If you enjoy history and want a clean read that will keep you hooked cover to cover than this is the book for you! I found this children's book a fun read that would be great for adults and kids alike if they are trying to rekindle their innocent, free-spirit days as a child! It takes you from Abe's youth to his adolescent and the history of his aduldhood. What a great read!

I enjoyed this book very much. As a classroom teacher, I found the anecdotes and witty quotations useful in teaching about this remarkable man.

Over coming adversity after adversity until you're successful is what Lincoln is all about.

More books are published about Lincon than any other public figure and Carl Sandburg's take on America's 16th president is a good place to start your learning on this extraordinary individual. Sandburg's style shows his roots as a poet; the writing is lyrical and captivating. Though it leans towards myth-making, Sandburg doesn't leave out Lincoln's flaws. Other biographies go deeper into Lincoln's psyche or touch on specific chapters from Lincoln's life; however this book is a good start to begin your education on Abraham Lincoln. Find the complete six-volume set if you can. It does a much better job of putting Lincoln's life into the historical context of the 1800s than this abridged volume does.

Jean E. Blashfield's book on Abraham Lincoln for the Profiles of the Presidents series is a richly illustrated juvenile biography aimed at younger students. There are historic photographs, etchings, and paintings, along with more contemporary representations of Lincoln's early life and pictures of historical sites. Blashfield begins with a short section on To Save the Nation, which establishes Lincoln's pivotal role in preserving the Union during the Civil War. The book then looks at The Early Years of Lincoln's life moving from Kentucky to Indiana and then to Illinois; Stepping into Politics, which covers his jobs as a store clerk, lawyer, and congressman; The Slavery Debates focuses on how Lincoln's performance in the Senatorial debates with Stephen A. Douglas sent him on the road to the White House; The Civil War covers the war in general without getting into the specific battles or what Lincoln had to do to help win the war; For the People emphasizes the key lessons of Lincoln's life. The back of the book contains a detailed look at Abraham Lincoln's Life and Times, which parallels the key events of his life with world events, along with a list of additional resources for research and historical sites to visit. Ultimately, this is a good first book for younger readers to turn to in order to learn the basic biographical information about Lincoln's life and times. Other books will provide more analytical looks at the Lincoln presidency, but those are for down the road.

I bought both volumns of this over the summer. I first bought Libary of America's publication of Jefferson which is a must have. Then Franklin. Those two are extremely good and I highly recommend them to anyone interested in raw historical material.

Now as for the volumes on Lincoln, don't get me wrong; they are also extremely good. As with all of these books, it is a rewarding reading experience to peruse collections of un-edited letters and speeches in their chronological order.

These volumes have every conceivable bit of correspondence imaginable. Lincoln apparently preferred the short letter, as there are several single paragraph letters to generals on the field and the like. He also wrote with simplicity and suprising bluntness. Volume 1 has a number of early speeches and famous debates which give you a sense of the lawyer turned politician. These of course are very lengthy. But also in volumes 1 and 2 there are numerous short letters which include urgent notes to General McClellan and others that would have made me quit the post had I been the receiver! In contrast there are letters revealing Lincolns more sensitive personal side.

I'm rating Lincoln's volumes just behind those of Jefferson and Franklin because there are no references detailing the circumstances for each writing. I felt a little lost not knowing what the impetus was behind the letters and correspondence. This is a departure from the Jefferson and Franklin books, which provide very detailed notes.

Finally I should say that Library of America's books are of very high quality for more than their authorship and reading content. All are bound nicely and printed on bible paper-like acid free paper. They are of exceptional quality just as books. I would say they are the best quality available.

Additionally, Library of America is a non-profit organization with the aim of distributing the work of America's essential writers without commercial gain.

What is the relation between the American Civil War and the Monroe Doctrine? Where's the connection between the Emancipation Proclamation and the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857? Did you know that one of the crucial battles of the Civil War was fought nowhere near the bloody fields of Virginia or Tennessee?

"Abraham Lincoln and a New Birth of Freedom" traces the events surrounding Lincoln's fight to keep the European Powers from intervening on the side of the Confederacy. Without help from abroad the Confederate cause was virtually doomed; the leadership in Richmond compared their fight with that of the Revolutionary War of 1776-81 and the importance then of the active intervention of France. The stumbling block for the leaders of Britain and France in 1862 was slavery in the Southern states. While the upper classes who led these European nations were sympathetic to the South, the middle and working classes were against slavery and thus for the North.

What makes this book interesting is that it goes beyond high school level history and shows the complexities of British politics and French imperial ambitions. What happened was neither straightforward nor obvious. The twists and turns of diplomacy are shown along with the mistakes of ambitious leaders and politicians in stark contrast with the stubborn, steadfast policy of Lincoln himself.

The book has flaws, luckily, not many. The most notable one is the style of the writing. I suspect that Howard Jones, a history professor, is used to writing for his professional colleagues rather than the general public. The result is a bit turgid and does not read easily.

Even a casual student of American history can recite many of the salient points of the career of Abraham Lincoln as president. This book takes the reader far beneath the superficial surface information. While McClure was an eyewitness to many of the events described, he maintains an objective viewpoint. I enthusiastically recommend this book to any reader who desires a "fly on the wall' perspective of Lincolns presidency.

This compilation of primary source materials is arranged inchronological chapters, with the table of contents acting as anoutline of what is to come. An excellent introduction creates a vivid context for the period. Many pieces are not in their entirety, but excerpted. Holzer's vibrant writing is a fascinating mix of biography and political history that provides setup and commentary for each selection to put the piece in context. A wide range of samples includes poems, letters, and speeches (both famous and lesser known). The editor's authority of and admiration for his subject is evident and the volume is well arranged; unfortunately, some poor editing choices detract from the text. Photos are abundant, well-selected, and well-placed; however, in two instances the same picture was obviously cropped and reused with a different caption. Photo credits are inconsistent. Sometimes they appear under the picture, sometimes they don't. A complete list of photo credits appears at the end. Including the original captions along with the page numbers would have been a nice touch. Because this is not the first book one would start with if one were to do a report on Lincoln, a list of recommended books would have been a welcome addition. According to the credits, Holzer only consulted one source for this book. While he is the author of 14 books (8 about Lincoln), one would think he would mention other sources - even his own. An incredibly detailed chronology will thrill teachers struggling with curriculum frameworks. Not a necessity, but a solid addition to collections where there is a demand for presidential biography, political/government history, or civil rights information.

This book, first published in 1971, presents the life and career of Abraham Lincoln through the pages of the newspapers that covered it. This work is, therefore, essentially a biography written with multiple voices and from differing perspectives by the journalists who watched Lincoln's public life. It contains all of the virtues and vices of the reportorial profession. At times the reprinted articles are eloquent and insightful, at others they present gross inaccuracies and exaggerations. All come together to offer a complex portrait of arguably the most significant president of the American republic. Overall, they offer a fascinating representation of Abraham Lincoln and his times.

Editor Herbert Mitgang makes clear that the individual articles reprinted in this collection should never be considered objective accounts of Lincoln's activities. Instead, the newspapers of that era were overtly partisan. Even a relatively small city like Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois, had two newspapers, one ardently supportive of Lincoln and the Republicans, the other rabidly hostile. And both reported the same events in strikingly different ways. Readers see repeatedly in this collection the differing reportage of events in Lincoln's life. For instance, accounts of the Lincoln-Douglas debates are sensationalized toward one side or the other depending on the political allegiance of the newspaper reporting them. Mitgang appropriately notes that these reports "presented history in the rough" (p. xxiv).

While this collection ranges across the life of Abraham Lincoln, well over two-thirds of the work is devoted to his presidential career and the Union's victory in the Civil War against the Confederacy. Almost every major military action is discussed in some detail, but more importantly the role of Lincoln in reshaping the nation with the abolition of slavery receives considered attention. The struggles to maintain a ruling coalition and to manage both the radicals of Lincoln's own party and the peace Democrats enter the discussion. Of course, the assassination of Lincoln and succession of his vice president to the oval office gains attention.

This is a marvelous entrée for students into the primary sources of history. Newspapers have shaped our understanding of political events since the birth of the nation and this collection goes far toward illuminating the career or Abraham Lincoln. The reports and opinions of journalists show a person and a time in both its ambiguity and complexity. Its availability in this paperback reprint provides excellent grist for students.