Abraham Lincoln the man behind the myths

[Gene C]

written by Stephen Oates in 1984, slightly less than 200 pages.

Interesting short book on Lincoln. Most of the book covers New Salem till his death. Interesting short chapter on Stanton and the movie/book The Lincoln Conspiracy. Oates makes a sound argument against the "Stanton was involved in Lincoln's assassination" theory. He did make an interesting comment that Mart Surratt was probably innocent.

Also good chapters on the three phases of plans for reconstruction, Lincoln's impossible dilemma" on slavery, Lincoln's management of the military, and Mary Lincoln. Her health and her problems in dealing with her grief are mentioned as well as her conflicts with Herndon's lectures and book.

A good short read on many of the challenges Lincoln faced.

Several good used copies are available on Amazon, as well as customer reviews.
https://www.amazon.com/Abraham-Lincoln-m...255&sr=8-6