I have often, over many years in my book reading, been asked what ‘biography’ I would recommend whose concern is the study of Abraham Lincoln. My response is always the same: ‘How much do you really know about Abraham Lincoln?’ If you don’t know much, this is THE BOOK to start with. Author Benjamin Thomas has composed the most important SINGLE VOLUME biography of the 16th President of its kind, despite its graceful aging. And even though this book has aged, it has also matured, much to the remnant of Carl Sandburg’s enormous stage of contribution to this remarkable President. 1
However, unlike Sandburg, Mr. Thomas utilizes crafty prose presentations in each chapter that are replete with mounds of information that takes a fraction of the time to comprehend than attempting to perform the same tactics with Sandburg’s exhaustive biographical achievement. (Save Carl Sandburg for your later studies; you will never be a Lincoln scholar without consulting his work.) hood and upbringing; he presents us valuable information on what his parents were like, their attitudes about religion and God and slavery in a time when such subjects were considered sensitive and questionable, depending on what region you resided. From there, he moves on to a young Lincoln growing up on The Frontier; what is surprising to the reader is how Thomas treats the timeline of Lincoln’s life. Contrary to Lincoln’s wrestling abilities and ‘frontier humor’ he was famously known for in later years as President, he detested the harsh life that was imposed upon him and did not favor much of his father’s opinions or low literacy level that he had possessed. It is interesting to note, however, that a few family members of his were responsible for Lincoln having accrued and interest in books and writing; this, of course, would later serve him with impeccable results as the man who would be responsible for the compositions for which he is famously known for. Thomas does pay careful attention to this important contribution of his upbringing. It is here where the reader will find inseparable information that will lead into the discovery of the extraordinary man himself. Lincoln’s upbringing and early influences are crucial to the development of what is to come; In a time of slave vs. free, there is a plank to be walked for each supporter. It is a time when the full development of democracy will extend its invitation of prosperity to all; more than any of his cabinet members, friends or family, Lincoln was an exceptional visionary; the Emancipation Proclamation is one of the many attestations that Lincoln will present in his more formative years.
I was most impressed with how Mr. Thomas processes this information with such illustrious and intriguing prose. The book operates, much to my satisfaction, like a huge overnight storytelling that you cannot tire of. Abraham Lincoln is brought to life in front of your eyes, or, more to an author’s liking, with the ‘choicest’ of simple words; much to the delight of an average reader; this book will impressively serve through all of the difficult and challenging aspects of composing a biography of such a complex man as Lincoln was. Mr. Thomas tunnels through all of the controversy and folklore that has made President Lincoln such a compelling and regaling subject for such a vastness level of audiences and academics alike.
Lincoln was a deeply driven man, primarily by the product of his time as well as the vision who chose to see America going; not to be dismayed by the results of slavery and emancipation, however the results have accrued with the average American, but it is mandatory to bear in mind that Lincoln IS NOT the person as we see him on the surface; his mind, objections, commentaries and opinions shifted dynamically throughout his life. Mr. Thomas shows no hesitation or regret in presenting Lincoln in this manner; this is how, I believe, Lincoln should be studied. I also wish to extend Mr. Thomas a congratulatory review by demonstrating President Lincoln in such uniqueness; he is, perhaps, the first biographer to offer such Lincoln in a fashionable perspective, as well as a truthful one.
Finally, if you wish to gain a general but huge idea of Lincoln the Man, vs Lincoln the President, this biography will serve your curiosity well. It is replete with colorful detail, skillfully used anecdotes and polished historical authenticity that has withstood the stains of time, modern research of Lincoln, and the arrival of material not readily available on the authors own time. This book serves a wonderful transition from hardback and newspaper and letter research to the age of electronic data and eBooks. It is still acquired reading from an age long past. It is still gorgeously calibrated for our own time.
© 2024, Mark Grago. All rights reserved.
