Fascinating read from beginning to end ( )

When I first started to read this book, I found it too disjointed and anecdotal. However, as I continued, I saw the beauty in this. Folksy, critical, sometimes tongue in cheek, humorous, historical, etc.... I am now in agreement with others who have enjoyed this book.

Unfortunately, I do not have the second book of this trilogy. However, I can't wait. I will read volume three, as I did volume one.. a few pages every night at bed time. My brain will continue to digest the contents as I sleep and the book will become a part of me, as has volume one. ( )

This book has been on my shelf for years and I've just never gotten around to it. I was not expecting much. I was very surprised. Joyfully surprised. To say this was better than I had hoped would be an understatement. After completing this book I feel like I know the man. It was also very cool to read about a distant relative of mine (Nancy Hanks).

The part leading up to the assassination through his death was incredibly well done. I found myself near tears a half dozen times over the course of the final 40-50 pages.

The sense of fatigue that Lincoln felt during his presidency was astonishing and after completing the book, David Locke's words remain in my mind.

"I saw him, or what was mortal of him in his coffin. The face had an expression of absolute content, of relief, at throwing off a burden such as few men have been called upon to bear - a burden which few men could have born... Wilkes Booth did Abraham Lincoln the greatest service man could possibly do for him - he gave him peace." ( )

Civil War and history buffs--as well as all lovers of fine writing--will delight in the detail and accuracy of Carl Sandburg's definitive, best-known biography of "Honest Abe". Representing a lifetime of study by the great American poet, Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years distills Sandburg's monumental six volume set into a single one-book edition. By gleaning every possible reference from history, literature, and popular lore, Sandburg successfully captures not only the legendary president, but also Lincoln the man. He reveals exactly who Lincoln was, and what forces in his life shaped his personality. More than 100 black-and-white historical photographs and linecuts show Lincoln himself, the places he went, and the people who knew him.

Best book I have ever read. ( )