# Abe Lincoln biography recommendations? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2007, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896 "2007-12-22T03:08:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/1 "2007-12-22T03:08:35Z")
Anyone know of a good Abe Lincoln biography/autobiography? I kinda feel like reading one. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/2 "2007-12-22T03:09:52Z")
Ain’t no autobiography. Interested to see the recommendations for a biography, though. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/3 "2007-12-22T03:46:51Z")
While it’s known for focusing more on Lincoln’s political career than other aspects of his life, _A Team of Rivals_, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, is highly recommended as a biography. It was absolutely one of the best books I read in 2006. Goodwin explores the relationships not only between Lincoln and his cabinet members, but his family and friends throughout his life. For a general autobiography, I definitely recommend \*Lincoln \*, by David Herbert Donald. It’s been a decade since I read it, but leafing through it now, I remember it for its readability and attention to all the facets of Lincoln (his upbringing, early career as a lawyer, politician, commander-in-chief, husband and father) – it’s a good survey. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/4 "2007-12-22T04:49:15Z")
I also recommend Team of Rivals. And although it is a novel instead of a biography, Lincoln by \*\*Gore Vidal \*\* is outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/5 "2007-12-22T10:38:26Z")
[QUOTE=Gordon Urquhart] For a general autobiography, I definitely recommend \*Lincoln \*, by David Herbert Donald. [/QUOTE] 😕 Er, is this book about Donald or about Lincoln? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/6 "2007-12-22T13:16:47Z")
The Donald book is the best in my opinion. I also enjoyed the Sandburg series but I think Donald’s research was infinitely superior. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/7 "2007-12-22T17:53:20Z")
I second both the David Herbert Donald and the Doris Kearns Goodwin. And for what it’s worth, the resident Lincoln expert at the college I teach at has said that the Donald book is the best modern biography of Lincoln. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/8 "2007-12-22T18:24:15Z")
[Herndon’s Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, by William Henry Herndon](http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=_c66-pjveI4C&dq=herndon's+lincoln&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=RqV8vj1wXT&sig=PkKeUGZiw4oHway3QounhAmwQzw). Herndon was Lincoln’s law partner. His account is historically suspect in many parts, but everybody draws upon it in one way or another because it’s an invaluable contemporary look at Lincoln’s early life. It’s fairly readable too for a nonfiction book of that era. The complete text is available at that link. Public domain, of course. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/9 "2007-12-22T23:54:50Z")
This isn’t a biography, but it’s an extremely interesting book: _The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln_ by Michael Burlingame. He exhaustively documents various aspects of Lincoln’s life, such as his relationships with women, his depression, and his ambition. That Herndon biography has the epigram: “Etiam in minimis major”, which I think means “Even in small things, great”. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/10 "2007-12-23T00:34:23Z")
[archive.org](http://archive.org) has Herndon’s biography: vol 1: [Abraham Lincoln The True Story Of A Great Life Vol - I : William H.Herndon And Jesse W.Weik : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](http://www.archive.org/details/abrahamlincolnth025593mbp) vol 2: [Abraham Lincoln The True Story Of A Great Life Vol - Ii : William H.Herndon And Jesse W.Weik : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](http://www.archive.org/details/abrahamlincolnth025594mbp) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/11 "2007-12-23T01:33:50Z")
I’m a Lincoln freak, my friends agree, and have read quite a lot about him. The David Herbert Donald and Doris Kearns Goodwin books, mentioned above, are both excellent. I’d also recommend _Lincoln at Gettysburg_ by Garry Wills, which dissects the Gettysburg Address and shows its Civil War context, as well as revealing its roots in Greek funeral oratory - just fascinating, really, and it won the Pulitzer Prize. I’d also recommend you check out the Library of America editions of Lincoln’s speeches and letters. He was an amazing wordsmith. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/12 "2007-12-23T02:29:30Z")
I picked up the Donald book tonight. I’ll let you know what I think when I finish it in a month or two. I’m a slow reader. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/13 "2007-12-23T17:32:11Z")
May I also recommend _Reelecting Lincoln_ by John C. Waugh, a fascinating look at the election of 1864. Lincoln faced his former (in)subordinate general, George B. McClellan, the Democratic nominee, and beat him handily - despite considering the race virtually lost that summer, and having his Cabinet sign a secret memorandum to that effect. I’ve also heard good things about D.H. Donald’s _We Are Lincoln Men_, about Lincoln’s inner political circle, but haven’t read it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/14 "2007-12-24T00:37:18Z")
For an interesting take on the Lincoln assassination, & for that matter, on Booth, try Sarah Vowell’s _Assassination Vacation_. Witty & well informed. Very readable. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abe-lincoln-biography-recommendations/430896/15 "2008-07-01T03:46:32Z")
[QUOTE=Cubsfan] I picked up the Donald book tonight. I’ll let you know what I think when I finish it in a month or two. I’m a slow reader. [/QUOTE] I did too! Race you! (Uh, the new Stephanie Plum trashy book came out, too. So I gotta finish that. I’ll be done by 2 AM, I think. You know she’ll never sleep with Ranger again, but a girl has to hold on to hope.) ETA - sorry, I got all excited and raised a zombie. I’ll report it.