Abraham Lincoln

Many noted authors have written countless volumes about the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. When I read that Civil War historian James McPherson had attempted, in only 65 pages, to capture the essence of the man who shepherded our nation through its greatest trials I was curious to see how well he could do.

I had my doubts at the first. When the first sentence starts out with "Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809..." I started to worry that there would be no more substance than a high school term paper. Fortunately, McPherson soon soothed my misgivings. After a somewhat dry synopsis of Lincoln's early life, McPherson briefly and with great insight touches on each and every key facet of Lincoln's career. He addressed the show more debates with Stephen Douglas, Lincoln's election and subsequent efforts to prevent secession, his role in the war, his relationship with his cabinet, his personal and official views on slavery and emancipation, and his attempts to negotiate a peace with the Confederacy.

In every chapter, McPherson's admiration for our sixteenth president shines through, even when discussing Lincoln's questionable suspension of habeas corpus. I found this part especially interesting in light of recent events. The Bush administration used the same arguments that Lincoln put forth to justify its suspension of civil liberties. One could argue that, justifiably or not, Lincoln opened a Pandora's Box that subsequent less-scrupulous presidents have taken advantage of.

I have read a great deal about this period in history and yet, on a page-for-page basis, there are few books that can shed as much insight into the heart and mind of our greatest president. I highly recommend this book. show less

The point of this book is to provide a short overview of the life of Abraham Lincoln. McPherson scholarship is sound, and he writes well either at length (Battle Cry of Freedom) or in a brief book like this. What I found exceptional in the book was McPherson’s ability to summarize great swaths of history with with brief descriptions that not only cover the salient events but provide new insights almost because of the brevity of the treatment. If you ever want to spend just a couple hours and come away with some insights about Lincoln, and how his steady leadership and lack of pettiness won the Civil War and saved the Union, this is the book you should pick up.

With the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth just around the corner, readers are about to be swamped by a veritable deluge of books about our 16th president. Readers hoping to avoid getting swept away by this innundation of Lincoln works would do well to latch onto this book. In this extremely short and accessible work, the Pulitzer-prize winning historian presents an up-to-date encapsulation of Lincoln’s life and times. The presentation of Lincoln’s life is surprisingly balanced; though the Civil War years occupy the majority of the text, due attention is also spent on his early years in Indiana and Illinois.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the book is its freshness. Though the story of Lincoln’s life has been told show more innumerable times in virtually every medium, the abbreviated scope of McPherson’s work leads him to adopt a broader perspective. While nothing new is revealed about the man, the book nonetheless give a sense of his life that is hard to find in larger accounts of Lincoln’s life. It is this quality which makes McPherson’s biography an ideal starting point for understanding Lincoln’s life, while the useful bibliography at the end will help steer the newly informed reader to the next step towards discovering more about this remarkable man. show less

A concise (65 pages), readable and well-written biography of Lincoln. It hits the highlights of his life, presidency and legacy. If, like me, you realize you should read a more detailed exploration of Lincoln's life one of these days, this will refresh your memory and make you feel a little more literate about President Lincoln in the meantime.

A Review of 65 Pages in 65 Words.

McPherson fits A. Lincoln into 65 pages, covering all the main points. Rejecting backwoods life, preferring King James and Pilgrim's Progress, learns law, loses love, marries, fights mosquitoes, opposes war in Congress. Wins by losing to Douglas, addresses Cooper, wins presidency. Fort Sumter attacked, generals dither, proclaims emancipation, promotes fighter Grant, represses Copperheads, consecrates Gettysburg, wins war, is murdered, martyred, sainted. Now United States `is'.

This I would highly recommend to anyone who would like to know a lot about Lincoln and not have to read a lot. This short biography by McPherson does this and does it well.

Basically a long magazine article, perfectly fine but not much to it.