Herndon's Lincoln

[Angela]

(02-13-2017 07:56 PM)Rob Wick Wrote:  Angela, in my experience, most people who read a book rarely read it critically. In other words, they don't read asking "is this right?" or "how did the author come to this conclusion?" Herndon's biography is no different. I'm sure there are things in Herndon's Lincoln that didn't appear in Informants and vice versa. But I think if one was to read Informants first, then the biography, it would allow for a more critical examination of what Herndon wrote. Wilson and Davis did the heavy work for the reader in this edition, and given that they were also responsible for Informants, I would trust their critical eyes over many others. Especially since neither seem to be infected with the dreaded "anti-Herndon bias virus."

Best
Rob

Rob, I could not agree more!When reading Herndon's Informants, I came across a lot of popular stories, embedded in longer notes from the people who told them. By reading those, some, to me, became more credible, others I thought of as not so much because the additional information they offered was wrong at times. But it is always great to have some experts who can put this or that fact into perspective. Looking forward to the book!
As soon as Lincoln's White House is finished :-)