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Summary: Now anyone can truly know Lincoln and how great a man he was
Review: This biography has helped me understand what a truly great man and a truly great American is. It's humbling just to read of his experiences as a man and a father, not to mention as a leader. Lincoln's character, his ability to face unimanginable challenges and his dedication to the Union come through so clearly, you have to be happy it wasn't any of today's leaders trying to save our country -- I can't think of an American policitian today who could hold the Ancient's jockstrap, er...top hat.PB
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Summary: An incredibly, wonderfully readable work achievement!
Review: Professor Donald has achieved "another" biography of Lincoln which should be read and studied by all who are interested. It is a book which caters to those who are not "history buffs" as it reads like an interesting novel, and still it delves deep enough into the history of the time to expose the great Lincoln in his time and context. This book is WONDERFUL!!!!!
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Summary: Compelling, but flawed
Review: There is certainly no dearth of biographies of Lincoln out there, but until recently, it seems that most of them have been more interested in unthinking hero-worship (eg, the Nicloay-Hay book or the Sandburg one) than in a serious consideration of the man. Donald's book is certainly more rigorous and scholarly than any other Lincoln biography that I have seen, and it does do a very good job of portraying the Lincoln that I believe existed: the cultured, eloquent, principaled pragmatist with an under-appreciated flair for politics. Unfortunately, this book is not perfect: at times, Donald writes like a fourth-grader doing a book report, with sentences like "Abraham Lincoln was still trying to discover who he was." Furthermore, Donald sometimes lapses into apparent self-contradiction, especially when discussing the political ins and outs of Lincoln's administration: in one breath, he relates how Thurlow Weed quashes opposition in New York to Lincoln's reelection while in the next, he discusses Weed's intractible opposition to Lincoln. All-in-all, however, despite the drawbacks, this is a well-written and worthwhile biography of one of our greatest Presidents.
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Summary: Wonderful! The whole man revealed.
Review: As has been noted before, more has been written about Lincoln than any other President. However, many biographers had their own agenda to pursue. Prof. Donald has captured Lincoln "warts and all"--and I was left feeling more admiration than ever before. It's hard to relate to someone who's perfect, and so many Lincoln biographers leave out his darker side--or, the other extreme, focus the dark side exclusively. A modern masterpiece, deservedly so.
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Summary: The definitive Lincoln book for this generation
Review: David Herbert Donald has written a fascinatingly human portrait of the president. This is not a simple life and times book. This book looks at what Lincoln knew and how he reached his decisions. A must read for all Lincoln buffs.
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Summary: An excellent biography of the 16th U.S. president
Review: Donald's skill of showing Lincoln as a politician, husband, and father, brings one to know him as though he was a contemporary, not a historian. Donald certainly meets his objective of writing about the president from the president's viewpoint. I would like to see another edition published with additional photographs.
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Summary: Well done!
Review: This retelling of a classic tale-the life of Abraham Lincoln-is exceptional for its use of original historical sources. As a lawyer, I enjoyed the in-depth study of Lincoln's work as a small town circuit lawyer and as a soldier I enjoyed the examination of President Lincoln's decision-making process during our bloody kin-slaying. As an historian, I felt that Mr. Donald has done quite a job focusing on original sources and avoided the use of previous biographical works. This is important. One biographer's work is often carried into another and ruins the value of the picture drawn by a following writer. That doesn't happen here and it is one of the greatest strengths of the book.-Kelly Whiting
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Summary: Lincoln as Lincoln
Review: Many of us grow up as fans of someone. But when we get older, we find out that our heroes did not, and perhaps could never, live up to our expectations. Abraham Lincoln is different, at least for me. After reading Donald's Lincoln you walk away as though you had met the man and had a long -- and honest -- coversation with him. As opposed to many biographies of Lincoln, Donald relies on the president's own words and perceptions, not the author's opinions or views.
An important contribution to the study of Lincoln Donald provides is the humanity in which he treats the president's failures. We find out how he failed at business, politics and love before the successes he accomplished later.
When viewed through the lense of Lincon's life and times, he becomes even greater. The president was not popular, not well-supported by his own political party and not a saint. Lincoln is a politician, a detached but loyal husband, a thinker but not an idealogue and a genuinely funny guy.
Donald's greatest achievement is allowing Lincoln to be Lincoln. I highly recommend this book.
Michael D. Cohen, Ph.D
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Summary: Outstanding, considering the episodes of depression he endur
Review: I wonder how much more he could have done, given theadvancements we have made in the field of mental health. Not onlyPresident Lincolns life, but that of his wife Mary Todd, and the entire nation who looked to him for strength. I think it took so much courage and endurance for him to suffer as he did, but inspite of his mental health, he pulled an entire nation together, "With malace towards none"
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Summary: This is the book that got me hooked on Lincoln
Review: Donald is a professor emeritus at Harvard and a renowned Lincoln scholar. He writes about Abraham Lincoln (my favorite president) as if he knows him; and perhaps he does, having spent a great deal of his life studying this great man (is my bias showing?). This book is long and packed with information about Lincoln from birth to tragic death, focusing strongly on his political rise and presidential years.
You will be surprised at what a fascinating person Lincoln was. "Lincoln" takes the reader well beyond the martyr/greatman/butter-wouldn't-melt-in-his-mouth image to the wise, brilliant, tortured, vibrant human being. This is the book that hooked me on Lincoln. Donald downplays Lincoln's earthy (read raunchy) side and his turbulent emotional life but the author is ultimately fair both to his subject and to the reader.
The only flaw of the author was not to include MORE PICTURES. For the remedy, check out "Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography", by Philip B. Jr., Philip B. III, Peter W. Kunhardt.
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