions," Foner says. "I think he sort of saw Lincoln as a Clinton figure — buffeted by events, not clear what he stood for. I don't think that's a very persuasive picture of Lincoln."

Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian and author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln , recommends a book that shows how Lincoln prevailed under pressure during the Civil War: Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson.

"He is such a narrative genius, McPherson ... what he's done is to mix together the battles, Lincoln's leadership, the home front, the finances, the Cabinet, all together, but it drives forward as a story, and you don't know until finally, perhaps, Atlanta, whether the North is really going to win this war," Goodwin says.

Lincoln's strategically brilliant decisions were gambles at the time, she says.

"We know the ending — we know that he was martyred, we know that the war was won. But the people living then certainly didn't know that, and I think that's what McPherson's pace allows us to see," Goodwin says.

Battle Cry Of Freedom

But Lincoln's political persona is but one dimension of the man. Andy Ferguson, senior editor of The Weekly Standard and author of Land of Lincoln , recommends an out of print book, In the Footsteps of the Lincolns . The book's author, Ida Tarbell, the iconic muckraking journalist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, exposes Lincoln's roots in the frontier culture of the Midwest.

Ferguson says Tarbell was obsessed with Lincoln throughout her life. "After World War I, she went and sort of fulfilled a part of her obsession that she had always wanted to, which was to retrace Lincoln's movements with his family since he was a little boy, from Kentucky to Indiana and into Illinois. And as she did this, there were still people alive who knew the Lincolns. It's a part of time that we can't really get access to any other way," Ferguson says.

In the days when Lincoln was growing up, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois were remote areas struggling to develop. "It was just a couple of steps up from the Bronze Age, really," Ferguson says.

But rather than embracing his hardscrabble background, Foner says, Lincoln distanced himself from frontier culture.

"He doesn't like hunting, he's not a violent person, he doesn't hate Indians, he doesn't drink . And he understands very early — and where this comes from, who knows — that the way to get ahead is through your mind, not through just hard physical labor, which is what his father does. [Lincoln] gets as far away from the frontier as he can, pretty early," Foner says.

As often as political candidates today employ Lincoln's name for their own purposes, there are certain aspects to Lincoln that modern-day candidates won't adopt. For instance, Foner says he would love to see a political candidate of any party forthrightly say, "I have changed my mind," because that's what Lincoln did over and over again during the Civil War.

James M. McPherson is a professor emeritus of history at Princeton University. Patricia McPherson hide caption

James M. McPherson is a professor emeritus of history at Princeton University.

"Lincoln was a flip-flopper, if you want to use the terminology of modern politics. We don't seem to allow our politicians to do that anymore," Foner says.

Ferguson says that even when politicians do change their minds, political speechwriters are tasked with making it seem like the politician's views remained consistent.

Goodwin adds that she would like to see politicians emulate Lincoln's sense of humor. She tells a story about a time when Lincoln was accused of being two-faced, and he replied, "If I had two faces, do you think I'd be wearing this face?"

"That ability to laugh at yourself, to look at yourself from the outside in, means a certain kind of confidence — means taking the world seriously, but not taking yourself so seriously at every moment. It is in such short supply in our campaigns," Goodwin says.

The 15 Best Books on President Abraham Lincoln

Essential books on abraham lincoln.

There are countless books on Abraham Lincoln, and it comes with good reason, aside from being elected America’s sixteenth President (1861-1865), he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy and preserved the Union while serving as Commander-in-Chief amidst a brutal Civil War.

“Of our political revolution of ’76, we all are justly proud. It has given us a degree of political freedom, far exceeding that of any other nation of the earth,” Lincoln remarked. “In it the world has found a solution of the long mooted problem, as to the capability of man to govern himself. In it was the germ which has vegetated, and still is to grow and expand into the universal liberty of mankind.”

In order to get to the bottom of what inspired one of history’s most consequential figures to the heights of societal contribution, we’ve compiled a list of the 15 best books on Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald

Donald brilliantly depicts Lincoln’s gradual ascent from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to the ever-expanding political circles in Illinois, and finally to the presidency of a country divided by civil war. Donald goes beyond biography, illuminating the gradual development of Lincoln’s character, chronicling his tremendous capacity for evolution and growth, thus illustrating what made it possible for a man so inexperienced and so unprepared for the presidency to become a great moral leader. In the most troubled of times, here was a man who led the country out of slavery and preserved a shattered Union – in short, one of the greatest presidents this country has ever seen.

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry.

Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war. That Lincoln succeeded, Goodwin demonstrates, was the result of a character that had been forged by experiences that raised him above his more privileged and accomplished rivals. He won because he possessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand their motives and desires.

It was this capacity that enabled Lincoln as president to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to the task of preserving the Union and winning the war.

We view the long, horrifying struggle from the vantage of the White House as Lincoln copes with incompetent generals, hostile congressmen, and his raucous cabinet. He overcomes these obstacles by winning the respect of his former competitors, and in the case of Seward, finds a loyal and crucial friend to see him through.

This brilliant multiple biography is centered on Lincoln’s mastery of men and how it shaped the most significant presidency in the nation’s history.

Lincoln at Gettysburg by Gary Wills

The power of words has rarely been given a more compelling demonstration than in the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln was asked to memorialize the gruesome battle. Instead he gave the whole nation “a new birth of freedom” in the space of a mere 272 words. His entire life and previous training and his deep political experience went into this, his revolutionary masterpiece.

By examining both the address and Lincoln in their historical moment and cultural frame, Wills breathes new life into words we thought we knew, and reveals much about a president so mythologized but often misunderstood. Wills shows how Lincoln came to change the world and to effect an intellectual revolution, how his words had to and did complete the work of the guns, and how Lincoln wove a spell that has not yet been broken.

Lincoln’s Sword by Douglas L. Wilson

Widely considered in his own time as a genial but provincial lightweight who was out of place in the presidency, Abraham Lincoln astonished his allies and confounded his adversaries by producing a series of speeches and public letters so provocative that they helped revolutionize public opinion on such critical issues as civil liberties, the use of black soldiers, and the emancipation of slaves. This is a brilliant and unprecedented examination of how Lincoln used the power of words to not only build his political career but to keep the country united during the Civil War.

The Fiery Trial by Eric Foner

Selected as a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review , this landmark work gives us a definitive account of Lincoln’s lifelong engagement with the nation’s critical issue: American slavery. A master historian, Eric Foner draws Lincoln and the broader history of the period into perfect balance. We see Lincoln, a pragmatic politician grounded in principle, deftly navigating the dynamic politics of antislavery, secession, and civil war. Lincoln’s greatness emerges from his capacity for moral and political growth.

Lincoln on the Verge by Ted Widmer

As a divided nation plunges into the deepest crisis in its history, Abraham Lincoln boards a train for Washington and his inauguration – an inauguration Southerners have vowed to prevent. Lincoln on the Verge charts these pivotal thirteen days of travel, as Lincoln discovers his power, speaks directly to the public, and sees his country up close.

Drawing on new research, this riveting account reveals the president-elect as a work in progress, showing him on the verge of greatness, as he foils an assassination attempt, forges an unbreakable bond with the American people, and overcomes formidable obstacles in order to take his oath of office.

A. Lincoln: A Biography by Ronald C. White

Through meticulous research of the newly completed Lincoln Legal Papers, as well as of recently discovered letters and photographs, White provides a portrait of Lincoln’s personal, political, and moral evolution.

White shows us Lincoln as a man who would leave a trail of thoughts in his wake, jotting ideas on scraps of paper and filing them in his top hat or the bottom drawer of his desk; a country lawyer who asked questions in order to figure out his own thinking on an issue, as much as to argue the case; a hands-on commander in chief who, as soldiers and sailors watched in amazement, commandeered a boat and ordered an attack on Confederate shore batteries at the tip of the Virginia peninsula; a man who struggled with the immorality of slavery and as president acted publicly and privately to outlaw it forever; and finally, a president involved in a religious odyssey who wrote, for his own eyes only, a profound meditation on “the will of God” in the Civil War that would become the basis of his finest address.

Most enlightening, the man who comes into focus in this gem among books on Abraham Lincoln is a person of intellectual curiosity, comfortable with ambiguity, and unafraid to “think anew and act anew.”

Tried by War by James M. McPherson

As we celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth, this study by preeminent, bestselling Civil War historian James M. McPherson provides a rare, fresh take on one of the most enigmatic figures in American history. Tried by War offers a revelatory (and timely) portrait of leadership during the greatest crisis our nation has ever endured. Suspenseful and inspiring, this is the story of how Lincoln, with almost no previous military experience before entering the White House, assumed the powers associated with the role of Commander in Chief, and through his strategic insight and will to fight changed the course of the war and saved the Union.

Honor’s Voice by Douglas L. Wilson

Abraham Lincoln’s remarkable emergence from the rural Midwest and his rise to the presidency have been the stuff of romance and legend. But as Douglas L. Wilson shows us in Honor’s Voice, Lincoln’s transformation was not one long triumphal march, but a process that was more than once seriously derailed. There were times, in his journey from storekeeper and mill operator to lawyer and member of the Illinois state legislature, when Lincoln lost his nerve and self-confidence – on at least two occasions he became so despondent as to appear suicidal – and when his acute emotional vulnerabilities were exposed.

Focusing on the crucial years between 1831 and 1842, Wilson’s skillful analysis of the testimonies and writings of Lincoln’s contemporaries reveals the individual behind the legends. We see Lincoln as a boy: not the dutiful son studying by firelight, but the stubborn rebel determined to make something of himself. We see him as a young man: not the ascendant statesman, but the canny local politician who was renowned for his talents in wrestling and storytelling (as well as for his extensive store of off-color jokes).

Wilson also reconstructs Lincoln’s frequently anguished personal life: his religious skepticism, recurrent bouts of depression, and difficult relationships with women – from Ann Rutledge to Mary Owens to Mary Todd.

Abraham Lincoln by Lord Charnwood

No other narrative account of Abraham Lincoln’s life has inspired such widespread and lasting acclaim as Charnwood’s Abraham Lincoln: A Biography . Written by a native of England and originally published in 1916, the biography is a rare blend of beautiful prose and profound historical insight. Charnwood’s study of Lincoln’s statesmanship introduced generations of Americans to the life and politics of Lincoln and the author’s observations are so comprehensive and well-supported that any serious study of Lincoln must respond to his conclusions.

Lincoln’s Melancholy by Joshua Wolf Shenk

Giving shape to the deep depression that pervaded Lincoln’s adult life, Joshua Wolf Shenk’s Lincoln’s Melancholy reveals how this illness influenced both the president’s character and his leadership. Lincoln forged a hard path toward mental health from the time he was a young man. Shenk draws from historical records, interviews with Lincoln scholars, and contemporary research on depression to understand the nature of his unhappiness. In the process, he discovers that the President’s coping strategies; among them, a rich sense of humor and a tendency toward quiet reflection; ultimately helped him to lead the nation through its greatest turmoil.

Lincoln at Cooper Union by Harold Holzer

This favorite among books on Abraham Lincoln explores his most influential and widely reported pre-presidential address – an extraordinary appeal by the western politician to the eastern elite that propelled him toward the Republican nomination for president. Delivered in New York in February 1860, the Cooper Union speech dispelled doubts about Lincoln’s suitability for the presidency and reassured conservatives of his moderation while reaffirming his opposition to slavery to Republican progressives.

Award-winning Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer places Lincoln and his speech in the context of the times – an era of racism, politicized journalism, and public oratory as entertainment – and shows how the candidate framed the speech as an opportunity to continue his famous “debates” with his archrival Democrat Stephen A. Douglas on the question of slavery.

Holzer describes the enormous risk Lincoln took by appearing in New York, where he exposed himself to the country’s most critical audience and took on Republican Senator William Henry Seward of New York, the front runner, in his own backyard. Then he recounts a brilliant and innovative public relations campaign, as Lincoln took the speech “on the road” in his successful quest for the presidency.

Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years by Carl Sandberg

Originally published in six volumes, Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln was called “the greatest historical biography of our generation.” Sandburg distilled this work into one volume that became one of the definitive books on Abraham Lincoln.

We Are Lincoln Men by David Herbert Donald

Though Abraham Lincoln had hundreds of acquaintances and dozens of admirers, he had almost no intimate friends. Behind his mask of affability and endless stream of humorous anecdotes, he maintained an inviolate reserve that only a few were ever able to penetrate.

Professor Donald’s remarkable book offers a fresh way of looking at Abraham Lincoln, both as a man who needed friendship and as a leader who understood the importance of friendship in the management of men. Donald penetrates Lincoln’s mysterious reserve to offer a new picture of the president’s inner life and to explain his unsurpassed political skills.

The Lincolns: Portraits of a Marriage by Daniel Mark

Although the private lives of political couples have in our era become front-page news, the true story of this extraordinary and tragic first family has never been fully told. The Lincolns eclipses earlier accounts with riveting new information that makes husband and wife, president and first lady, come alive in all their proud accomplishments and earthy humanity.

Award-winning biographer and poet Daniel Mark Epstein gives a fresh close-up view of the couple’s life in Springfield, Illinois (of their twenty-two years of marriage, all but six were spent there), and dramatizes with stunning immediacy how the Lincolns’ ascent to the White House brought both dazzling power and the slow, secret unraveling of the couple’s unique bond.

If you enjoyed this guide to essential books on Abraham Lincoln, be sure to check out our list of The 10 Best Books on President George Washington !

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Nonfiction Books » History Books » American History » Books on American Presidents

The best books on abraham lincoln, recommended by ted widmer.

He came from humble beginnings and never went to high school. Going into the presidency, he had limited political experience and lacked business, legislative and military achievements. The one thing he did not lack was a moral compass, says historian and author Ted Widmer . He picks the best books on the ups and downs and Shakespearean-style plot twists that were the life of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States.

Interview by Eve Gerber

Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington by Ted Widmer

Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words by Douglas L Wilson

Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America by Garry Wills

Emancipating Lincoln: The Proclamation in Text, Context, and Memory by Harold Holzer

They Knew Lincoln by John E Washington

1 Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington by Ted Widmer

2 lincoln's sword: the presidency and the power of words by douglas l wilson, 3 lincoln at gettysburg: the words that remade america by garry wills, 4 emancipating lincoln: the proclamation in text, context, and memory by harold holzer, 5 they knew lincoln by john e washington.

T here are more than 16,000 books about Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16th president. You’ve agreed to choose the best reading about Old Abe and I insisted that we discuss your thrilling Lincoln on the Verge among the five. Before we hit the books, please introduce our international audience to Abraham Lincoln.

His surprising literary capacity, which few knew about when they voted for him, was key to the impact he had. As president, he delivered extraordinary public addresses that are Shakespearian in some ways and biblical in other ways.

He’s emotionally interesting. Abraham Lincoln has more highs and lows than perhaps any other president. He’s very strong, but vulnerable also. That makes him an attractive central figure for a history book. And he’s tragically struck down at the moment of his greatest triumph, immediately after winning the Civil War . That seems almost like a plot twist out of Shakespeare . So he continues to fascinate.

When Abraham Lincoln ran for president in 1860, his supporters highlighted his bootstraps biography. His rise from a log cabin in Kentucky to the White House is astonishing. What are those basic biographical facts?

Your riveting book, Lincoln on the Verge, focuses on Abraham Lincoln at the precipice of his presidency. Please tell us about the book and the importance of that period you write about.

It’s a story about Abraham Lincoln’s 13-day train trip to his inauguration. We tend to have a static image of Lincoln, posed in a photograph or standing stiffly in a daguerreotype. But he was a man of action. I wanted to show him moving.

Along his train trip to Washington, Lincoln is meeting thousands of people every day. He’s improving his ability to sway people with a speech. Trying to keep the country together was physical as well as intellectual work. He was shaking tens of thousands of hands to keep America from falling apart. It was a physical ordeal but one that he was well-qualified for. We don’t think of Abraham Lincoln as a young man, but he had just turned 52 and he was still vigorous.

“There’s so much to admire about Abraham Lincoln”

This journey also shows America in all of its different shadings. It’s a country that is different, not only between North and South, but between the northern, southern, western and eastern parts of individual states. Southern Ohio is really different from Northern Ohio. Pennsylvania is very diverse. Following Lincoln on this trip through America allows me to show the complexity of the country in the nineteenth century.

America is clearly complicated in 2021 too. Reading about the dramatic differences between nineteenth century Americans, from one region to the next, still resonates today.

One of the things that made the book so gripping for me is how efficiently and effectively you explained what a dangerous moment it was for America’s democracy. Can you encapsulate that aspect of the book?

That too felt resonant to me because of all the upheaval we passed through in 2020. Democracy was not working well in 1860, in DC and around the world. The federal government wasn’t very effective and the lame duck president, James Buchanan, was lame in every way. He was imbecilic in meetings. Southern slave interests had controlled the US government almost without exception since 1789. The vast majority of free people in this huge and complicated country did not want to be governed by slaveowners and their representatives in Washington.

In Congress, disagreements boiled over, resulting in abolitionist Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner nearly being paralyzed after he was brutally beaten by a South Carolinian congressman. Congress was not functioning. There was barely any compromise or negotiation.

1860 is really the end of an era. It’s the failure of the first chapter of American history . They tried a form of democracy from 1789 to 1860. When Lincoln was elected, half the country wouldn’t accept it and so they seceded. That was a sign of an inconsistent commitment to democracy on their part.

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Lincoln had gargantuan challenges. It was up to him to reunite the country. But if he won the war by just crushing the South in a bloodbath, he couldn’t have brought the country back together and it would have been far harder for the country to function as a democracy again. So, he wants to win by persuading all of the people that democracy is worth the gargantuan effort to preserve the union.

Around the world, people have their eye on the U.S. because democracy is failing all over. Germany’s 1848 revolution has failed. In France, likewise, a revolution in 1848 has failed. In Italy , popular uprisings were faltering. So, if American democracy had completely collapsed, it could’ve been the final nail in the coffin for democracy. If Lincoln had failed, democracy might have been seen as just another strange utopian movement.

One of your recommended books is about the strength that made Abraham Lincoln such an effective president. Tell us about Lincoln’s Sword by historian Douglas Wilson.

Douglas Wilson is a superb Lincoln scholar, based at Knox College in Illinois. He’s an extremely close reader of Lincoln. Lincoln’s words are very important because they are kind of scripture for Americans. Sometimes the words are hard to pin down because three or four people hearing a Lincoln speech might each write them down differently. Douglas Wilson meticulously verifies every word spoken and helps us to understand Lincoln’s writing process. With all of the most famous Lincoln speeches, Wilson tells us why the speech needed to be given, the process of writing the speech, and the various iterations of the speech. His intense literary focus is exciting. Every time I read Douglas Wilson’s work, I feel re-energized by Lincoln’s words.

According to Richard Norton Smith, Wilson “reconstructs the man by deconstructing his words.” What does Abraham Lincoln’s writing reveal about him?

That leads us to a Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Garry Wills about one of Lincoln’s most powerful speeches, delivered in 1863 at the dedication of a cemetery for war dead. Tell us about Lincoln at Gettysburg.

It’s a wonderful book that concentrates all of the author’s formidable erudition on a single short speech. The Gettysburg Address is only 272 words. It probably took him three minutes to say. Wills makes the moment crackle with electricity. He explains how Lincoln wrote the address, on the way to Gettysburg. He deconstructs the speech itself and contextualizes it. All of American history was pivoting, in these three minutes, from a states-based way of thinking about our society to a nation-based way of thinking. In this speech, Lincoln re-dedicated the United States to citizenship for all of its people. Up until this point, African-Americans were largely excluded from citizenship. In this speech, Wills shows Lincoln is realigning the stars of our country to make us a federal union that is stronger than the states and dedicated to the rights of all of citizens, including African-Americans. It was a big step forward.

The phrase from those 272 words that has resounded ever since is “a new birth of freedom.” What does that phrase mean?

Next is Harold Holzer’s Emancipating Lincoln: The Proclamation in Text, Context and Memory . The Emancipation Proclamation declared that, as of New Year’s Day of 1863, enslaved people in the rebelling states would be free “thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.”

It’s hard for me to pick a single Harold Holzer book because there are so many, and they’re all so good. Emancipating Lincoln is very cogent and relatively short. Three chapters from three talks he gave at Harvard, about what made the Emancipation Proclamation such a remarkable document. The Emancipation Proclamation had more of an impact on policy and law than Lincoln’s speeches, which are far more familiar to students of history.

“His surprising literary capacity…was key to the impact he had”

And Holzer is also restoring how hard it was for Lincoln to do that. That is important because we sometimes take him for granted, or worse, take potshots at him. Recently statues of him have been torn down and his name has been stripped from public schools. It is possible to find imperfect things that were not racially sensitive to our pitch-perfect ears. But what Harold Holzer brilliantly demonstrated is that emancipation was politically difficult to achieve, and had a huge impact, as African-Americans, in particular, understood. It’s a beautiful small book that restores Lincoln to what was probably his most important role, the role of the emancipator, the man who ended slavery.

In his introduction, Holzer casts Emancipating Lincoln as a reply to “harsh revisionist scholarship” that stripped Lincoln of credit for abolition and “the new birth of freedom” he called for at Gettysburg. Revisionism, needless to say, is nothing new. One of the statues you’re referring to was across the river from me in Boston. The only text my middle schooler receives, in a social studies class focused on 1860 onwards, casts Lincoln as a cynical politician who was adamantly opposed to equal rights for Black Americans. How and why has Lincoln’s reputation risen and fallen in the 158 years since he signed the Emancipation Proclamation?

That statue was built after Lincoln died; he had nothing to do with it. It’s troubling in many ways, the body language is wrong but, still, we should proceed cautiously, and listen to the voices of Lincoln’s time.

Finally, please tell me about the last Abraham Lincoln book on your list, John E. Washington’s They Knew Lincoln.

It’s a great book and an unusual book, first published in 1942 by an African American teacher who grew up in the shadow of the Capitol. The book was recently republished with an excellent introduction by historian Kate Masur. John E. Washington gathered a lot of fantastic oral history and documents to tell the untold story of the African Americans who knew Lincoln.

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Black Americans from many walks of life came into contact with Lincoln. There were African Americans working in the White House. He was friendly with a young man named William Johnson who worked in the Treasury Department. His barber back in Illinois, William De Fleurville, was born in Haiti and they knew one another well. The stories in this book deepen our understanding of Lincoln and his presidency. It wasn’t just white men in blue uniforms; there were many African Americans playing important roles behind the scenes.

By reconstructing the lives of the African American people who knew Lincoln is Washington originating social history of the sort that became popular in the 1960s?

I’m sure we could find earlier examples of social history. For instance, there are really interesting books written about the experience of average soldiers in the American Revolution. But despite the efforts of historians like W.E.B. Dubois, there had not been enough work focused on the African Americans during the civil war. This book helps to fix that imbalance and shows how much Lincoln’s presidency depended on the aid he received from others in his extended household.

Last question: As you pointed out earlier, like the thirteen days you wrote about in Lincoln on the Verge , the United States just passed through a period between presidencies when democracy was under great strain. What lessons does Lincoln’s life offer about how the present president, Joe Biden , can deal with the divisions in America? What lessons does Lincoln’s life offer for all leaders?

There’s a great lesson to be learned from Lincoln’s efforts to speak to all Americans. Lincoln always takes pains to speak to the South. He always was striving to “bind up the nation’s wounds,” as he said in the second inaugural. To survive, the United States needs presidents who are focused on the entire country, not just the party or interest groups that elect them. I’m encouraged that President Biden has been that way so far.

Lincoln also provides an example of action. Although he was a little slow coming out of the box, when the South attacked Fort Sumter, he responded with alacrity, raised the Northern Army and ramped up an overwhelming military response. While leading the war, he signed the Morrill Act in 1862, which expanded our public education system with land grant colleges. He signed the Homestead Act, which helped immigrants and ultimately freed slaves start new communities in the West. He helped the railroad and telegraph stretch across the country. He did not hesitate in using the powers of the presidency to act boldly and push actions through Congress that he believed would help Americans. That has also been true of Joe Biden to date.

So far, Biden’s combination of unifying rhetoric and focused action has been impressive and yes, Lincolnian.

February 12, 2021

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Ten Best Abraham Lincoln Biographies

Overwhelmed by the sheer number of Lincoln biographies ? Don’t know where to start ?

Abraham Lincoln books far outnumber those about any other US president. Here are ten of the best Lincoln biographies …

1. Lincoln by David Herbert Donald.

Many critics agree that if you are only going to read one Abraham Lincoln biography this is the one to read…

When and Where was Abraham Lincoln born?

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in Larue County, Kentucky

How many books about Abraham Lincoln have been published?

Over 16,000 books about Lincoln have been published, as of May 2021, including over 125 books on his assassination. This number is larger than the number of books written about any other person in U.S. history.

To What Political Party did Lincoln belong?

Although Lincoln belonged to the Whig Party early in his career, he ran for President as a Republican, and he is best known for his identification with the Republican Party.

Abraham Lincoln Biographies NEXT BOOK >>>>>>

UPDATED January 2024 – To clean up formatting issues.

Richard Middleton - Abraham's Silence [Feature Review]

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My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies

The Best Biographies of Abraham Lincoln

28 Saturday Jun 2014

Posted by Steve in Best Biographies Posts , President #16 - A Lincoln

≈ 68 Comments

Abraham Lincoln , Allen Guelzo , American history , Benjamin Thomas , biographies , book reviews , Carl Sandburg , David Donald , David S. Reynolds , Doris Kearns Goodwin , Eric Foner , James McPherson , Michael Burlingame , presidential biographies , Presidents , Pulitzer Prize , Richard Brookhiser , Ronald White , Stephen Oates

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

No president before Lincoln required as much of my time, either – it took me over 3½ months to read all twelve biographies. Together, they contained nearly 9,500 pages – almost twice as many as the president with the second-tallest stack of biographies in my collection (Thomas Jefferson with about 5,000 pages).

Given this enormous time commitment, it’s fortunate Lincoln was both a fascinating individual and a masterful politician. His life story is as interesting as anyone’s (president or otherwise), and he proved far more impressive than most of the first fifteen presidents.

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

Particularly well-covered is the crushing poverty of Lincoln’s youth, his “colorful” relationship with Mary Todd, the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 and the Republican convention of 1860. Because of its extensive breadth and depth of coverage this may not be the perfect introduction to Lincoln for some readers. But for anyone interested in Lincoln, this an excellent – perhaps unrivaled – second or third biography of Lincoln to read. ( Full review here )

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

Compared to Burlingame’s excellent description of Lincoln’s youth, however, White provided less insight into this early phase of Lincoln’s life. And because White focused so intently on the development of Lincoln’s legal and political careers he provided far less perspective on Lincoln’s family life than Burlingame. What was mentioned of the volatile Mary Todd Lincoln was also far more generous than her treatment at the hands of many other Lincoln biographies. Overall, White’s biography proved an excellent, if not perfect, introduction to Lincoln. ( Full review here )

* David Herbert Donald’s widely acclaimed “ Lincoln ” was my next biography. Ever since its publication in 1995 this biography has maintained a passionate and loyal following and is often considered the best single-volume biography of Lincoln ever . Donald’s biography provided me the first truly captivating view of the interactions between Lincoln and his cabinet members. I also found the author’s description of Lincoln’s hunt for the presidency (including the Republican nominating convention of 1860) absolutely terrific.

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

*Stephen Oates’s 1977 “ With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln ” was the fourth biography of Lincoln I read. When published, Oates’s biography was the first comprehensive look at Lincoln in almost two decades and replaced Benjamin Thomas’s 1952 biography of Lincoln as “the” definitive work on Lincoln. Unfortunately, a little more than a decade after this book’s publication, Oates was accused of plagiarizing Thomas’s biography.

Shorter than the other biographies of Lincoln I had read, “With Malice Toward None” was more efficient with my time but at the cost of ignoring many of the interesting details found in other biographies. And while the author’s writing style is pleasantly informal, it occasionally seems less serious as well. I also found Oates’s descriptions of a number of Lincoln’s most important personal and political friendships lacking, and the author misses the opportunity to provide his own explicit judgments as to Lincoln’s actions and legacy. Overall, a good but not great introduction to Lincoln. ( Full review here )

*Benjamin Thomas’s 1952 biography “ Abraham Lincoln ” was next on my list. This was the first comprehensive single-volume biography of Lincoln in the thirty-five years following publication of Lord Charnwood’s 1916 Lincoln biography. This book immediately feels like one written by a natural storyteller rather than a historian (though Thomas was both). Descriptions of both people and events are usually brilliant and make for an enjoyable reading experience. In addition, the author’s final chapter (mostly Thomas’s observations of Lincoln as president) proves extremely interesting.

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

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

Although it is unsurprising that the author of the first two volumes was a poet, the final four volumes could easily have been written by an Ivory-tower academic. The former is often lyrical and lucid while the latter is more often needlessly verbose and tedious. Sandburg’s combined works are impressive in scope, but uneven in focus and he often has difficulty separating the important from the trivial.

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

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

* Next I read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “ Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln .” This is one of the most popular presidential biographies of all time and was written by a Pulitzer Prize winning author (though for her biography of FDR, not Lincoln). Published in 2005, Goodwin’s rationale for the book was Lincoln’s decision to select his presidential rivals for key positions in his cabinet. The story of their relationships with each other is marvelously well-told.

Much of the time “Team of Rivals” is really a multiple biography of Lincoln, William Seward, Edward Bates and Salmon Chase. Goodwin weaves a narrative which is entertaining and often masterful. Unfortunately, left behind in the effort to write a book focused on Lincoln’s cabinet is adequate emphasis on Lincoln’s youth and pre-presidency; the reader is rushed through these years in order to focus on the book’s raison d’etre.

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

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

* James McPherson’s “ Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief ” was next on my list. This 2008 biography focuses on Lincoln’s role as the nation’s commander in chief during the Civil War. McPherson is best known, of course, for authoring the highly-regarded “ Battle Cry of Freedom ” which may be the best one-volume work ever published on the Civil War.

Because of McPherson’s exclusive focus on Lincoln’s presidency there is virtually no introduction to the man at all. While the author clearly chose this approach in order to provide a unique cast to his biography, no analysis of Lincoln can possibly be complete without conveying key basic elements of Lincoln’s background. And while McPherson claims no other Lincoln biography has ever focused adequately on his role as commander in chief, I find this argument less-than-convincing. Rather than seeing Lincoln from a new perspective, McPherson shows Lincoln from only one perspective. ( Full review here )

* Next-to-last on my list was Allen Guelzo’s “ Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President ” published in 1999. Often described as an “intellectual biography” this book quickly takes on the feel of an academic paper written by a history professor rather than a biography written by a novelist. Through its earliest pages, and not infrequently throughout, it resembles a political and philosophical treatise rather than a biography. The book seems geared to an academic, not a broad, audience.

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

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

By far the most interesting and insightful portion of this book is its first sixty pages. Here, Charnwood reviews for his presumably British audience the history of the United States up to the time of Lincoln’s presidency. These pages are worth reading by anyone interested in US history.

The remainder of the book is often beautifully written, but barely adequate as an introductory biography. This is due at least in part to the book’s age and comparatively limited primary source material available to the author when this biography was written nearly a century ago. ( Full review here )

– – – – – – – – – – –

[Added Nov 2020]

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

This book can be recommended to Lincoln aficionados seeking a deeper understanding of how he navigated his era, but cannot be recommended for someone seeking a comprehensive introduction to Lincoln’s life and legacy. ( Full review here )

[Added Feb 2022]

I just finished reading Richard Brookhiser’s “ Founders’ Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln ” published in 2014. Although its subtitle and marketing efforts are both suggestive of a biography, this book’s mission is something altogether different (and, for the right audience, intriguing): It seeks to explore Lincoln’s lifelong efforts to perpetuate the work of the Founding Fathers and to connect his actions to his understanding of their true intentions.

Unfortunately, this book is neither a dedicated biography nor a focused exploration of Lincoln’s political philosophy. Instead, it is a somewhat uncomfortable hybrid of the two which leaves the “whole” worth less than the sum of its parts. Readers seeking a traditional biographical experience (or even a cohesive introduction to the 16th president) need to look elsewhere, and dedicated fans of Lincoln will the narrative interesting…but with an excess of conjecture and speculation. ( Full review here )

[Added Mar 2023]

Jon Meacham’s widely praised “ And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle ” was published in the fall of 2022. Like many other recent books on Lincoln, this one is marketed (at least implicitly ) as a biography…and the publisher claims that it “chronicles the life of Abraham Lincoln.” But while the 421 page narrative does follow the broad contours of Lincoln’s life – from cradle to grave – most of its energy is directed toward the exploration of Lincoln’s moral, religious and political views and closely observing his antislavery commitment.

Supported by more than 200 pages of end notes and bibliography, this is one of the most best-researched books on a president I’ve ever read. And it is extremely successful in its goal of enlightening the reader as to the sources, and evolution, of Lincoln’s attitude toward slavery. Readers already familiar with the fascinating texture of Lincoln’s day-to-day life will find this book a rewarding supplement. But anyone seeking a thorough, comprehensive and colorful introduction to Lincoln’s life and legacy will need to look elsewhere for a more “traditional” biography . ( Full review here )

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

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

I am a university student in England and am currently doing an essay on the cause(s) of the American Civil War. I am fascinated with American history and politics, and this post is very helpful. I’ll be getting Donald’s biography out of the university’s library tomorrow to use for research, but may come back to it and some of the above mentioned biographies once I graduate. I’ll definitely read some of your other reviews of Presidents when I have some spare time. Any advice for a book/chapter about Lincoln in the ’50s leading up to the conflict? My focus is on the Lincoln, Debates and historiography.

March 24, 2016 at 5:56 am

Oh my, you are really testing my memory! I think my first go-to source would be Michael Burlingame’s two-volume set (or the unabridged version which is available online free). If that isn’t a sufficient resource, I suspect his bibliography would be invaluable. Good luck!

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January 18, 2017 at 6:43 pm

Finally…finally I finished Lincoln: A Life. I didn’t check on page numbers, but I think this was either the third or fourth longest biography I have read so far. Overall, I thought Burlingame did a thorough job covering Loncoln’s life, including a decent synopsis on his life up to the presidency and his relationships with his wife and Cabinet officials. Interestingly, Steve expressed limited discussion about the Civil War, I feel there was too much discussion about the war and not enough about policy and legislation during his terms in office. I enjoy the policy discussions, for historical events like the war and the assination, I can read books specifically about them, the presidential biographies are seemingly the only place to find the wonky stuff. I have Team of Rivals as well, but that is on hold until I am through the list. Onto Jeffy D.

January 19, 2017 at 5:39 am

What are you going to read on JD? (Just curious as I plan my post-presidential reading and he’s certainly on that list!)

Team of Rivals was a great read though less “wonky” and policy-oriented…less a study of Lincoln’s presidency than a story of the fascinating characters who helped shape his administration. Easier (and more fun) to read than Burlingame’s but there was more raw info in the Lincoln: A Life (as one would suspect since it’s much longer).

January 23, 2017 at 8:21 pm

I went with Jefferson Davis, American by William Cooper. Although Davis was an important American, I did not feel like dedicating the time for Strode’s three volume.

March 9, 2017 at 6:24 am

I’d like to read my first book about Lincoln, but I don’t know which one to choose. Which one would you recommend of the following three: Ronald White’s “A. Lincoln: A Biography” David Herbert Donald’s “Lincoln” Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln”

Many thanks!

March 9, 2017 at 6:46 am

That might be the single toughest question you could have asked me (about presidential biographies, anyway). I really enjoyed all three immensely and you won’t go wrong no matter which you choose (and, indeed, you will almost certainly think you chose wisely!)

The first two are traditional, comprehensive biographies of Lincoln. I liked them both equally well and if choosing between them I would almost tell you to flip a coin – or read whichever is easier for you to get a copy of.

Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals” is only slightly less about Lincoln than the others but has the benefit of incorporating additional texture with mini-bios of Lincoln’s rivals for the presidency who subsequently ended up in his Cabinet. So while this one is slightly less about Lincoln than the others, it offers something extra in return.

If you could read *two* books on Lincoln, your first pick should be either Donald’s or White’s…followed by “Team of Rivals” which will mean even more to you having polished off a traditional Lincoln biography. Good luck!

March 12, 2017 at 4:24 pm

Thank you for your response! I’m going to buy “A. Lincoln: A Biography” first then!

April 18, 2017 at 10:14 am

I wanted to find a good Lincoln biography and came across your blog. Great list, thank you for such detailed descriptions of each book!

April 19, 2017 at 6:54 pm

I’m glad you found the site, and do let me know what you end up reading – and how you like it!

September 26, 2017 at 11:24 pm

First, I have been following most of your suggestions since Washington and now am spending a great amount on Lincoln.

I have read most of your suggestions on Lincoln including Sandburg’s. I really enjoyed Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.”

After Goodwin, I read Ida Tarbell’s 4 vol. set on “The Life Of Abraham Lincoln” written in 1895 and it was like reading the Lincoln portion of Goodwin’s all over again. I was really surprised how closely Goodwin followed Tarbell with the Lincoln portions of her work.

September 27, 2017 at 6:20 am

Thanks for your note – and for alerting me to Ida Tarbell’s series on Lincoln! I’m not sure how I missed it, but having been introduced to Tarbell during my journey through Teddy Roosevelt’s life I’m extremely intrigued / curious to get her take on Lincoln. Going on my follow-up list!

October 15, 2017 at 8:36 pm

In a world of endless writings on the presidents, your site is an invaluable resource! I’m so glad I found your reviews for both Lincoln and Washington. Choosing the “right” biography could be just as time-consuming as reading them all! I so appreciate your diligence and willingness to share!

October 16, 2017 at 6:28 am

Thanks! One of the things that has really struck me since I started is that new presidential biographies are published even faster than I can read and evaluate them…so this project seems like a “lifetime” journey. Still, once I’ve gotten through each of the presidents one time I do plan to try to stay current and read / review everything new (that seems high quality) as it is published…and all in an effort to help people figure out which is that one “almost perfect” biography for each president.

Do let me know if / when you read any that triggers a strong reaction on yor part, particularly if it’s something I didn’t have on my list-

November 7, 2017 at 1:45 pm

I’m so glad I swerved into your site/blog some months ago, it has been a great help! By accident, I have been reading presidential bios this year as well. By accident, I mean that I read “1776” by David McCullough and it made me want to know more about Geo. Washington. Fortunately, I chose the one by Ron Chernow and that really got me hooked – his style was easy and his prose is wonderful. I have since read John Adams by McCullough, Jefferson by Meacham, Madison by Cheney ( and the Letters of Dolly Madison by her grand-niece was very good), Monroe by Harlow Giles Unger, skipped J. Quincy Adams, then Jackson by H.W. Brands. I wasn’t that interested in what I considered less well known presidents, so after Jackson I chose the Pulitzer prize winning book “Impending Crisis” by David Potter, which covers Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Filmore, Pierce, and Buchanon to the brink of the Civil War. So, as you can see, I will be up to Lincoln and the Civil War soon. Of all these so far, I am still taken by how wonderful Chernow’s bio of Washington was, which included the details of the Revolutionary war. I have been using your reviews since Thomas Jefferson. I am limited to audiobooks so not always your recommendations but your reviews nevertheless have been my guide. Is there a single book that will include Lincoln’s early life as well as go thru the Civil War like Chernow’s did so beautifully? Or, should I read one bio focused primarily on Lincolns life and another about the Civil War? I noted your recommendation of James McPhersons “Battle Cry of Freedom.” Ronald White’s “A. Lincoln” and Donalds “Lincoln” are both on Audible, as is McPherson’s “Battle Cry of Freedom”

November 13, 2017 at 11:35 am

Your (audio) adventure sounds great! But you didn’t expect me to let you get away too easily with skipping over JQA, did you? 🙂 As you may have noticed, I thought he was an absolutely fascinating historical figure (if not an exceptional president) and although I didn’t uncover a “superb” biography of him, there are a couple that are pretty good.

As far as Lincoln is concerned, none of the biographies I read really reminds me of Chernow’s bio of Washington (stylistically or organizationally) but I thought several of them were fantastic. I think either White’s or Donald’s, in particular, will serve your purpose quite well. I would also note that only after I read a great biography of Ulysses S. Grant did I really fully appreciate and understand the Civil War more completely. Lincoln’s bios do a fine job, but only once you see the war from Grant’s perspective, too, do things come into even sharper focus. I’m sure once I read a biography of Robert E. Lee or Jefferson Davis I will have an even richer appreciation of the conflict, but I’m not quite there yet(!)

November 15, 2017 at 7:09 pm

By the time I got to JQA’s presidency, I felt I had read all the highlights of his life and career, from the bio’s of John Adams certainly, but also from Jefferson, Madison and Monroe. Little did I know then that as I went on he would be a thorn in the side of presidents Jackson to Polk! Based on what you said, after I read Lincoln and perhaps something on the Civil War, my brain will be so frazzled JQA will be less familiar and I’ll read him. I am Cherokee, and have been most disappointed that basically nil in the bio’s I’ve read to far is about Indians. Even with Jackson, from other books I know about different wars that Indians helped him with that made him famous, but not mentioned in his bio. If you are ever interested in one Cherokee’s dealing with ALL the Presidents from Washington to Jackson ( his name was Ridge), read John Ehle’s Trail of Tears. Before you reject it as I almost did ( don’t we all know about the TOT?), it’s 2/3’s about the Cherokee Nation from about a century before the TOT from the point of view of The Ridge, or Major Ridge as he later became known after Jackson promoted him. That is, if you ever finish this project! Anyway, if you know of any books about Indians dealings with early presidents, please advise. I didn’t know reading presidential bios was a “thing” but I guess it is. I spent 2016 just reading all of Fitzgerald and Hemingway’s novels and short stories, and several bios of each (and the Lost Generation). It’s fun to get into a subject and just rip it to shreds. Jeff Collins New Orleans

November 17, 2017 at 10:24 am

None of the biographies I’ve read (of Jackson or Wm Henry Harrison…or anyone else for that matter) seemed to focus on Indians to any significant (and balanced) degree. But your endorsement of “Trail of Tears” comes as no surprise since I’ve been told in the past that it’s an excellent book. Definitely on my bucket list!

February 24, 2018 at 12:16 pm

I just found this piece from a Google search for “best biographies of Lincoln” after re-watching the wonderful but historically flawed film “Abe Lincoln In Illinois”. Thank you so much for your insight into these books and your honest opinions about them. I am off to purchase two of them to read!

February 25, 2018 at 12:53 pm

Thanks for your comments, but you can’t leave me in suspense: which two are you going to read!?! Almost no matter which you choose, I expect you’ll really enjoy reading about Lincoln. He is a biographer’s dream subject in so many ways…

March 2, 2018 at 4:56 am

I read Burlingame online for the first 12 chapters because I wanted the detail on the early years. I then got the two abridged Burlingame books from the library and binge-read them. I found them very enjoyable. I also read Team of Rivals twice, because I got more out of it the second time. With that as a background, I picked up Lincoln in the Bardo with no expectations. It was a knockout to me how well it fit within the historical accuracy of Lincoln’s life, family, and times while being wildly creative and thought-provoking. I was left pondering insights gained through the characters that I could have only arrived at via the combination of this novel and my extensive reading of Lincoln and my resulting admiration of him. Truly extraordinary work of fiction about Lincoln that I would only recommend to someone who had done the background reading to get the book’s full impact.

March 5, 2018 at 7:06 am

I’m not sure why (perhaps because I’m writing this on a Monday morning?) but I found your comment about binge-reading Burlingame’s two-volume (1,600 pg) series amusing. Probably 10% of the biographies I have read were so good I would love to cheat and re-read them on the side – both for fun and to pick up on nuances I may have missed the first time through.

I am intrigued by historical fiction (from an entertainment perspective) but haven’t ever tackled the genre. Lincoln in the Bardo sounds intriguing – and like something I’m going to have to try on the side at some point. Sounds like Saunders really did his homework before letting his imagination run?

August 20, 2018 at 9:30 am

What do you think of Gore Vidal’s Lincoln?

August 20, 2018 at 11:13 am

I haven’t read it, nor have I read anything that falls into the category of “historical fiction.” I’ve heard it’s captivating but I don’t know much beyond that…

August 20, 2018 at 11:38 am

Thank you. Just finished B. Thomas. Excellent. My first Lincoln, based on your advice. What a man. Thinking of Charnwood 60 pages, Guelzo’s epilogue and then Burlingame. I have read one of each prez starting with Washington. I’m thinking about broadening out to other major figures during the period from Revolutionary to Civil Wars and then on up the ladder. Have you done that; read Whitman or Irving for example, works by them of bios of?

August 21, 2018 at 11:46 am

What I haven’t done these past five years is read any non-fiction books other than presidential biographies. But I have been assembling a list of biographies of folks I encountered during this process who are, many times, as compelling as the presidents. My ever-evolving list of people & biographies is located under the “What’s Next” tab at the top of the page… If you have thoughts/suggestions for who I’ve missed, let me know.

August 21, 2018 at 12:10 pm

Thanks for the reference to “What’s Next”. I’ll look. Halfway through Charnwood as of last night and you are right, it is a great short history of early America, especially remarkable as seen through the eyes of an englishman. Stopping at Lincoln and the Civil War seems a perfect point of reference to review and reassess the origin and evolution of America.

August 21, 2018 at 4:33 pm

i’d just suggest the major cultural figures for the arts, science, philosophy and business. Looks like you have a good list going in that direction.

April 4, 2019 at 6:59 pm

Dear Steve, I have read a lot of Lincoln biographies, including most of those on your list. However I keep coming back to Life of Lincoln by William Herndon, his old law partner and friend, and Jesse Weik, published in 1888. I found this first-person account thorough, anecdotal and charming. Indeed Herndon was widely criticized for the informality of his book as Lincoln was by then being widely mythologized. If you’ve read it I would welcome your comment. Marc Mishkin Lakewood, Colorado

April 5, 2019 at 5:08 am

Marc, I haven’t yet read it but it is definitely on my “follow-up” list – along with the series by Hay & Nicolay! I haven’t heard from very many people who’ve read it, so I’m delighted to hear you recommend it so highly. Lincoln has probably been my favorite president from a biographical perspective so I’m looking forward to read about him from some of his contemporaries.

June 15, 2019 at 12:41 pm

Thanks for this info. Would you have any thoughts on “Lincoln-a life of power & purpose” by Carwardine?

June 16, 2019 at 12:09 pm

Sorry, I haven’t read that one. But I’ll be interested to see if anyone who has can share their thoughts-

April 1, 2020 at 8:59 pm

Man, I really would love to dive into Michael Burlingame’s series. I emailed him about the differences between the uncut version and the print version. His answer was that it was a “fuller” version with footnotes. I wasn’t sure if by fuller he meant extra narrative text i.e. dvd deleted scenes or just footnotes included. I’d prefer reading the print version but feel as if I’d miss extra detail. For those that have read the uncut let me know.

July 4, 2020 at 11:05 am

Steve; Rarely do you fail to mention a significant presidential biography, but I noticed you did not mention this highly-praised Lincoln Prize Winner from 2003: Lincoln, A Life of Purpose and Power, by Richard Carwardine. I have been trying to get back to reading the book, which has been on my shelf for at least the past decade. I have perused enough of it to advise it is a VERY serious scholarly book.

“Carwardine combines a new perspective with a compelling narrative to deliver a fresh look at one of the pillars of American politics. He probes the sources of Lincoln’s moral and political philosophy and uses his groundbreaking research to cut through the myth and expose the man behind it.”

August 6, 2020 at 1:45 pm

Steve: I am trying to understand what Lincoln’s thinking was concerning refusing to let the South secede at the start of the Civil War. Specifically, if not abolishing slavery but saving the Union was Lincoln’s initial motivation, then why was preserving the Union so vital to him that he was willing to have the nation fight over it. Which biographies that you’ve read deals most deeply into this issue?

August 7, 2020 at 10:32 am

I have to be honest – too much time has elapsed for me to remember that specifically, but what I can tell you is that you ought to find the free, online version of Michael Burlingame’s series (the online version is much longer than his printed two-volume series) and see if it suits your need. I’ll be somewhat surprised if it doesn’t (since it’s so detailed)…

August 30, 2020 at 6:46 pm

For those who love historical novels, Gore Vidal’s “Lincoln”, and William Saffire’s “Freedom” are enjoyable reads.

December 11, 2020 at 5:34 pm

Any comments on Life of Lincoln-Phebe A. Hannaford 1883-Belford, Clarke & Co Chicago

December 11, 2020 at 5:56 pm

I haven’t read it. As I recall it is hard to find copies and it was less a biography than a series of essays or character sketches. If you’ve read it I would love to know what you thought-

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May 30, 2021 at 7:26 am

Among the most enjoyable Lincoln books are William Lee Miller’s two volume bio: “Lincoln’s Virtues” and “President Lincoln”. Both these books are highly laudatory (as are most books about Lincoln) and Lincoln’s Virtues particularly looks at Lincoln’s rise from 1854-1860 very closely. Miller is an engaging writer who looks at the 1850’s arguments over slavery from various angles, concluding that Lincoln was a skillful politician who artfully expressed views on slavery that were both radical and politically viable. Miller, who also wrote “Arguing About Slavery”, a book about the gag rule that focused on J. Q. Adams attack on it, is obviously quite steeped in the national argument that resulted in the Civil War.

I totally agreed with the commenter above who touts Carwardine’s short one volume book on Lincoln. For someone who doesn’t really have a lot of time to read biography this is the best one volume to get at the heart of who Lincoln was and is beautifully written.

Lastly (and believe me, I could go on), I would recommend Giants, a dual biography of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass by John Stauffer. These two men are my favorite figures in American history and this book shows why they had such an affinity towards each other: both autodidacts who insisted on following their own judgement while maintaining a keen ear for the political realities of their times. A very enjoyable read.

None of this is to downplay the amazing accomplishment of Mr. Lloyd in reading so many presidential biographies and then writing well written and helpful reviews about each one. This is a major accomplishment. I just wanted to make sure that folks knew about these books.

January 29, 2022 at 4:50 pm

Thank you about your review. I will choose David Hebert book 🙂 I’m also interested about American Civil War. Can you indicate a book?

January 29, 2022 at 4:53 pm

Good luck and happy reading! I think you’ll like the David Herbert Donald book.

Since I read so many biographies of Abraham Lincoln (and Ulysses S. Grant) I haven’t felt the need – and haven’t really had the time – to read a book or series dedicated to the Civil War. But I do own, and intend one day to read, the famous three-volume series by Shelby Foote . It might be a bit more than you want to tackle, but it’s what I plan to read at some point.

January 24, 2023 at 4:49 pm

Battle Cry of Freedom, by James McPherson, is an incredible one-volume work on the Civil War and a Pulitzer Prize winner. I highly recommend it if you are still interested in that topic.

February 3, 2022 at 6:14 pm

Lincoln and Garfield are my two favorite presidents to research. I don’t see it mentioned, but one of the books I have enjoyed the most is, “Lincoln’s White House: The People’s House in Wartime”, by James B. Conroy. I’ve read it twice even though I have a full library of books I am overdue to read. Hope you get the chance to check it out.

February 4, 2022 at 5:07 am

Your mission was successful: I’m checking it out! It’s not clear to me that it will be “enough” biography to really fall under my mission on this site, but it looks interesting enough that I’ve got in on order and can’t wait for it to arrive!

October 22, 2022 at 11:24 am

Just wanted you to know how much I’ve enjoyed your website over the years. If I’m at a book store and come across a presidential bio I have not read before, I always pull up your site to see if you have reviewed it and if so, what you thought. I’m currently writing my dissertation on President Lincoln’s view of human dignity and I’m sure I’ll be hopping over here frequently to get a survey of your thoughts as I am working. Thank you!

October 22, 2022 at 1:02 pm

Thanks for your note, and I’m a little bit jealous you get to spend so much time with Lincoln! (But…only a little bit jealous as the thought of writing a dissertation right now might make me break out in hives). I’m curious what the most helpful sources have been so far for you – books, journal articles, correspondence, etc, or whether it can’t really be narrowed down as everything is potentially a source of insight?

January 9, 2023 at 1:00 pm

What about Harry Jaffa’s Crisis of the House Divided? It’s the finest intellectual biography of Lincoln – and perhaps of any President – I have read.

January 10, 2023 at 5:29 am

I looked at this a while back and concluded it was too narrowly focused to read as part of my early effort, but it does seem like an interesting “intellectual” analysis of the Lincoln-Douglas debates which I should probably get to at some point.

January 10, 2023 at 7:30 am

Yes, I would strongly encourage you to read it! Otherwise, I love your presidential biographies ratings. I got a lot out of them.

January 24, 2023 at 4:51 pm

Time to add Jon Meacham’s “And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle” to your follow-up list for Lincoln.

January 25, 2023 at 8:08 am

Yes, I’ve got it on my short list but haven’t gotten around to formally adding it to the master list. I need to do that. Now that he’s got this Lincoln book out of the way perhaps Meacham can get back to James and Dolley Madison?!? 🙂

June 9, 2023 at 1:00 am

Fantastic compilation and great work as always! As a lover of all things Lincoln, I have thoroughly enjoyed your list here. I would be remiss to not bring up one of my favorite books on Lincoln which I sadly did not see on your list: Dale Carnegie’s Lincoln the Unknown. If you have not already read or considered it, I humbly recommend it. A short biography, Carnegie’s book is supremely readable and carries an old-school, endearing charm to it. Its best quality is that it manages to efficiently capture the magic of Lincoln’s character–and what made him a good person–in a way that sometimes can get lost in a lot of the other more verbose biographies. It is both enlightening, heartwarming, inspiring in good measure, and I recommend it as the first book to anyone wanting to learn more about Lincoln’s character. If you do consider it, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to learning!

Karna Patel

June 10, 2023 at 5:14 am

Thanks so much for the recommendation! I looked back at my notes and it seems I skipped this one b/c I already had a long list of Lincoln bios and Carnegie’s seemed a bit short. I’ll have to take another look! (And there can never be too many biographies of Lincoln, can there?!?)

July 1, 2023 at 8:43 pm

In looking over your blog (which is excellent, by the way) I noticed you mention Ida M. Tarbell. That got my attention as I am in the process of writing a full biography of Tarbell. While her book is obviously much older than many, it still has a great deal of value. Especially her “In the Footsteps of the Lincolns” which started as newspaper columns and then became a book.

Of course, Tarbell is best known for her expose on John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil, but she often said that she most enjoyed working on Lincoln. “He was the only man I could spend five years with and never be bored,” she once said. My book will focus on all aspects of Tarbell’s life, but especially her work on Lincoln.

Keep up the good work!

January 2, 2024 at 1:09 pm

I just saw that Michael Burlingame released an abridged, single-volume edition of his work in October of 2023. Curious if that will address some of the issues you highlighted in your review.

January 2, 2024 at 7:55 pm

I think it’s interesting that Burlingame was not the person who did the editing or abridgement. It was done by another professor named Jonathan White.

August 12, 2024 at 7:10 am

it’s not a Pres biography but have you come across Differ we must about Lincoln by Steve Inskeep?

August 16, 2024 at 5:24 am

I recall it being published last year and taking a look to see if it was something I needed to read (for this site). Although it didn’t make the cut, I’ve heard through the grapevine from a couple of folks who found it interesting and thought-provoking but at times felt like it wanted to be more like a biography and, in that respect, didn’t succeed. But I’ve not read it, so if you have a different take I’d love to hear!

Book Reviews

Six of the top recent books on abraham lincoln, spring 2009.

Abraham Lincoln is the most written-about person in American history, and the third-most in world history—ranking below only Jesus and Napoleon. The deluge of books about the Great Emancipator has only increased with the bicentennial of his birth this year. Lists of the “essential” Lincoln books have been published, and one renowned Lincoln scholar has even suggested that a book be written on the worst, so readers will know which to avoid. In 2008 and into the first months of 2009, many notable books on our 16th president have appeared, but some exceptional ones stand above the rest.

Lincoln’s presidential years have drawn more scholarly attention than the period before he entered the White House; some scholars argue that, despite the glut of biographies, much remains to be uncovered and examined about his early life. In July 2008, Lewis E. Lehrman rescued one such segment of Lincoln’s life from the shadows with his masterful Lincoln at Peoria: The Turning Point , a study of Lincoln’s speech at Peoria, Illinois, in October 1854, in response to Stephen A. Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Act that year. It marked Lincoln’s return to politics after a five-year hiatus and indeed the beginning of his advance to the presidency.

Lincoln later said of the Kansas-Nebraska Act that it “aroused him as he had never been before,” and indeed his response, based on moral principles rather than political expediency, transformed him from a regional party politician to a national statesman, shifting the focus of his politics away from local issues to a stance against the national expansion of slavery. As Lehrman deftly explains, the Peoria speech was the foundation of Lincoln’s political ideology and rhetoric for the rest of his life: its influence is palpable in his debates with Douglas in 1858, his Cooper Union Speech in 1860, and many of his ideas and policies as president toward slavery. Lincoln in Peoria traces the context, rhetoric, and consequences of that utterance and its place in Lincoln’s rise to greatness. Lehrman spent 20 years researching and writing this book, and it shows. Lincoln in Peoria will not easily be surpassed as the best account of this speech.

The next significant milestone in Lincoln’s political rise was the series of Lincoln-Douglas debates four years later, when the two political giants battled for Douglas’s seat in the U.S. Senate. Many transcripts have been published over the years, but the newest edition, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates: The Lincoln Studies Center Edition , edited by Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis, is certainly one of the highlight Lincoln publications of 2008. Wilson and Davis have, in this third book from Knox College’s Lincoln Studies Center, established an authoritative text through meticulous editorial techniques and a comprehensive understanding of the man and his times. While previous books have simply published the contemporary coverage—whether from newspapers friendly to the candidates or, as in Harold Holzer’s significant 1993 version, from the opposing side’s reporting—Wilson and Davis have compiled the first critical edition, parsing what the candidates actually said, regardless of the source, and clarifying and extending the speakers’ words by correcting the originals’ irregular paragraphing, arbitrary punctuation, and occasionally confused transcriptions. They also offer textual annotations; a glossary of persons, issues, and events; and an introduction for each of the seven debates to put the overall campaign into context with the individual events. (Another notable book of 2008, in fact, focuses more on the context than on the transcripts, and can and should be read as a complement to Wilson and Davis: Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America by Allen C. Guelzo. The complete transcripts are required reading for anyone seeking to fully understand Lincoln’s life and politics—and American 19th-century politics—and the Lincoln Studies Center edition now offers the definitive text.

Last year also produced an unusual number of outstanding large-scale works about the great man. No Lincoln library will be complete without the four-volume edition of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln: Legal Documents and Cases , edited by Daniel W. Stowell and five assistants. Lincoln’s work as a lawyer rarely has been studied as extensively as it deserves, and never have the details and depths of his law practice been so fully plumbed. The vast literature about him offers mostly generalities concerning his legal work and studies of specific cases. The release of the four-volume papers—which complements the three-CD The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition , published by the University of Illinois Press in 2000—changes this.

The Papers , which culminate eight years of editorial work and examine more than 50 individual cases, offer two “tours” with Lincoln around the judicial circuit, essays on his career as a lawyer and as a court official, and explanations of the structure of the Illinois and federal court systems and 19th-century pleading and practice, as well as a biographical directory, an extensive legal glossary, and a cumulative index. While such a work is not necessarily recreational reading, this collection is not for scholars only. Its large and admirable body of contextual material offers insight into Lincoln’s professional life as a busy 19th-century lawyer, while the assortment of his most important and most interesting cases—such as the famous William “Duff” Armstrong “moonlight” trial and Illinois Central Railroad v. McLean County—keeps it a lively read. In all, this compendium of a formidable attorney’s practice throws light on the activities that were uppermost for more than half of his working life.

The most original—and arguably the most astonishing—contribution from 2008 is a two-volume work, The Physical Lincoln Complete , by Dr. John G. Sotos. Sotos, a renowned cardiologist and a medical advisor for the television show House M.D. , has written the most exhaustive study on Lincoln’s health ever published, and the first attempted in 75 years. The book’s main diagnosis is that Lincoln suffered from the genetic cancer syndrome MEN2B—multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 2B. This diagnosis, Sotos shows, explains more than 50 previously unsolved mysteries about Lincoln, including the manifestations from which other observers have concluded that he suffered from clinical depression, Marfan syndrome, and stress-related physical illness.

The Physical Lincoln Complete is aimed at scholars and laypersons alike. Volume 1, The Physical Lincoln , is for general readers, telling the story of Lincoln’s medical history in nontechnical language. In the author’s words, it “takes you on a tour of [Lincoln’s] body”—his arms, legs, hands, feet, skull, joints, eyes, and heart. It also reviews the health histories of his family. The second volume, The Physical Lincoln Sourcebook, is for scholars: taking the raw information from historical sources and organizing it as a medical record. The first volume contains frequent references to the second volume, making the two essentially companionate, although they can be purchased and read separately. The Physical Lincoln Complete may sound daunting, but is so compelling, revelatory, and well-written as to be a remarkable and truly recommend able reading experience.

Another original take last year was Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer (Harper, 416 pages, $27.95) by Fred Kaplan, an English professor and biographer of authors, who examines his subject primarily from a literary viewpoint. Unlike the critically acclaimed 2006 book Lincoln’s Sword by Douglas L. Wilson, which examined Lincoln’s writing as a political instrument, Kaplan declares Lincoln to be one of the great writers of his day and second perhaps only to Thomas Jefferson as a writing president. Kaplan treads familiar ground in examining Lincoln’s reading, such as his beloved Shakespeare, Robert Burns, and the Bible, and their influences. But he undertakes an unparalleled analysis of Lincoln the creative writer, digging more widely and deeply than any of his predecessors in examining Lincoln’s writings from early notebook jottings and poems, to love letters and legal briefs, to the masterful presidential speeches and writings that are a significant part of American literature. One of the more interesting aspects of Kaplan’s exegesis is his recasting of a Lincoln speech on agricultural improvements as a free verse poem.

Kaplan’s great strength is his experience and expertise in examining literature and those who make it—he has to his credit admirable biographies of Mark Twain, Henry James and Charles Dickens. Because of this, he can go farther than any previous commentator in showing the growth and maturation of Lincoln’s literary skill and how his great talent helped to form his policies and ideas. Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer is an innovative offering in a crowded field and will become a staple for Lincoln enthusiasts and scholars.

The most anticipated contribution of 2008—and of the past 10 years at least—is another two-volume work that may prove to be the greatest biography of the 16th president ever written: Abraham Lincoln: A Life by Michael Burlingame, embodying 10 years’ research and writing by one of the field’s most respected historians (and certainly the most indefatigable ransacker of archives). Burlingame has written and edited numerous books on Lincoln and his associates. His first such offering, The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln, revealed aspects of Lincoln’s life never before known or exposed. Abraham Lincoln: A Life continues this tradition with an avalanche of previously unknown information. Burlingame has scoured thousands of 19th-century newspapers; read hundreds of oral histories, unpublished letters, and journals from Lincoln’s contemporaries; and reexamined vast manuscript collections around the country long neglected by the most assiduous of his colleagues. One of the book’s many highlights is its revelation of more than 200 anonymous editorials written by Lincoln during his early political career in Illinois.

Burlingame goes deeper than any previous biographer in examining Lincoln’s psychology. He scrutinizes Lincoln’s marriage and what help and harm it did him; how his years at the Illinois bar and as a local party hack sharpened his abilities; and how his mental development and life experiences ultimately prepared him for the ultimate triumph and catastrophe of his election to the presidency and the Civil War. This vast, profound book follows in the grand tradition of Carl Sandburg’s epic biography—albeit with far more fact and far less poeticized fiction in the telling—and will hardly, if ever, be surpassed. Like the idiosyncratically acute biography by Lincoln’s law partner, William Herndon, Burlingame’s biography will undoubtedly be hotly debated, but it will certainly become the paradigm and primary reference for all future endeavors to pin down Lincoln the man and leader.

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COMMENTS

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