Which Abraham Lincoln biography is the Best One?

June 15, 2010 | Winstonwolf33

[winstonwolf33]

I'm planning on reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln for a nice non-fiction change of pace. As you can imagine, there's so many Lincoln biographies out there I wouldn't know where to begin! Certainly, I would like to begin with the cream of the crop, but which one would it be? Even if I do a search in Amazon.com for Abraham Lincoln biographies sorted by five-star average customer reviews, a truckload of titles pop out.

Here's just a few of those titles:

Lincoln and His Admirals by Craig L. Symonds

Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words (Vintage) by Douglas L. Wilson

Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography by Jr. Philip B. Kunhardt, Philip B. Kunhardt III, Peter W. Kunhardt, and David Herbert Donald

The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words by Ronald C. White

Lincoln as I Knew Him: Gossip, Tributes and Revelations from His Best Friends and Worst Enemies by Harold Holzer

A. Lincoln: His Last 24 Hours by W. Emerson Reck

The Physical Lincoln Complete by John G. Sotos

Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years & the War Years (Library of the Presidents) by Carl Sandburg

The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln: The Story of America's Most Reviled President by Larry Tagg

Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Doreen Rappaport and Kadir Nelson

Lincoln's Other White House: The Untold Story of the Man and His Presidency by Elizabeth Smith Brownstein

Abraham Lincoln For The Defense by Warren Bull (Paperback - June 9, 2003)

Herndon's Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life : The History and Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln by William Henry Herndon and Jesse William Weik

Abraham Lincoln: The Man & His Faith by G. Frederick Owen

Tell Me of Lincoln: Memories of Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, and Life in Old New York by James Edward Kelly, William B. Styple, and James E. Kelly

The Essential Lincoln by Tim Davidson

With Charity for All: Lincoln and the Restoration of the Union by William C. Harris (Paperback - June 24, 1999)

So after a while, I pretty much gave up on Amazon and decided to just jump in here and see if I can get some feedback from my fellow Freepers. Any recommendations?

[mdittmar]

I really liked,The Living Lincoln: The Man and His Times, in His Own Words;Culled from the 9-volume Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, this book assembles the best of Lincoln's writings on himself and the issues of his day, creating in effect an engrossing autobiography of our greatest president. Skillful editing shapes this volume comprised of letters, speeches, and documents into an intimate self-portrait of Lincoln, from his early years in Springfield to the day before he died.

[jessduntno]

“That came later.”

Ohh...different problem, eh? Like in AZ?
Don’t worry, State’s Rights will just be a memory soon.

[speciallybland]

With Malice Toward None

Except when he sent his invasionary army down south.

[jessduntno]

Ariz. lawmaker takes aim at automatic citizenship

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2535172/posts

Honest Abe would never have stood for this. It’s an outrage!
What the hell do these States think they are doing, anyway? Trying to give their citizens what they want. Harrrrummmmph.

[Trust but Verify]

I read Team of Rivals. Liked it so much, I read it a second time.

[Non-Sequitur]

Except when he sent his invasionary army down south.

If the South hadn't started the war there wouldn't have been any reason for any 'invasionary army'.

[jessduntno]

“’Team of Rivals’ by Doris Kearns Goodwin”

Not bad if you are a confirmed leftist.

[Genoa]

My friend N-S is right, you know. Lincoln held off as long as he could. He wanted to send food to the men at Fort Sumter, but SC considered that a casus belli and it was the pretext they needed to open fire. Et voila - civil war.

[jessduntno]

“My friend N-S is right, you know. Lincoln held off as long as he could. He wanted to send food to the men at Fort Sumter, but SC considered that a casus belli and it was the pretext they needed to open fire. Et voila - civil war.”

Damn good reason to kill half a million people, too! When do we invade those bastrds in AZ?

[Non-Sequitur]

Damn good reason to kill half a million people, too! When do we invade those bastrds in AZ?

I suppose Lincoln could have surrendered once the confederates attacked Sumter. But then again, FDR could have surrendered after Pearl Harbor, Bush could have turned a blind eye over the invasion of Kuwait, and do on. Imagine all the lives that would have saved.

[rockrr]

I read stupid comments like that and immediately recall the breathless moronicisms of the Lancet study.

[Fast Moving Angel]

“America’s Caesar”, by Greg Loren Durand. Not exactly a 100% biography — goes deeper than that — but an excellent read.

[jessduntno]

I suppose Lincoln could have surrendered once the confederates attacked Sumter. But then again, FDR could have surrendered after Pearl Harbor...”

Freakin Alinsky himself would have blushed at THAT moral equivalency...

Good grief...get a grip...that war was gonna happen and you gotta be shittin yourself and everyone else spouting crap like this...go talk to an indoctrinated third grader like your other buddies that think that killer Linclon was a hero.

[jessduntno]

The Lancet study.”

The one written by BOIL?

[Non-Sequitur]

Good grief...get a grip...that war was gonna happen and you gotta be shittin yourself and everyone else spouting crap like this...go talk to an indoctrinated third grader like your other buddies that think that killer Linclon was a hero.

Sometimes the only response for crap like your's is crap like that.

[ml/nj]

My comment had nothing to do with sneaking into Washington in disguise. I wouldn't be the one to call that unreasonable give the threat(s) he believed he faced.

But I guess you don't know "the rest of the story." Maybe the biographies or histories you have read didn't bother to include it?

ML/NJ

[jessduntno]

“Sometimes the only response for crap like your’s is crap like that.”

Sorry Skippy, but that shit of yours was so weak it wouldn’t have passed the smell test of the Congregation at Rev. Wright’s. Good of you to admit it though. Keep it up, you’ll have some integrity some day.

[Colonel Kangaroo]

I highly recommend The Real Lincoln by Dr. Thomas DiLorenzo. It makes the case against Lincoln with all the honesty, intelligence and good grace that the Confederate cause is known for.

And after you're finished laughing at it, it makes a very passable chew toy for your dog.

[jessduntno]

“And after you’re finished laughing at it, it makes a very passable chew toy for your dog.”

Perhaps she will let you have a taste on your next date.

[dead]

But I think Goodwin is a hack historian and mediocre writer.

She also had an affair with LBJ, which makes me throw up in my mouth.