Celebrate Lincoln's Birthday With Books
By Sudip Bose | Online Only | Feb. 12, 2009
Since Abraham Lincoln died in 1865, approximately 15,000 books have been written about him—an astounding figure that suggests just how ingrained the 16th president is in our popular imagination, and how hungry we are to know more. What new insights could possibly be revealed by yet another account of Lincoln's presidency and life? Apparently quite a few, for the cottage industry of Lincoln scholarship has been churning away for many a long night, in anticipation of today's bicentennial celebration.
Among the numerous books on Lincoln that have appeared within the last year, these are a few of our favorites:
Abraham Lincoln, by James M. McPherson (Oxford, $12.95) is a slim, elegant, and concise life written by America's preeminent Civil War historian. McPherson is also the author of the heftier Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief (Penguin, $35).
A. Lincoln: A Biography, by Ronald C. White Jr. (Random House, $35) offers a glimpse of Lincoln as a man of letters. The president's appetite for Shakespeare, the Bible, and numerous other works of literature indicate a deep intellectual curiosity that informed nearly all his decisions.
Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life, by Adam Gopnik (Knopf, $24.95). Gopnik, a long-time contributor to the New Yorker, investigates the similarities between Lincoln and Charles Darwin, both born on the same day. The title comes from a debate about the moments after Lincoln's death: As the president passed away, did Secretary of War Edwin Standon utter, "Now he belongs to the ages" (as commonly thought) or, "Now he belongs to the angels"?
Looking for Lincoln: The Making of an American Icon, by Philip B. Kunhardt III, Peter W. Kunhardt, Peter W. Kunhardt Jr (Knopf, $50) is a remarkable collaboration by three members of a family that's been in the Lincoln scholarship business for five generations. The work is, among other things, an exhaustive chronicle of Lincoln scholarship.
Mrs. Lincoln: A Life, by Catherine Clinton (Harper, $26.99). So much ink has been spilled on Lincoln, that it's easy to marginalize—or forget—Mary Todd. This book attempts to give the first lady her due.
In Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts, edited by Harold Holzer and Joshua Wolf Shenk (Bantam, $35). An intimate look at Lincoln's manuscripts, this beautiful collection reproduces the president's letters, speeches, and notebook entries, each accompanied by a piece of commentary by a scholar, statesman, novelist, or celebrity. Among the contributors: Toni Morrison, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, John Updike, Newt Gingrich, Liam Neeson, E.L. Doctorow, Thomas Mallon, Mario Cuomo, Steven Spielberg, and Sandra Day O'Connor.
Of course, the library of older volumes on Lincoln could keep your mind well-nourished for a lifetime. Here are five of the best:
President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman by William Lee Miller (Vintage, $16.95), a beautifully written, insightful account.
Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America, by Garry Wills (Simon and Schuster, $14), a brilliant analysis of the Gettysburg Address by a contributing editor of Preservation. The book won a National Book Critics Circle Award in 1992.
Lincoln, by David Herbert Donald (Simon and Schuster, $20), a masterful portrait by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (Simon and Schuter, $35), a highly popular account whose title was invoked repeatedly as Barack Obama began assembling his cabinet.
Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln by Douglas L. Wilson (Vintage, $15.95), a relatively succinct but astute portrait of the president's life between 1831 and 1842.
Read more about Lincoln's Washington, D.C., from the magazine's January/February 2009 issue
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