|
07-28-2012, 08:32 AM,
|
|
|
Rob Wick
Hero Member
|
Posts: 3,038
Threads: 196
Joined: Jul 2012
|
|
RE: What are your top five Lincoln books?
My five are going to be a little different. I realize that they won't be what many would think of when recommending a book, but I'll explain further in a minute.
1. Herndon's Informants -- It's because of William H. Herndon that we know anything about Lincoln's early days. However, people wanting to understand where he came from need a guide a little more accessible. Although it's an expensive book, it's a requirement for anyone wanting to know about the very early years. Douglas Wilson and Rodney O. Davis leave all of Herndon's evidence intact, but provide a context for what is wheat and what is chaff.
2. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln -- In my opinion, the only way to truly know who Lincoln is, or what he stood for, is to read what he wrote and what he said. The one thing I've always admired about Lincoln is his clarity in thought and writing. Oh, and even though it is a multi-volume set, it is one title, so it still counts.
3. Abraham Lincoln: A Biography -- When a person familiarizes themselves with the first two, then they are ready to begin on secondary works. Even though it's old, Benjamin Thomas's book is still considered one of the best single-volume biographies. Thomas, like Lincoln, wrote with clarity and wit.
4, Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and Abraham Lincoln: The War Years -- OK, I know. This is a six-volume set and includes two different titles. It's my post, and I'll cheat if i want to.  If one reads the first three selections, they can then make their way through Sandburg's million+ word opus with a little more confidence that they can pick out the dross and still maintain the poetry and magic that Sandburg put into the work.
5. The Evidence -- Again, someone wanting to know about Lincoln's assassination would probably prefer to read Blood on the Moon or American Brutus, but to get a handle on what the country faced when Lincoln was murdered, they need to walk through what investigators pursued and see what they saw.
As most of you can tell, I strongly prefer primary material over secondary sources. Of course, no one who just wants to familiarize themselves with Lincoln will go through three of the works I've outlined. I understand that. But if one wants to get as true a picture of just who Abraham Lincoln was, they have to do more than read what biographers, no matter how good their works may be, thought of him.
Best
Rob
Abraham Lincoln is the only man, dead or alive, with whom I could have spent five years without one hour of boredom.--Ida M. Tarbell
I want the respect of intelligent men, but I will choose for myself the intelligent.
--Carl Sandburg
|
|
|
07-28-2012, 02:07 PM,
(This post was last modified: 07-28-2012, 02:07 PM by Rob Wick.)
|
|
|
Rob Wick
Hero Member
|
Posts: 3,038
Threads: 196
Joined: Jul 2012
|
|
|
RE: What are your top five Lincoln books?
Laurie,
Donald's is still one of the best, but in terms of single-volume bios, I like Thomas better. I don't know that I can put my finger on any particular reason, other than a personal preference. I also liked A. Lincoln by Ronald C. White, especially his interpretation of Lincoln's speeches, but there's something about Thomas that makes it stand out for me.
Best
Rob
Abraham Lincoln is the only man, dead or alive, with whom I could have spent five years without one hour of boredom.--Ida M. Tarbell
I want the respect of intelligent men, but I will choose for myself the intelligent.
--Carl Sandburg
|
|
|
|
07-31-2012, 01:53 PM,
|
|
|
Rob Wick
Hero Member
|
Posts: 3,038
Threads: 196
Joined: Jul 2012
|
|
RE: What are your top five Lincoln books?
It's sitting in my bookcase, Bill, but I haven't had a chance to do more than a cursory reading of it. What I like is that Burlingame put the entire unedited manuscript on Knox College's website (as if it wasn't big enough ).
Best
Rob
Abraham Lincoln is the only man, dead or alive, with whom I could have spent five years without one hour of boredom.--Ida M. Tarbell
I want the respect of intelligent men, but I will choose for myself the intelligent.
--Carl Sandburg
|
|
|
07-31-2012, 03:11 PM,
(This post was last modified: 07-31-2012, 03:13 PM by Joe Di Cola.)
|
|
|
Joe Di Cola
Forum Master
|
Posts: 591
Threads: 25
Joined: Jul 2012
|
|
|
RE: What are your top five Lincoln books?
It comes so much alive that you feel like you are a fly on the wall at history's great events. The only trouble I had with the volumes was the price paid for books that were so shoddy in the quality of the bindings. They "fell apart" and I had to have them fixed by a librarian friend. I mentioned this in a review and Johns Hopkins Press got quite defensive.
Benjamin Thomas I feel has written the best-to-date one-volume biography. David Donald's and Carl Sandburg's I would pick for 2nd place in the one-volume bio category--Sandburg for the sheer joy of reading his prose. I think the 6-volume Sandburg is one I would also rank high. In spite of the shoddy bindings, the Burlingame 2-volume will set the standard for years to come. Since I am most interested in Lincoln's earlier life and the people, events, and forces that shaped him (especially the New Salem Years), Thomas' New Salem, Wilson's Honor's Voice, and Wilson and Davis Herndon's Informants are two of my favories. Finally, a must for Lincoln libraries are Lincoln Day by Day and the Collected Works.
One more...If one wishes to get a cross-section of biographers on Lincoln's Life, Paul Angle's THE LINCOLN READER is an old but sure source.
|
|
|
|
What are your top five Lincoln books?
