Open Mike: Mr. Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln is the quintessential and arguably the greatest American. You might think it would be possible to read everything that's been written about him if you set your mind to it, but one lifetime might not be long enough: Paul R. Tetreault, director of Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., says that more books have been written about Lincoln than any other person in world history except Jesus. He should know: in the lobby of the Ford's Theater Center for Education and Leadership (across the street from historic Ford's Theater) stands the Lincoln Book Tower, intended to contain all or most of the books ever written about the 16th President. The tower is eight feet in diameter and three and half stories tall!

The Lincoln Book Tower seen from above

With all those books out there, why recommend just one? The title should tell. Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman is a "carefully curated" collection of images of Lincoln, in both photographs and other kinds of art. Lincoln, who was known as the most photographed man of his time, was arguably the first politician to understand the importance of what we now call "image" to both publicity and leadership.

And you can read it in a couple of hours: the text is a brief introduction to Lincoln's life intended for grade schoolers. Call me weird, but I don't necessarily scorn books for children. They give me the facts quickly and clearly and in overview, and I like that. It's always frustrated me that biographies in particular are by custom so long and detailed. The assumption is that we will want to know every detail that is known. Some such biographies can't even be contained in single volumes. William Manchester gave us 3,008 pages about Winston Churchill in three volumes, which is more than I want to know about Winston, and Dumas Malone had to go one better, giving us 3,329 pages about Thomas Jefferson, in six volumes. I sat down to rest midway through volume two and then let Tom Jefferson go on his way without me. At that rate you'd better be a pretty dedicated reader to acquaint yourself with more than a small handful of the interesting people of history by means of such books. I'd rather get the Cliff Notes. I collected a series for a while called "The Penguin Lives," in which a variety of writers were chosen to write short biographies of notable figures, but the series didn't last very long, unfortunately. There is one about Lincoln, however: Abraham Lincoln by Australian author Thomas Keneally, who also wrote Schindler's Ark, which was made into the movie Schindler's List. Because Thomas Keneally felt enough had been written about Lincoln during the war years, though, his biography covers only Lincoln's life before the war, which is leaving a lot out. Of course, poet Carl Sandburg famously gave the 3,300-page treatment to Mr. Lincoln, leaving not much out at all.

I can't speak to the reproduction quality in Lincoln: A Photobiography, originally published in 1986, because I only have the Kindle edition. But it's a good primer about Lincoln both biographically and photographically, and would make a nice brief introduction for any newcomer to Lincoln's story, whether a young person, or someone from another country, or just an American who wants the basic story laid out in summary, in plain English.

I've written about Lincoln before, for example in this post from 2006.

So what is the best full, adult biography? My vote would go to Benjamin P. Thomas (581 pages) as being the best written. It's graceful, restrained, moves along smartly, and is enjoyable to read. It seems shorter than it is.

I'm sure it's in the Tower. And by the way, the titles of the 6,800 or so books in the Lincoln Book Tower are real—they represent actual books—but the ones in the Tower are replicas made of aluminum, hollow, and all securely fastened together.

Mike

Book o' the Week

The Essential Calvin and Hobbes: a Calvin and Hobbes Treasury by Bill Watterson. I just read a dire, apocalyptic article about mental health during the pandemic, so I decided on trying an "off topic" book rec that is slightly lighter than our usual fare. If you don't appreciate it, don't worry, it's a blog. Something else will be along soon.

Link to B&H

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Earl Dunbar: "I grew up deeply admiring Lincoln and devouring a lot of his story. That included a couple of trips to New Salem (Ilinois), one trip to the (newish) Lincoln museum in Springfield, Illinois, at least two to the gravesite(s) and numerous visits to his Springfield home at 8th and Jackson.

Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Springfield,
Illinois. Photo by George Longenecker.

"The home is, to me, the 'holy grail' of all the Lincoln sites. It is both sombre and inspiring at the same time. I have always gotten some chills when I’ve visited. It’s so well done that, even despite the presence of rope barriers, invariably I get the sense that Lincoln, Mary, Tad and all the family might casually just appear, going about their normal, pre-Presidential lives."

Comments

[Richard John Tugwell]

A new one for me. What cameras did he use?

Richard, Oxford

[Christopher]

A while back you had a print sale of a Lincoln Photograph. I wish I had bought one at the time. Maybe you should bring it back?

Wishful thinking.

[MarkB]

For some reason, while I appreciate your OT posts, and duly revere Lincoln as someone who grew up in Illinois (the self-styled "Land of Lincoln"), I cannot help but recoil at the phrase "the quintessential and arguably the greatest American."

Lincoln was probably our greatest historic leader (and speechwriter), but I'd more easily put that descriptive phrase onto someone like Nicola Tesla. In both cases, I suppose it fits like a lumpy jacket that is both too big in places and ill-tailored, but that's words for you.

[Well, I said "arguably." So I guess that means it's okay to argue.

And...Tesla? Born and raised in the Austrian Empire, didn't move here till he was 28? Buried in Serbia? I really don't think a lot of people would consider him primarily American. Probably many Serbians would consider it appropriation. --Mike]