About book The Life And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln (2000)
As has become my habit with somewhat lengthy reviews, I use spoilers to divide the review into parts. In the case of the present book, there is nothing in any of these sections which would "spoil" anyone's reading of the book. If the description of the section interests you, take a look.Lincoln is either the obvious subject, or plays a main part, in hundreds of books. Just to name a few of fairly recent vintage, there is the full scale biography by David Herbert Donald Lincoln, the very popular work by Doris Kearns Goodwin Team of Rivals, which is both more general (it's billed as a "multiple biography" of not only Lincoln, but of others in his administration, and in the Army which he command) and more specialized (in that it is a study of Lincoln's "political genius") than Donald's book; and the following Lincoln books, mentioned among others, in a recent NPR report: The Fiery Trial, Battle Cry of Freedom, and Land of Lincoln (See the following Goodreads reviews:Team of Rivals http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... Battle Cry of Freedom http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... )The appeal of the book under review here is that it combines a very readable and interesting biography with a large selection of Lincoln's own writings. Thus it is of interest to readers who are not looking for a very detailed, in-depth or specialized study of Lincoln, but a fairly brief overview of his life, and in addition a wide selection of his writings, the latter a feature of this book missing from the other books mentioned.When the book was published in 1940, it was the largest single-volume collection of Lincoln's writings ever published. The "writings" include addresses, proclamations, many different categories of letters, and generous selections from the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates.IntroductionThe following section is a short overview of a (short itself) Introduction to the book by Allan Nevins, entitled "Lincoln in His Writings".(view spoiler)[The ten page Introduction by the historian Allan Nevins starts by noting how, in the two or three decades following the Civil War, Lincoln was often viewed as just one actor on a "crowded stage" of notables, whose stars still shone brightly in the memories of those who had lived through the event. Indeed, when Ulysses S. Grant's autobiography was published in the year he died (1885) it caused a sensation, and was universally acclaimed. As well, Douglas, Seward, Chase, Sumner, and above all Robert E. Lee still held the eye of the public. When Oliver Wendell Holmes gave his Memorial Day address in 1884, and spoke the immortal line "In our youth our hearts were touched with fire", Lincoln was not mentioned. This is not to say, of course, that Lincoln had been forgotten. Nevins' point is that the country was still too close in time to forget any of these men, or to lose the detailed memories of the myriad events and personages which had defined what the country had been through. With passing time, however, the more minor players on that stage faded, and one came to dominate the others, indeed to tower above them.In his essay Nevins traces the development of Lincoln's ideas, character, and moral qualities by referring to key examples of his writing (all contained in the volume) at various stages of his life. He refers to three different stages of this development: (i) Lincoln's early years in the public eye (exemplified by his 1845 letter to Williamson Durley on the Texas question); (ii) the development of Lincoln's "faculty of close-textured and irresistibly logical reasoning", which Nevins sees dramatized by Lincoln's speech in Peoria on October 16, 1854, when he answered Stephen Douglas's Springfield defense of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act; and a "final stage", in which he sees "a Lincoln who superadded to special moral qualities and special force of reasoning a spiritual quality which not even the great Edmund Burke had ever possessed." Nevins traces this final stage from Lincoln's First Inaugural speech, through the Gettysburg Address, to his Second Inaugural, speaking of "the noble eloquence of (these) greatest utterances, and … their semi-religious tone".There's no doubt that this essay is very much a personal view of Mr. Nevins'. It is rather nicely done, however, and provides an appropriate introduction to the section containing the writings themselves. (hide spoiler)]
This is a great read! Lincoln embodied the integrity and principles that are, sadly, the opposite of today's "popular" perception of those in the legal profession. These days, lawyers often get the bad rap of being as trustworthy and ethical as used car salesmen - but Lincoln saw the legal field as a calling that demanded extremely high moral standards, and his words of honesty and decency - and deep reliance on deity - reflect that. His was a life fraught with personal tragedy; his public service was honorable and wonderful during one our nation's most trying times.
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