Rating: 
Summary: everything you always wanted to know about young abe, but ..
Review: Honor's Voice is not the first biography one should read about our 16th president. Gone is the visionary and heroic patriot whose compassion and honesty draw Americans' love anew in each generation. In its place is a man who is flawed and troubled to the core, one who somehow stumbles his way (following deceit, delusion, and enormous self-doubt) to his marriage, his sense of political ethics and his appreciation of the basic decency and equality of all mankind. The author can be faulted for finding no source too unworthy to quote; no fact too unimportant to repeat once, twice, three times or more. The book's repetition is grating; so, too, is its strong preference for "sex, lies and 18th century videotape" over politics and policy. Yet it reads well overall and, undoubtedly, provides a deep and accurate insight into the psychology (and psychoses) of one of our greatest heroes. If one wants to see Lincoln, unvarnished, there is no place better to look.
Rating: 
Summary: worth reading only if you are a big Lincoln fan
Review: I have read several books on Lincoln and admire him as the greatest American that ever lived. This book was worth my effort because I did learn much about Lincoln's young adulthood. I did not find the book pleasing to read, however, because of the author's excessive reliance on original quotes from primary sources. Though this makes the book scholarly, it does not make it entertaining. The author spends too much time on Lincoln's love life and practically nothing on the origins of his philosophy. Though I am left knowing more about Lincoln the man, I am still searching for the answer to the single question for which I bought the book: how did this man of humble origins, beset by more than the usual number of human frailties, evolve into the American Messiah, the savior of the nation and its most honorable principles for the benefit of all civilization? Other than feebly suggesting that Lincoln's opposition to cruelty to animals might have eventually caused him to sympathize with the plight of slaves, this book leaves this mystery of American history to future writers.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Guide to Conflicting Evidence
Review: Teachers in criminal justice classes, I am told, often stage mock crimes in their classrooms. In the middle of a lecture, for example, a bandit will barge in, threaten the students, and make off with the professor's wallet. The students, at first shocked but then relieved when told that it was a staged event, are then asked to describe the event. What did the suspect look like? How tall was he? What color hair did he have? What was he wearing? What did he say? Invariably, there are multiple answers to those questions. People saw different things. No one version of what occurred is totally accurate.Wilson's book confronts that perennial problem of human perception. Though his 'transformation of Lincoln' plows familiar ground - how one solitary, unschooled backwoods man transformed himself into a national, albeit polarizing figure, through willpower, endurance, ambition, guts, and brains - his careful forensic method, as judge and jury of a multitude of competing facts and interpretations, makes this book a compelling tale, as much about how history is written as it is about how Lincoln evolved. And this is why I disagree with the reviews that describe this book as long-winded, tough-sledding and over-detailed. In Honor's Voice, Wilson provides a valuable glimpse into the historian's bag of tricks. Wilson takes each of the iconic moments of Lincoln's life - his storied wresting match with Jack Armstrong, his self-education, his disastrous romance with Ann Rutledge - and peels apart the layers, examining the historical record as closely as possible, evaluating the claims of eyewitnesses and second-hand sources, and holding each up to scrutiny before making any assertions; and even then, he is admirably cautious. Wilson presents a lot of quotes, exactly as written, from contemporaries who witnessed, or claimed to have witnessed, crucial events in Lincoln's life, and asks: Is this the truth? Who could have benefit from enhancing the truth? Who was really there? What about the quote lends it authenticity, or falsity? Yes, the narrative covers the same event numerous times, but this is the price one pays of exactness. Like the criminal justice students who have competing recollections of a recent event, not one of Lincoln's contemporaries knows the whole truth. But taken together, one gets a more clear picture of what might have happened. The risk, of course, is boredom and the frustration of dealing with multiple sources of the same event; but the reward is a new appreciation of Lincoln the man, as well as the historian's challenge of teasing out the facts in an era long since vanished.
Rating:
Summary: Weird, somewhat jumbled, biography
Review: The audio version of this book starts out with a wrestling match Lincoln had when he was a young adult. The author claims that it was the turning point in Lincoln's life, for what reason I still can't figure out. Some of the other stories are pretty good--Lincoln's struggle to educate himself is one of them. I have to say, though, that although this is my first Lincoln bio, there has to be better ones out there than this.
Rating:
Summary: Weird, somewhat jumbled, biography
Review: The audio version of this book starts out with a wrestling match Lincoln had when he was a young adult. The author claims that it was the turning point in Lincoln's life, for what reason I still can't figure out. Some of the other stories are pretty good--Lincoln's struggle to educate himself is one of them. I have to say, though, that although this is my first Lincoln bio, there has to be better ones out there than this.
Rating:
Summary: Painfully detailed but a useful picture of Lincoln emerges.
Review: The bad points first... Being a Linoln buff myself, but certainly not a scholar on the subject, I found this book to be a worthwhile addition to my library but one that is seriously flawed. The first chapter goes into painstaking detail about Lincoln's wrestling match with Jack Armstrong in New Salem. I think a wrestling historian would find it more useful than someone interested in our 16th president. Endless second and third-hand accounts of the match are analyzed in detail. And for what? No reliable conclusions can be drawn from these contradictory accounts. The first chapter could have been summarized in two words...who knows? And I'm not really sure who cares either. I found this chapter to be a bit bizarre. My other criticism of the book is that it is very poorly organized, in my opinion. In fact, only the first chapter sticks to the topic of it's title. The rest of the book seems to be organized into chapters only for the purpose of giving the reader a needed break from the tedium. Sure, you will find something about Lincoln's relationship with women in the chapter entitled, "Women," but you will find just as much about this subject in just about any other chapter. And you will learn about his politics in the chapter about women, etc. It almost seems as if Mr. Wilson just pinned a title to the top of a page now and then without regard to what followed. This lack of structure also results in a great deal of repetition. The same quotes are repeated again and again and again which would not have been necessary if each chapter stuck with it's title subject. One hopes that this lack of organization is not a reflection of Mr. Wilson's research skills. On the plus side, if you can wade through the book, which is tedious to the extreme at times, you may end up with a more textured view of Lincoln the man. The book can help one to fill in the blanks of Lincoln's life but it is almost entirely based on educated guesses and conclusions on Mr. Wilson's part. In a sense, the book is reminiscent of Gore Vidal's Lincoln. But such conjecture can be useful, of course if we are searching for that "ring of truth" to fill in the blanks. All in all, I consider this to be a useful addition to my fairly extensive Lincoln library but I certainly would not recommend it as a first book about Lincoln by any means and I think Mr. Wilson would agree with that assessment. The author writes that the book is not intended for scholars, but I find it difficult to see why the person with a more casual interest in Lincoln would be interested in these endless details which really never reach a conclusion. The book is, however, instructive as to how incorrect information is passed on and accepted as fact by generations of historians. This book asks more questions than it answers but, ironically, the overall result is a much better picture of Lincoln. I would recommend this book only to the serious Lincoln student.
Rating:
Summary: Painfully detailed but a useful picture of Lincoln emerges.
Review: The bad points first... Being a Linoln buff myself, but certainly not a scholar on the subject, I found this book to be a worthwhile addition to my library but one that is seriously flawed. The first chapter goes into painstaking detail about Lincoln's wrestling match with Jack Armstrong in New Salem. I think a wrestling historian would find it more useful than someone interested in our 16th president. Endless second and third-hand accounts of the match are analyzed in detail. And for what? No reliable conclusions can be drawn from these contradictory accounts. The first chapter could have been summarized in two words...who knows? And I'm not really sure who cares either. I found this chapter to be a bit bizarre. My other criticism of the book is that it is very poorly organized, in my opinion. In fact, only the first chapter sticks to the topic of it's title. The rest of the book seems to be organized into chapters only for the purpose of giving the reader a needed break from the tedium. Sure, you will find something about Lincoln's relationship with women in the chapter entitled, "Women," but you will find just as much about this subject in just about any other chapter. And you will learn about his politics in the chapter about women, etc. It almost seems as if Mr. Wilson just pinned a title to the top of a page now and then without regard to what followed. This lack of structure also results in a great deal of repetition. The same quotes are repeated again and again and again which would not have been necessary if each chapter stuck with it's title subject. One hopes that this lack of organization is not a reflection of Mr. Wilson's research skills. On the plus side, if you can wade through the book, which is tedious to the extreme at times, you may end up with a more textured view of Lincoln the man. The book can help one to fill in the blanks of Lincoln's life but it is almost entirely based on educated guesses and conclusions on Mr. Wilson's part. In a sense, the book is reminiscent of Gore Vidal's Lincoln. But such conjecture can be useful, of course if we are searching for that "ring of truth" to fill in the blanks. All in all, I consider this to be a useful addition to my fairly extensive Lincoln library but I certainly would not recommend it as a first book about Lincoln by any means and I think Mr. Wilson would agree with that assessment. The author writes that the book is not intended for scholars, but I find it difficult to see why the person with a more casual interest in Lincoln would be interested in these endless details which really never reach a conclusion. The book is, however, instructive as to how incorrect information is passed on and accepted as fact by generations of historians. This book asks more questions than it answers but, ironically, the overall result is a much better picture of Lincoln. I would recommend this book only to the serious Lincoln student.
Rating:
Summary: Shows Lincoln as a rounded person
Review: The fascinating thing about this book is that it shows you how historians and propagandists, and even well-meaning friends and relatives, distort the historical record through selective memory and small alterations of events. By giving a number of accounts of a few stories about Lincoln as a young man, the author helps the reader come to their own conclusions about what might be the reality or the "truth" of a given situation. I really enjoyed this and it made me rethink some of the impressions I got from other biographies I have read.
Rating: 
Summary: A compelling detective story of the young Lincoln
Review: This book is an excellent look at the formative years of Lincoln's life and a great example of how to do historical research using primary sources. Many of the events of Lincoln's early years are controversial, owing mainly to the lack of contemporary evidence. However, by looking at sources others have never used, and by applying a systematic approach to determining what account is most likely to be accurate, Wilson is able to clear up many of the mysteries surrounding Lincoln's early years. The book deals with several main topics, Lincoln's education, his search for a job, breaking into politics, his relations with women, and his developing honor. The majority of the book deals with his first experiences with politics and his various problems with women during this time. The emphasis on his relations with women, and with Mary Todd (Lincoln) specifically, is important because this is one of the most controversial and least understood aspects of those years. After weighing all the evidence Wilson comes to the conclusion that Lincoln married Mary Todd because he felt honor bound to do so, and not because he truly loved her. In coming to this conclusion he falls under what Jean Baker has termed "the anyone but Mary" group, but one cannot argue with his evidence.
Throughout the book the main theme is how Lincoln's sense of honor develops over time, and how it was in fact a trait that needed developing, as evidenced by Lincoln's part in the Sampson's Ghost and Lost Township editorials. By the 1840s that honor has developed and become Lincoln's most defining trait.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling detective story of the young Lincoln
Review: This book is an excellent look at the formative years of Lincoln's life and a great example of how to do historical research using primary sources. Many of the events of Lincoln's early years are controversial, owing mainly to the lack of contemporary evidence. However, by looking at sources others have never used, and by applying a systematic approach to determining what account is most likely to be accurate, Wilson is able to clear up many of the mysteries surrounding Lincoln's early years. The book deals with several main topics, Lincoln's education, his search for a job, breaking into politics, his relations with women, and his developing honor. The majority of the book deals with his first experiences with politics and his various problems with women during this time. The emphasis on his relations with women, and with Mary Todd (Lincoln) specifically, is important because this is one of the most controversial and least understood aspects of those years. After weighing all the evidence Wilson comes to the conclusion that Lincoln married Mary Todd because he felt honor bound to do so, and not because he truly loved her. In coming to this conclusion he falls under what Jean Baker has termed "the anyone but Mary" group, but one cannot argue with his evidence.
Throughout the book the main theme is how Lincoln's sense of honor develops over time, and how it was in fact a trait that needed developing, as evidenced by Lincoln's part in the Sampson's Ghost and Lost Township editorials. By the 1840s that honor has developed and become Lincoln's most defining trait.
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