Lincoln [Paperback]

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.

Product is fine, only one thing, I was of the impression it would be a hardbound book but turned out to be soft cover. Otherwise everything was fine & book arrived on schedule.

While expecting an excellent and detailed read about the life of Abraham Lincoln, parts of the book were disappointing. The author spends an inordinate amount of time explaining the daily political struggles Lincoln had with his Cabinet as President. The minutiae of daily positive and negative support for Lincoln seems to drag on page after page. The cabinet members loathe him, then like him followed by hatred and then reverence. While I am sure that his support waned considerably from time to time, the author nearly ignored other aspects of Lincoln's life, such as his relationships with Grant and Sherman. I still enjoyed the book but do not consider this the best biography of Lincoln.