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Donald brilliantly depicts Lincoln’s gradual ascent from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to the ever-expanding political circles in Illinois, and finally to the presidency of a country divided by civil war. After graduating, he taught at Columbia University, Johns Hopkins and, from 1973, Harvard University.

This book, beyond reiterating Lincoln's fondness for his children and tall tales, doesn't really give him...contour, I guess.

Although Donald does not write with the same elegant fire that suffuses some of his previous biographies, mostnotably on Senator Charles Sumner and novelist Thomas Wolfe, his storytelling skill keeps the reader on a steady, dependablecourse. Lincoln himself once said that (page 15) "I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me."

If you only read one book about Lincoln, this would be a good one. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists.

In recognition of his eminence, he was invited by President George Bush in December 1989 to deliver the first of what was to be a series of White House lectures on American Presidents; quite properly, he lectured on Lincoln, “the greatest of our Presidents.” He has now published what is being hailed as the definitive Lincoln biography. His life was cut far too short by a cowardly act.

He was the best moral compass the country could have hoped for, dedicated to preserving the union during the greatest crisis it's ever faced. He was a man of extraordinary ambition, passions, capacities—including an extraordinary intellect—and a man fully aware of his superiority, however much he tried to hide it.

Abraham Lincoln by David Herbert Donald Simon & Schuster. But it sure seems that they try to obscure this fact in the public schools these days. But, however rich in details, once again it fails to explain Lincoln’s greatness, or the reverence in which he is held by his countrymen. Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. "A grand work--the Lincoln biography for this generation.". A masterful work by Pulitzer Prize–winning author David Herbert Donald, Lincoln is a stunning portrait of Abraham Lincoln’s life and presidency. It's over 700 pages or 33 CD's if you listen to it on Audio and it was due back to the library when I was ~80% through) because it almost read like an encyclopedia/text book.

In brief, Lincoln cannot be explained without assessing what he did and, equally important, what he said. Let me point out somethings that the author brings forward but was lost on majority of Americans then and even now!

[1] Donald is survived by his wife, his son Bruce Donald and two granddaughters.[2].

A good look at Lincoln's life that remains interesting despite its necessary length. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, Famed Lincoln Scholar David Herbert Donald Dies, "David Herbert Donald, Writer on Lincoln, Dies at 88", "David Herbert Donald, Ph.D. This was a brilliant biography of one of the greatest Presidents in US history. As much as possible the author uses primary sources and liberally uses Lincoln's own words.

For example, Lincoln never recognized the "Cessation" since it was illegal under the Constitution.
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Of course, ever since then, biographers have tried diligently to prove their subject wrong. The distinguished historian David Herbert Donald has produced by far the finest single volume on Lincoln’s life yetattempted, a work that is a monumental achievement in scholarship.

One of the greatest strengths of this bio.

It was good to learn about his weak points too, like being indecisive in many things and too lenient with people he liked. Harold Pinter, British playwright (The Homecoming, Betrayal). To Donald, however, there is no way of knowing who was right: “[W]hether the Declaration of Independence intended to include blacks in announcing that all men are created equal [is] an interesting, if ultimately unresolvable, historiographical problem.” Besides, Donald goes on, “it was not easy to see just what [this] had to do with the choice of a Senator for Illinois in 1858.”. The focus is on Lincoln – there are very little details on Civil War battles or persons who had no personal influence on Lincoln (such as Robert E. Lee). On the cover of my paperback edition to this book, Geoffrey C. Ward, one of the writers behind the great documentary "Ken Burns' The Civil War," is quoted as saying that his book is "richly researched."

Although the imbalance in previous Lincoln biographies almost certainly reflected the greater national significance of the CivilWar period, Donald recognizes the mistake of devoting four-fifths of a book to one-tenth of man’s life and methodicallyexplores the experiences that shaped Lincoln’s character before he faced the crucible of a wartime presidency.

“For the first time in American history citizens began to feel that the occupant of the White House was their representative.

`Honest Abe' was just another one, a perfect do-gooder who could not possibly measure up to the marble statues we have of him. This will not do. Author points out one more subtle point that Lincoln's own military commanders missed. This took a long time to get through. The focus is on Lincoln – there are very little details on Civil War battles or persons who had no personal influence on Lincoln (such as Robert E. Lee). Donald begins by telling the story of Lincoln the sometime schoolboy, bargeman, storekeeper, surveyor, state legislator, smalltown lawyer, and autodidact. He specialized in the American Civil War and Reconstruction periods, and in the history of the American South. A masterful work by Pulitzer Prize–winning author David Herbert Donald, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln, The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: A Book of Quotations (Dover Thrift Editions). Well...it's a historian's biography.

The monthly magazine of opinion. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 5,000 articles originally published in our various magazines. Two five star books in my opinion, but distinctly different. Thelonius Monk, jazz pianist and composer. The liberal, 'Radical Republican' party began in the 1850s at the end of the old Whig Party, while the original Southern conservative Democrats began about one hundred years earlier. Winston Spencer-Churchill, British politician; grandson of famed Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.

But did they? These, surely, are deeds and thoughts worthy of mention in a definitive biography.

At Johns Hopkins, Columbia, and Harvard he trained dozens of graduate students including Jean H. Baker, William J. Cooper, Jr., Michael Holt, Irwin Unger, and Ari Hoogenboom. The author managed to create a successful balance between an honest factual account (such as is possible) and a pleasurable book to read. Did it? The county's western border is formed by the Yazoo River and it is part of the Mississippi-Yazoo Delta. The founding fathers were canonized in order to legitimize the young United States. If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Biography and Interview", "Laureates by Year - The Lincoln Academy of Illinois", "Search Results - Harvard University Press", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Herbert_Donald&oldid=957618208, Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography winners, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign alumni, Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professors of American History, Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Two Pulitzer Prizes for biography, and 1995 biography of Abraham Lincoln, Paul Goodman, "David Donald's Charles Sumner Reconsidered" in, Ari Hoogenboom, "David Herbert Donald: A Celebration," in, This page was last edited on 19 May 2020, at 18:38. I'm not looking for wild leaps, but the best biographers (Caro, obviously) make cautions forays into the mind and character of their subjects that illuminate them.

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So, if you're a civil war buff/history buff/Lincoln buff, this is a 5 star, excellent book.

I've owned this book for years, and finally read it. .

Which is not to say Lincoln doesn't have strong detractors. Donald's evenhanded approach to Sumner, Potter concluded, was a model for biographers working with a difficult subject.

He may be our greatest President.

It dispels quite a few myths about Lincoln while diving into his psychological makeup and his complex decision-making process.

Few biographies have been as anticipated as this one. The founding fathers were canonized in order to legitimize the young United States. David Herbert Donald, a distinguished historian of the South and a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for biography, is the Charles Warren Professor Emeritus of American History and American Civilization at Harvard. Unfortunately, he was murdered by a Confederate terrorist before he could fully promulgate his ideas on Reconstruction and the black population in the United States still had a massively long and violent road to full Emancipation.

As Lincoln averred correctly, it would bring the war to an end, and while its costs would be great, the cost of the war was much greater.

That fact came to be seen in the South too, and generations in America are likely to remember it when all other features of his statecraft have grown indistinct.