Perhaps you are aware of the fact that there is an oddly popular trivia game floating around that a group of clever (and likely bored) college...
Continue »
Everyone wants to define the man who signed his name A. Lincoln. In his lifetime and ever since, friend and foe have taken it upon themselves to characterize Lincoln according to their own label or libel. In this magnificent book, Ronald C. White, Jr., offers a fresh and compelling definition of Lincoln as a man of integrity — what today's commentators would call authenticity — whose moral compass holds the key to understanding his life.
Through meticulous research of the newly completed Lincoln Legal Papers, as well as of recently discovered letters and photographs, White provides a portrait of Lincoln's personal, political, and moral evolution. White shows us Lincoln as a man who would leave a trail of thoughts in his wake, jotting ideas on scraps of paper and filing them in his top hat or the bottom drawer of his desk; a country lawyer who asked questions in order to figure out his own thinking on an issue, as much as to argue the case; a hands-on commander in chief who, as soldiers and sailors watched in amazement, commandeered a boat and ordered an attack on Confederate shore batteries at the tip of the Virginia peninsula; a man who struggled with the immorality of slavery and as president acted publicly and privately to outlaw it forever; and finally, a president involved in a religious odyssey who wrote, for his own eyes only, a profound meditation on the will of God in the Civil War that would become the basis of his finest address.
Most enlightening, the Abraham Lincoln who comes into focus in this stellar narrative is a person of intellectual curiosity, comfortable with ambiguity, unafraid to think anew and act anew.
A transcendent, sweeping, passionately written biography that greatly expands our knowledge and understanding of its subject, A. Lincoln will engage a whole new generation of Americans. It is poised to shed a profound light on our greatest president just as America commemorates the bicentennial of his birth.
Review:
The famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass once declared: "It is impossible for ... anybody ... to say anything new about Abraham Lincoln." And that was in 1893! More than 100 years later, as we contemplate the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth on Feb. 12, an avalanche of new books about the 16th president descends upon an eager reading audience. Why? Ronald C. White Jr., an astute scholar of Lincoln's... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) religion and language, has an apt answer: Lincoln continues to fascinate us "because he eludes simple definitions and final judgments." In "A. Lincoln" — the title is taken from the way Lincoln signed his name — White does not portray a genius who seemed to figure out all things before other mortals. Rather, this is a Lincoln of self-doubt, an evolving personality and an emerging and curious mind. This is a Lincoln of growth from backwoods ignorance to Enlightenment thinker, from prejudice and caution to boldness and imagination. This is a Lincoln, White writes, on a "journey of self-discovery" to the very end of his life. It was Douglass who poignantly said, after all, that Lincoln "began as Pharoah, but he became Moses." Now that is a story. White, a visiting professor at UCLA, has written two previous books on Lincoln's rhetoric. The signature feature of this full biography is White's treatment of Lincoln as reader, writer and orator, a terrain where new insights are still available. Abraham Lincoln loved books, an old trope in the Lincoln myth, but it is so very true. Among my favorite images in this work is that of Lincoln, the young congressman in 1847 in Washington, D.C. He did not drink, chew tobacco or gamble away hours at his boarding house across the street from the Capitol. Instead, he was observed walking out of the Library of Congress, carrying books wrapped in a scarf tied on a pole over his shoulder. His colleagues accused him of incessantly "mousing" around in the stacks. And this is White's core argument: Lincoln didn't just enjoy books, he craved them — from Blackstone's "Commentaries" to Shakespeare, from many kinds of history to regular reading of the Bible (often aloud), political philosophy and the poetry of Robert Burns. The boy who first started reading in Sinking Creek, Ky., when he was 5 and then yearned to escape his father's Indiana farm as a teenager later said that in his youth "there was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education." White makes this "interior world of intellectual curiosity" the central theme of Lincoln's life. Given all the discussion of the legacy of the outgoing George W. Bush (not a curious reader) and the ambitions of the incoming Barack Obama (a well-read man), White's observation that it was in reading that Lincoln could "clarify" his evolving "ethical identity" is worth our contemplation. The book's other signature is White's treatment of Lincoln's use of private notes, often mere "scraps of paper" on which he constantly tried out ideas and phrasing, especially when preparing for a major speech. In these accumulated notes (sometimes whole pages of prose), White concludes, Lincoln kept his own kind of "journal." And these musings were never so important as when he wrote orations such as his "House Divided" or "Cooper Union" speeches, or the transcendent Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural (which White beautifully illuminates). White sees the origins of many famous speeches in earlier jottings, a window into how Lincoln "thinks his way into a problem." Moreover, White stresses the importance of Lincoln's public letters while president. A master ironist, Lincoln embodied paradox and ambiguity as a politician, and he was both fascinated with and knew the importance of public opinion. He also, usually, managed to sustain a moral clarity in the face of withering criticism and pressure. From a letter to Horace Greeley about "saving the Union" in 1862, to his letters to Erastus Corning about habeas corpus and to James Conkling about the emancipation policy in 1863, his missives were read by millions when published in major newspapers. In these unprecedented public letters, Lincoln made his case to the nation and even to the Confederacy, often through subtlety and lasting metaphors. White provides the full story down to the assassination. He examines Lincoln's private life, including his early insecurities with women, his troubled marriage to Mary Todd and the devastating deaths of their two young sons. Mary makes many appearances but is too often described as "pretty" and "perky." The presidency and the war, on the other hand, emerge with order and clarity. The detail sometimes is numbing (hotel room numbers, addresses, names of generals' horses) and sometimes exhilarating, as in the thorough coverage of Lincoln's debates with Stephen A. Douglas in 1858 or the dramatic balloting at the 1860 Republican convention that nominated Lincoln. White writes engaging narrative, occasionally at the expense of analysis. Sometimes, he simply lets Lincoln's words speak for themselves and sidesteps explanation. Why did Lincoln idolize Henry Clay or support colonization of blacks to foreign lands for so long? Why did he not fire Maj. Gen. George McClellan sooner, after McClellan's many battlefield failures? We are never told. White takes note of Lincoln's problem with "sadness" but does not take up historian Joshua Wolf Shenk's call to look deeper into the president's depression. And White movingly describes the final drafting of the Emancipation Proclamation, but he falls flat when discussing Lincoln's meeting with five black leaders in August 1862, at which he told them that the races must remain "separate," that they should emigrate from the United States and that their presence in the country had caused the war. How daunting it must be for any biographer to take on Lincoln's life in this crowded literary marketplace! But this thoroughly researched book belongs on the A-list of major biographies of the tall Illinoisan; it's a worthy companion for all who admire Lincoln's prose and his ability to see into, and explain, America's greatest crisis. David W. Blight teaches at Yale University. He is the author of "A Slave No More" and, most recently, of an essay on "The Theft of Lincoln" in "Our Lincoln." Reviewed by David W. Blight, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
(hide most of this review)
Review:
"Ronald C. White's A. Lincoln is the best biography of Lincoln since David Donald's Lincoln (1995). In many respects it is better than Donald's biography, because it has incorporated the scholarship of the past fourteen years and is written in a fluent style that will appeal to a large range of general readers as well as Lincoln aficionados. The special strengths of A. Lincoln that lift it above other biographies include a brilliant analysis of Lincoln's principal speeches and writings, which were an important weapon in his political leadership and statesmanship, and on which Ronald C. White is the foremost expert, having written two major books on Lincoln's speeches and writings. Another strength is White's analysis of Lincoln's evolving religious convictions, which shaped the core of his effective leadership, his moral integrity. White's discussion of Lincoln's changing attitudes and policies with respect to slavery and race is also a key aspect of this biography. Amid all the books on Lincoln that will be published during the coming year, this one will stand out as one of the best." James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom
Review:
"Ron White's A. Lincoln is a superb biography of America's greatest leader. It is fully fleshed, thoughtful, provocative, and scholarly. Lincoln is never out of fashion. After a generation during which three comprehensive one-volume Lincoln biographies appeared — Benjamin P. Thomas's Abraham Lincoln: A Biography in 1952; Stephen B. Oates's With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln in 1977; and David Donald's Lincoln in 1995 — A. Lincoln: A Biography, with its rich detail, will be the standard text for years to come. The author includes the religious connections to his subject like no other biographer. This is a remarkable Lincoln biography by an outstanding writer." Frank J. Williams, Founding Chair of The Lincoln Forum and Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
Review:
"Each generation requires — and seems to inspire — its own masterful one-volume Lincoln biography, and scholar Ronald C. White has crowned the bicentennial year with an instant classic for the 21st century. Wise, scholarly, even-handed, and elegant, the book at once informs and inspires, with a rewarding new emphasis on the complex meaning and timeless importance of Lincoln's great words. Brimming with new anecdotes and informed interpretations, White's superb study brings vivid new life to an American immortal." Harold Holzer, author of Lincoln: President-Elect and co-chairman, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
Review:
"A beautifully written, deeply personal story of Lincoln's life and service to his country. Ronald C. White's moving account is particularly strong in its analyses of Lincoln's rhetoric and the process by which the President reached decisions." Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848
Review:
"Lincoln's bicentennial will bring a flood of books about the sixteenth president. Anyone seeking an expansive, thoroughly engaging biography should turn to Ronald C. White's gracefully written narrative. It does full justice to the complexity and drama of the era and allows readers to understand how Lincoln ultimately triumphed in guiding the nation through its greatest trial." Gary W. Gallagher, John L. Nau III Professor of History, University of Virginia
Review:
"Whether spiritual or secular, White's historical hymns make for a fitting Lincoln memorial, one that is human and immortal in all the right respects." Christian Science Monitor
Review:
"The section on the Lincoln-Douglas debates should be singled out for praise; it is fast-paced, almost thrilling and eerily resonant." Miami Herald
Ronald C. White, Jr., is the author of two bestselling books on Abraham Lincoln: The Eloquent President and Lincolns Greatest Speech, a New York Times Notable Book. White earned his Ph.D. at Princeton and has lectured on Lincoln at hundreds of universities and organizations, and at Gettysburgand the White House. He is a Fellow at the Huntington Library and a Visiting Professor of History at UCLA.He lives with his wife, Cynthia, in La Cañada, California.
cmottwoolley, February 11, 2009 (view all comments by cmottwoolley)
I did a damnable thing five days ago, I'm ashamed to say. I bought another book about Lincoln. Since then I have been far away in another world, Lincoln's world, transported there by, of all things, the best Lincoln book ever. Another book about Lincoln? Give me a break. Enough already.
I came across this book reading reviews by Lincoln sages Harold Holzer and James M. McPherson, two historians who know Lincoln.They grab Lincoln aficionados by the neck and say:read this.
And, they say (this really got my attention), the book is on par with David Donald's Lincoln, pegged by many historians as the best on Lincoln's life. How could anyone write of Lincoln better than David Donald? Can't be done. But it has been done. A. Lincoln by Ronald C. White, Jr. - published in January 2009 - is beyond compare; it is magnificent. Why? The main speaker in White's book is Lincoln, not White. Guided by White's narrative,the reader soon forgets White is in the room. So great is White's skill, if he were to interupt between Lincoln and the reader, the reader would say shush Mr. White, I am reading.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No (5 of 7 readers found this comment helpful)
Product details
816 pages
Random House -
English9781400064991
Reviews:
"Review"
by James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom,
"Ronald C. White's A. Lincoln is the best biography of Lincoln since David Donald's Lincoln (1995). In many respects it is better than Donald's biography, because it has incorporated the scholarship of the past fourteen years and is written in a fluent style that will appeal to a large range of general readers as well as Lincoln aficionados. The special strengths of A. Lincoln that lift it above other biographies include a brilliant analysis of Lincoln's principal speeches and writings, which were an important weapon in his political leadership and statesmanship, and on which Ronald C. White is the foremost expert, having written two major books on Lincoln's speeches and writings. Another strength is White's analysis of Lincoln's evolving religious convictions, which shaped the core of his effective leadership, his moral integrity. White's discussion of Lincoln's changing attitudes and policies with respect to slavery and race is also a key aspect of this biography. Amid all the books on Lincoln that will be published during the coming year, this one will stand out as one of the best."
"Review"
by ,
"Ron White's A. Lincoln is a superb biography of America's greatest leader. It is fully fleshed, thoughtful, provocative, and scholarly. Lincoln is never out of fashion. After a generation during which three comprehensive one-volume Lincoln biographies appeared — Benjamin P. Thomas's Abraham Lincoln: A Biography in 1952; Stephen B. Oates's With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln in 1977; and David Donald's Lincoln in 1995 — A. Lincoln: A Biography, with its rich detail, will be the standard text for years to come. The author includes the religious connections to his subject like no other biographer. This is a remarkable Lincoln biography by an outstanding writer." Frank J. Williams, Founding Chair of The Lincoln Forum and Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
"Review"
by ,
"Each generation requires — and seems to inspire — its own masterful one-volume Lincoln biography, and scholar Ronald C. White has crowned the bicentennial year with an instant classic for the 21st century. Wise, scholarly, even-handed, and elegant, the book at once informs and inspires, with a rewarding new emphasis on the complex meaning and timeless importance of Lincoln's great words. Brimming with new anecdotes and informed interpretations, White's superb study brings vivid new life to an American immortal." Harold Holzer, author of Lincoln: President-Elect and co-chairman, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
"Review"
by ,
"A beautifully written, deeply personal story of Lincoln's life and service to his country. Ronald C. White's moving account is particularly strong in its analyses of Lincoln's rhetoric and the process by which the President reached decisions." Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848
"Review"
by Gary W. Gallagher, John L. Nau III Professor of History, University of Virginia,
"Lincoln's bicentennial will bring a flood of books about the sixteenth president. Anyone seeking an expansive, thoroughly engaging biography should turn to Ronald C. White's gracefully written narrative. It does full justice to the complexity and drama of the era and allows readers to understand how Lincoln ultimately triumphed in guiding the nation through its greatest trial."
"Review"
by Christian Science Monitor,
"Whether spiritual or secular, White's historical hymns make for a fitting Lincoln memorial, one that is human and immortal in all the right respects."
"Review"
by Miami Herald,
"The section on the Lincoln-Douglas debates should be singled out for praise; it is fast-paced, almost thrilling and eerily resonant."
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.
Don't Miss
