My interest in Lincoln was driven by the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. As a student of leadership, I found it one of the most insightful books on the theme. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and esteemed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, this is a modern classic about Abraham Lincoln (note: this is not a biography), his unlikely presidency and his cabinet comprising former political foes. The book received a great deal of attention in 2008 when the then-Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama declared that if elected, he would want ‘a team of rivals’ in his Cabinet. Obama acknowledged the influence of Goodwin’s book several times during his presidential campaign. It won the Lincoln Prize and was the inspiration for the Oscar-winning Lincoln written by Tony Kushner and directed by Steven Spielberg, with Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead role.
At least 15,000 books have been written about Lincoln, covering every aspect of his life – his childhood, his politics, his wartime leadership, his married life, his death, his speeches, his generals and admirals, his writing, his mental health and his legal career. There are biographies, history books, picture books, children’s books and novels based on his life. Interestingly, the most written about president, whose oratorical and writing skills were peerless, neither kept a diary nor wrote his autobiography! The recently published Abraham Lincoln: His 1858 Time Capsule edited by Ross E Heller is a unique and meticulous reproduction of a book handwritten by Lincoln. During his campaign for Senate, Lincoln made notes in a 6-inch by 3-inch notebook and kept news clippings of his debates with abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Heller’s book also contains reproductions of documents and letters written to Lincoln. I was able to buy one of 50 limited first-edition copies signed by Heller. Lincoln’s original notebook is housed at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.
A book that gave me a good overview and deeper understanding of Lincoln was the coffeetable book Life, Lincoln: An Intimate Portrait, released to commemorate Lincoln’s 150th death anniversary. It includes for the first time, six documents such as the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation, which can removed and framed. This is the best introduction to Lincoln for those who don’t know much about him. A very readable book about his assassination is Manhunt by James L Swanson which goes into the killer John Wilkes Booth’s motives and the desperate 12-day manhunt.
Of all the Lincoln biographies Carl Sandburg’s popular multivolume Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years, 2 vols. (1926) and Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, 4 vols. (1939) are collectively the ‘best-selling, most widely read, and most influential book(s) about Lincoln’. The book covers the years in the life of Lincoln that led up to the White House. Providing a totally contrary perspective, Thomas J DiLorenzo’s The Problem with Lincoln explores why Abraham Lincoln was widely unpopular during his presidency and says that he rejected the idea of racial inequality.
Finally, for every researcher on Lincoln, Lincoln Collector by Carl Sandburg is the ultimate book on Oliver R Barrett’s vast and comprehensive private collection of Lincoln memorabilia. Note that the book is not about Barrett and how he acquired his collection (although this is innately interesting), but it includes many obscure letters and speeches with their historical context and is an excellent complement to the Sandburg biography of Lincoln.
Mine are purely subjective recommendations and I don’t claim to be an expert on Lincoln (there are many who are). A study of Lincoln is a lifelong pursuit, but these books will give you a holistic understanding of one of the most towering personalities to have walked the face of the earth.
(The writer’s views are personal)