Abrahan Lincoln's Intelectual Development

[Gene C]

Full Title - "Abraham Lincoln's Intellectual Development and His New Salem Mentors 1809-1837 by Vito Silvestri and Alfred Lairo

Copyright 2019, with about 175 pages. This is a very good book with a lot of interesting information packed into these pages. It is easy to read, with the information well organized.

Like most people, Lincoln's intellectual development began with his parents, especially his mother. With the death of his mother when he was 9, "Abe remembered this period as the loneliest time of his life. He confided to a friend that he found solace by the Bible stories his mother told him because he wanted to hear her voice in his mind, seemingly as a way to keep himself stable." That influence and memories he carried with him all his life. We can see that influence in his House Divided and With Malice Towards None speeches.

This example, and many others are discussed and documented with over 500 source notes.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, as it far exceeded my expectations. It's straight foreword, not filled with drawn out explanations regarding Lincoln's thought process. A good amount of attention is given to the impact of the books Lincoln read as a youth.

I think you will like this book, as it helps to emphasize Lincoln's drive and determination to improve himself through self study, and shows the different tools he used as a youth and young man to reach his goals. He never gave up

Here is the Amazon site - https://www.amazon.com/Abraham-Lincolns-...524&sr=8-1

[Dave B]

Very interesting. Thanks for the post.

[David Lockmiller]

(09-08-2022 09:14 AM)Gene C Wrote:  Full Title - "Abraham Lincoln's Intellectual Development and His New Salem Mentors 1809-1837 by Vito Silvestri and Alfred Lairo

With the death of his mother when he was 9, "Abe remembered this period as the loneliest time of his life. He confided to a friend that he found solace by the bible stories his mother told him because he wanted to hear her voice in his mind, seemingly as a way to keep himself stable."

Abraham Lincoln had great respect for many women in his life.

[Gene C]

Regarding the influence of his parents .....From p. 27

PARENTAL ICONS
"By example, all three parents demonstrated to a young Lincoln, that by daily hard work, often against harsh conditions, by not giving up when beaten down, and by investing in himself toward future gratification, a person could yield results and help sustain one's life and ambitions. Perhaps, even more important, all three parents subscribed to the teachings of the Bible and the idea of government by the people."

[LincolnMan]

Thank you for the review Gene. The book looks interesting for sure.