Abe Lincoln and His Ancestors by Ida Tarbell

[Rob Wick]

I have to agree with Gene on this. I've always felt this was Tarbell's most mature interpretation of Lincoln, and in spite of its age I think it still holds up well. To be sure, as Gene notes, we know far more about Lincoln than Tarbell and her contemporaries did at the time, but she rarely let herself get ahead of the facts (a notable exception, of course, was Wilma Minor).

Tarbell started the book as a series of articles that appeared nationwide at the beginning of the 1920s and then turned those into the book In the Footsteps of the Lincolns. As Gene notes, she traveled throughout much of the country retracing the Lincoln family's journey from Hingham, Mass., to Springfield. One of the many projects I would like to do, but never seem to have the discipline to do, would be to collect Tarbell's articles on Lincoln that weren't turned into books as well as her most pertinent speeches on him. Maybe some day.

Best
Rob