LINCOLN

Rating:
Summary: A very thorough and well-written book.
Review: David Herbert Donald writes well, and his subject is well worth the attention. This biography does a very good job of following the life of Abraham Lincoln from birth to death, although I would have liked a few more complete quotes from his more noteworthy speeches. (Donald tends to give excerpts only.) But he gives a very even-handed evaluation, neither hiding from Lincoln's flaws and attempting to lionize him beyond his desserts, nor downplaying his undeniable importance. Clearly, by modern standards, Lincoln was a racist; this is hardly surprising, given his background and upbringing. But just as clearly, he overcame that background and upbringing to a tremendous extent, and was clearly very close to an abolitionist; to the extent that he resisted abolishing slavery, and did so only under the press of political neccessity, it was not because he didn't consider it a great evil, but because he was concerned about the practical ramifications of such a drastic step. Donald makes all of this quite clear, and gives a very balanced treatment of this issue, among others.

A fine book, well worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Single Volume of Lincoln Biograhpy
Review: I really enjoyed this dense, but extremely informative Lincoln biography. The biography demands that we reexamine Lincoln. Not in some politically correct revisionist view, but rather as a man with many human frailties and a relatively limited ability to influence the behavior of key individuals around him. Often times, you wonder how much he is controlling the fate of the country and it is controlling him.

This book does not diminish Lincoln as a President or a man, but does provide deeper insight into his character, his view of race relations and how little (or at least public) thought he gave to the practical effects of emancipation, expecially prior to his presidency.

I should probably have given this book 5 stars, but I thought Donald spent too much time on newly discovered evidence of Lincoln's uniteresting legal practice prior to his public life. Moreover, while this is obviously a biography and not a history of the Civil War, the description of the war effort was at times meager given the significance of certain battles and how they ultimately affected the outcome of the war.

All in all, these are very minor concerns over what has been called our generation's biography of Lincoln.

Rating:
Summary: Probably the Best 1-Volume Lincoln Biography
Review: I have been studying Abraham Lincoln for nearly 40 years. Many Lincoln scholars consider LINCOLN by David Herbert Donald to be one of the three BEST one-volume biographies of Lincoln written to date. The other two books are WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE by Stephen B. Oates and ABRAHAM LINCOLN: A BIOGRAPHY by Benjamin P. Thomas. LINCOLN by Donald is probably the BEST of the three.

Rating:
Summary: Just the Facts
Review: The author is a well-respected historian with a brace of books, many of them on politics in the Civil War era. Here he has written what is essentially a political life of Abraham Lincoln, and he shows us Lincoln the politician in great detail. To be sure, Lincoln's early years are here, and his stumbling love life, but to an extraordinary degree Lincoln was an ambitious man who could only be distracted from his law work by the possibilities of politics. (Amazingly enough, it appears that he was also trustworthy and honest, though working in professions that must have sorely tested his integrity.)

There is much I admire in this book, but feel that it lacks the warmth and narrative felicity that make a chronicle of a life really come alive. Throughout, Donald uses "Lincoln"-never "Abe" or even "Abraham". It's a small thing, but it contributes to the book's impersonal tone. Moreover, he almost never describes Abe Lincoln's feelings, and only occasionally touches on his personal life, such as his relations with Mary, or how he reacted to the deaths of his sons. Lincoln comes to seem a man almost independent of his environment-certainly indifferent to food or comfort, or, we suspect, love-whose real passion is for the machinations of politics. However, the author does make credible Lincoln's moral and political greatness; he just does not quite give us a feel for the man. It sounds like Donald's more recent book, "Lincoln at Home", could be the ideal companion volume to this one.

Rating:
Summary: David Herbert Donal's LINCOLN - 'a classic'
Review: In the English speaking world there have probnably been more books written about US President Abraham Lincoln than any other figure in world history. Those who love history have at one time or another in their life read about the story of Abraham Lincoln - from his humble birth in a log cabin to his rise to the White House - the Civil War and his freeing of the Negro slaves in America -- and his tragic death at the hand of a crazed assasin at Ford's theaer on that dark and rainy Good Friday in 1865. Professor David Herbert Donald of Harvard University has authored a book called LINCOLN that in my opinion is destined to become the 'classic' biography of the 16th President of the United States. LINCOLN has become a best selling book world wide, and rightfully so because it is without a doubt - in my mind - the 'best' biography of Abraham Lincoln ever written. Thirty five years ago as a young boy of 10 I read my first book about the life of Abraham Lincoln. It was a child's book but I was so inspired by the story of Mr. Lincoln that from that time I have read numerous books about the Great Emanicipator. Other great books about Lincoln include the 10 volume ABRAHAM LINCOLN by John G.Nicolay and John Hay, Carl Sandburg's ABRAHAM LINCOLN, and biographies by Benjamin Thomas,Russell Freedman and Professor Stephen Oates. All of these books are considered to be of excellent caliber. At the end of the day I would respectfully suggest that David Herbert Donald's LINCOLN is a real masterpiece of biography and history. One would assume that no more could have been written about Abraham Lincoln. After all there are hundreds of books about the sixteenth president of the United States. The author David Herbert Donald who has spent over fifty years in studying Lincoln has written an absolutely fascinating, brilliant and outstanding biography. The book LINCOLN is a crowning achievement for the distinguished Professor Donald. Donald traces Lincoln's life from his humble birth to Lincoln's tragic death that Easter weekend in 1865. In Donald's skillful writing Abraham Lincoln comes to life in this maginificent biography that is a joy to read. In rich and beautiful language David Herbert Donald presents a truly 'classic' biography of President Abraham Lincoln that is full of detail that captures Lincoln as a young man, lawyer, husband and father, statesman and leader. On the pages of LINCOLN David Herbert Donald presents to the reader a portait of President Lincoln the man plagued with bouts of depression, the husband of a moody and highly emotional Mary Todd Lincoln, his private and public life, a wondertful storyteller, and highly intelligent leader of the United States of America during the Civil War. LINCOLN has earned its place as one of the truly 'great' books about one of the greatest leaders in world history- Abraham Lincoln.

Rating:
Summary: Flawed by to many details and dry narrative but notable read
Review: With word that later in 2004 several new Lincoln biographies are to be published I again turned to my unread copy of Donald's LINCOLN. It had been highly recommended to me when I mentioned that I had never read a biography of Lincoln. I was told this was one of the best Lincoln Biographies.Overall, David Donald's book is just full of details and is interestingly told from Lincoln's perspective. (What did Lincoln know and what did he do? A real time biography.) I greatly admire Donald's accomplishment and learned a great deal but was disappointed that this is just not an "entertaining" narrative. The writing is dry, without a visual sense or an emotional core. You never feel you're experiencing Lincoln, feeling what he must have felt as he comes across in the narrative as stoically reactive to events while holding on to only one true principle, saving the union. I especially like the first part of the book covering Lincoln's early years up to the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates. But once the Great War takes hold Lincoln is depicted as a man given to compromise and taking the middle ground unable to do anything more than ride the whirlwind of events. (Actually Lincoln said himself that this is the case and it comes so apparent in this narrative.) Lincoln appears here as an uncertain politician and seldom the statesman. This may be true and a bit unsettling to those of us who might want to "worship" the Lincoln as statesman who belongs to the ages. My reading left me with little insight into Lincoln's thinking, and more important without an insight into what he is feeling that I felt distanced from subject. The feeling I came away with was that Lincoln was not really comfortable in his own skin and I was uncomfortable and unsure that this could be true. I recommend Donald's book for its detail, overall insight, but warn that it is a tough read.

Rating:
Summary: Just average
Review: I read this book as part of my ongoing hobby to read a biography of every President and to be honest this is the worst one I have read to date.

I thought it got bogged down too much in the details of cabinet positions and the daily grind. I wished it would have gone into greater detail on the Civil War and Lincoln's relationships with members of the Union Army, like U.S. Grant for instance. It touched on the subject, but in reading Grant's biography they had an interesting relationship. They both admired each other greatly. I didn't get that from this book.

At times, Lincoln seemed to be a bumbling President that stumbled into good fortune. I hope that was not the case and don't believe that it was, but Donald's writing style suggests that he was lucky and made a habit of listening to bad advice.

My biggest beef was the lack of information surrounding the Gettysburg address. At the very least I expected it to be included in the book, but it just wasn't. There was also a brief mention of his other great speeches, but not enough detail on them.

Just an average book and to be honest I think if you looked hard you could find a better biography of Lincoln.

I will commend the writer for his research. It's thorough, but it's VERY DRY. Usually I read a book in a week, this took me a month.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I'm not typically a biography fan. I'm a history buff, but I tend to prefer reading about events in history, and getting relevant information about the players in those events within the context of that event.

But, I saw a copy of Donald's book a couple of years agao in a bookstore at a discount, and snagged it. Naturally, the course of events required me to shift it down on my reading pile. Recently, I resolved to read it once and for all.

I'm pleased that I did. First, what I know of Lincoln came in broad strokes-what he did mostly, little of what he did. I'm also not a Civil War buff (just more interested in WW II). So my knowledge of both has been greatly enhanced. (Admittedly, Donald wasn't quite interested in parsing out the War, so I will have to pursue that information elsewhere.)

Donald's examination is as even a work as one could ask for. While he admires Lincoln, he's willing to acknowledge that the Lincoln was human, and takes him to task when appropriate.

What I enjoyed most about this book is that I recognized certain traits in my personality that are similar to Lincoln. I don't flatter myself that I'm somehow a "great" man, but rather, I use this to illustrate how down-to-earth Lincoln really was, and how beautifully Donald illustrates that quality.

I don't know that this is the be-all-end-all of Lincoln bios. But, as a single volume piece, it's terrific, and more than worth the time of both historians and casual readers alike.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent biography, though lacking a certain spark
Review: For anyone curious about Lincoln or the American Civil War, Donald's biography is excellent. Laden with detail, it covers all of Lincoln's life and provides great insight into the forces that shaped the man. But the detail itself is perhaps too much.
Donald's research is impressive. One detail piled upon another. You get a great sense of how Lincoln spent his time, of how the nation thought. But what is missing is animation. Donald wisely keeps whatever biases and opinions he has to himself, for which he is to be greatly commended. No revisionist history here, no trumpeting of personal viewpoints as fact: a delightful relief from many contemporary "historians."
The result, however, is somewhat lifeless. I don't know if this is good or bad. It is left to the reader to supply the "color" of Lincoln and his times, the vibrancy of the world at that time.
I don't know if Donald could have added this missing flavor without destroying his fine narrative. I think probably not and am glad he didn't try. On the other hand, the missing element makes this otherwise exemplary biography a somewhat slow read.
That said, I recommend "Lincoln" to anyone who wants to know more of the man and his times without an author's bias distorting the truth.

Jerry

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully satisfying
Review: This book is wonderfully satisfying. The author's scholarship--deep and wide--is evident on every page, and his reflections--mature and nuanced--help to explain countless aspects of Lincoln's life and character. There have been many biographies of Abraham Lincoln, and there will be many more. For now, however, Donald's book is as close to authoritative as a Lincoln biography can get.