10 books about Abraham Lincoln

An analysis of Abraham Lincoln's political talents identifies the character strengths and abilities that enabled his successful election, in an account that also describes how he used the same abilities to rally former opponents in winning the Civil War.

A biography of America's sixteenth president portrays Lincoln as a man of integrity whose moral compass holds the key to understanding his life, examining his speeches, his ideas on slavery, his religious odyssey, and his role as Commander-in-Chief.

“Widmer brings off his panoramic, almost mystical interpretation with riveting panache. His book is not only a historical achievement but a literary one.” —The Wall Street Journal “A Lincoln classic...superb....So much has been written about Abraham Lincoln that it’s rare when a historian discovers an episode in his life that, if fully developed and interpreted, yields important new insights. Ted Widmer has done just that...” ­—The Washington Post As a divided nation plunges into the deepest crisis in its history, Abraham Lincoln boards a train for Washington and his inauguration—an inauguration Southerners have vowed to prevent by any means necessary. Drawing on new research, this account reveals the President-Elect as a work in progress, showing him on the verge of greatness, foiling an assassination attempt, and forging an unbreakable bond with the American people. On the eve of his 52nd birthday, February 11, 1861, the President-Elect of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, walked onto a train, the first step of his journey to the White House, and his rendezvous with destiny. But as the train began to carry Lincoln toward Washington, it was far from certain what he would find there. Bankrupt and rudderless, the government was on the verge of collapse. To make matters worse, reliable intelligence confirmed a conspiracy to assassinate him as he passed through Baltimore. It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of the Republic hung in the balance. How did Lincoln survive this grueling odyssey, to become the president we know from the history books? Lincoln on the Verge tells the story of a leader discovering his own strength, improvising brilliantly, and seeing his country up close during these pivotal thirteen days. From the moment the Presidential Special left the station, a new Lincoln was on display, speaking constantly, from a moving train, to save the Republic. The journey would draw on all of Lincoln’s mental and physical reserves. But the President-Elect discovered an inner strength, which deepened with the exhausting ordeal of meeting millions of Americans. Lincoln on the Verge tells the story of America’s greatest president and the obstacles he overcame, well before he could take the oath of office and deliver his inaugural address.

Draws extensively on Lincoln's personal papers and legal writings to present a biography of the president

Old Abe: A Novel recounts the final five years of Abraham Lincoln's life, the most cataclysmic years of America's history. Bound to Lincoln's side, every page of this vivid novel details the President's struggles. We follow him as national tragedy deepens, as he struggles and presses ahead, and as he comes to life once again fighting to save the country. This story spans from the spring of 1860 in Illinois, to Lincoln's election and the calamity of the Civil War, to his assassination at the height of his power. During the war, death surrounds him. Lincoln walks the bloody battlefields of Virginia and Maryland. He peers down the Potomac River through a spyglass, searching for approaching Confederate gunboats that reports have warned him of. He feels death stalk him as one summer evening, a would-be assassin fires a shot that passes through his hat. At the White House, he weeps over the body of Willie, his second son to die in childhood. Lincoln tries desperately to hold the Union together, searching for a general who will fight for him. Amid national and personal tragedy, he struggles to find meaning in the war and bring freedom to Southern slaves. Central to this novel is a love story--the story of Abraham and Mary Lincoln's stormy yet devoted marriage. Mary Todd Lincoln's strong will and ambition for her husband helped drive him to the White House, but the presidency takes an incredible toll on her. Mary grows increasingly frightened and insecure. Lincoln watches helplessly as she becomes more and more emotionally unstable. He grasps for ways to support her, but finds no remedy strong enough to reverse the damage that has been done. As Lincoln's journey unfolds, Old Abe probes the relentless character and enduring spirit of America. This story portrays Lincoln not only as a flesh-and-blood man, but a hero who embodies his country's finest ideals. In the midst of America's most devastating tragedy, Old Abe captures the challenges and triumphs, the failures and successes, of one of the most famous leaders in U.S. history, who sets a divided country on track to become a great nation of the world.

Learn how faith influenced one of American history’s most beloved and admired presidents—Abraham Lincoln—in this thoroughly researched and thought-provoking account. There is no shortage of books chronicling the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln, one of the most revered leaders in our nation’s history. But for all that’s been written on our sixteenth president, surprisingly little has focused on his faith and how it shaped the man who led our country during its most tumultuous years—until now. In Abraham Lincoln, a Man of Faith and Courage, historian and scholar Joe Wheeler, brings to the light the story of Lincoln’s enduring faith. With insightful research collected through ten years of extensive study, Wheeler skillfully weaving his own narrative with direct quotes from Lincoln and poignant excerpts from other Lincoln biographers, and brings a refreshingly friendly rendition of Lincoln’s life, faith, and courage. The stories, historical details, and powerful quotes on the pages of Abraham Lincoln, a Man of Faith and Courage will forever impact the way you think about Lincoln, and will inspire your own faith along the way.

A page-turning novel about the brilliant, melancholic future president and the two people who knew him best: his handsome and charming confidant (and roommate), Joshua Speed, and the spirited young debutante Mary Todd. A Washington Post Bestseller A May Indie Next Pick An Apple Books Best of the Month for April A People Magazine Best Book of the Week “Exquisite.” —People “A triumph of a novel.” —Bookreporter.com “Rich, fascinating, and romantic.” —Newsday When Mary Todd meets Abraham Lincoln in Springfield in the winter of 1840, he is on no one’s short list to be president. A country lawyer living above a dry goods shop, he is lacking both money and manners, and his gift for oratory surprises those who meet him. Mary, a quick, self-possessed debutante with an interest in debates and elections, at first finds him an enigma. “I can only hope,” she tells his roommate, the handsome, charming Joshua Speed, “that his waters being so very still, they also run deep.” It’s not long, though, before she sees the Lincoln that Speed knows: an amiable, profound man who, despite his awkwardness, has a gentle wit to match his genius, and who respects her keen political mind. But as her relationship with Lincoln deepens, she must confront his inseparable friendship with Speed, who has taught his roommate how to dance, dress, and navigate the polite society of Springfield. Told in the alternating voices of Mary Todd and Joshua Speed, and inspired by historical events, Courting Mr. Lincoln creates a sympathetic and complex portrait of Mary unlike any that has come before; a moving portrayal of the deep and very real connection between the two men; and most of all, an evocation of the unformed man who would grow into one of the nation’s most beloved presidents. Louis Bayard, a master storyteller, delivers here a page-turning tale of love, longing, and forbidden possibilities.

"ABE is a cultural biography of Abraham Lincoln, following Lincoln's monumental life from cradle to grave while weaving a narrative that includes Lincoln's cultural influences and the nation-wide and regional cultural trends and moods and happenings of his day, and how Lincoln both shaped and was shaped by his America. The music, humor, literature, and fashions of the time and their impact on Lincoln's life are explored as well, and analysis of other important figures such as Lincoln's wife, his assassin, his professional partners, etc., also draw on this culturally focused style"--

A thrilling dive into the little-known, darker side of a revered president's history, Lincoln's Lie untangles the threads behind a mysterious 1864 newspaper article to reveal how Lincoln manipulated the media during the Civil War, shining new light onto today's issues of fake news and presidential conflict with the press. In 1864, during the bloodiest days of the Civil War, two newspapers published a call, allegedly authored by President Lincoln, for the immediate conscription of 400,000 more Union soldiers. New York streets erupted in pandemonium. Wall Street markets went wild. When Lincoln sent troops to seize the newspaper presses and arrest the editors, it became clear: The proclamation was a lie. Who put out this fake news? Was it a Confederate spy hoping to incite another draft riot? A political enemy out to ruin the president in an election year? Or was there some truth to the proclamation--far more truth than anyone suspected? Unpacking this overlooked historical mystery for the first time, journalist Elizabeth Mitchell takes readers on a dramatic journey from newspaper offices filled with heroes and charlatans to the haunted White House confinement of Mary Todd Lincoln, from the packed pews of the celebrated preacher Reverend Henry Ward Beecher's Plymouth Church to the War Department offices in the nation's capital and a Grand Jury trial. In Lincoln's Lie, Mitchell brings to life the remarkable story of the manipulators of the news and why they decided to play such a dangerous game during a critical period of American history. Her account of Lincoln's troubled relationship to the press and its role in the Civil War is one that speaks powerfully to our current political crises: fake news, profiteering, Constitutional conflict, and a president at war with the press.