Looking for a good Abraham Lincoln Biography

[Bro Pete]

Does any one know of a good biography on Abraham Lincoln. I am looking for something more than the Civil War and military history. Any recommendations?

[rhadin]

The absolute best and most complete biography of Abraham Lincoln is Abraham Lincoln: A Life (2009) by Michael Burlingame and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. It is available in both print and ebook. Unfortunately, it is expensive, but there is quite a bit to it. I bought the hardcover (2-volume; list price $125) set when it was first released and having read all 2000+ pages, I can say it is a fantastic insight into Lincoln.

• Nook edition is $100
  
• Kindle edition is $89.66
  
• Sony ebookstore lists it for $125

It does not appear to be available at Google Books.

[Maggie Leung]

I liked "Team of Rivals."

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

I liked "Team of Rivals."

I'll second that.. An interesting look at Lincoln's ability to control a group of large egos.

[SteveK]

"Team of Rivals" is definitely a good one, as it also provides a lot of information on his cabinet members, many of whom were political rivals.

One of the Lincoln biographies I read had an unusual focus, which is clear from its title. It's called "Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer" by Fred Kaplan. I'd recommend you keep your dictionary handy for this one, as it seems to be written more for the academic environment than for the general populace.

Enjoy!
SteveK

[Mike L]

I can't recommend a Lincoln biography, but I can recommend a book I am currently reading:

Bloody Crimes, by James L. Swanson

It's not so much a life story - more a death story. It starts at the assissination, and covers Lincoln's lying in state, the funeral train which took him back to Springfield IL to be buried, and the actual burial.

Doesn't sound very interesting, does it? But let me tell you, it's extremely gripping - even exciting in parts.

It also tells the parallel story of the last few days of Jefferson Davis, whose flight from Richmond coincided with the above Lincoln train journey, etc.

The reason I read it is that I had previously read Manhunt, by the same author. It told the story of the hunt for John Wilkes Booth and the other assassins. That was a real page-turner.

Both books are available for the Kindle and perhaps other readers.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

I'll second that.. An interesting look at Lincoln's ability to control a group of large egos.

Team of Rivals is an excellent book (and is being made into a movie) but it is not a biography in the traditional sense of biography. It focuses on a particular moment in time rather than Lincoln's life. For example, there is little discussion of the problems he was having with Mary Todd Lincoln or the illness of his children.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by SteveK

One of the Lincoln biographies I read had an unusual focus, which is clear from its title. It's called "Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer" by Fred Kaplan. I'd recommend you keep your dictionary handy for this one, as it seems to be written more for the academic environment than for the general populace.

Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer was written for the general population although with a heavier emphasis on the academic. However, it is narrowly focused on a particularly aspect of Lincoln's life rather than being a complete biography.

[Donnageddon]

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith is quite good.

[MV64]

Team of Rivals is excellent, but the definitive biography (considered so by most historians) is Lincoln by David Herbert Donald.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by MV64

Team of Rivals is excellent, but the definitive biography (considered so by most historians) is Lincoln by David Herbert Donald.

Donald's was the definitive biography until Burlingame's book was released. I believe the consensus has changed, at least among historians who have read both books.

[mckait]

Add me to the fans of Team of Rivals. I loved it. I didn't know that they were making a movie. That should be interesting.

[guyanonymous]

I guess Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter isn't what you're after?

[dwig]

Originally Posted by Bro Pete

Does any one know of a good biography on Abraham Lincoln. I am looking for something more than the Civil War and military history. Any recommendations?

AL's presidency was durning the Civil War; no biography will fail to discuss the war, at least from a political viewpoint.

That said, I can recommend "Abraham Lincoln" by George McGovern (http://www.amazon.com/Abraham-Lincol.../dp/0805083456). Its a relatively thin volume, as AL biographies go, but is very well written. It centers on those events and experiences that formed his ethics and lead him to steer nature of the War into the moral crusade that it became.

[MV64]

There is also a book called "What Lincoln Believed" that is really interesting. It examines his personal views, a huge chunk of which takes place before the Civil War. Really gives you a grasp of who he was as a person.