Lincoln & biographies
Rufus Recommends:
The biographies of Lincoln are endless! I have enjoyed many of them.
1. Abraham Lincoln, by Benjamin Thomas....For me this is the best of a good crop. Written back in the early fifties, it's thorough in it's research and, to me, the most enjoayble Linclon biography to read.
2. Lincoln, by David Donald....The most recent of the full length bios. The scholarship is excellent amd it's a good read as well.
3.With Malice Toward None, by Stephen Oates....Maybe the most dramatic telling of Lincoln's life.
4. Lincoln the President, by James Randall....This is what you read if you have LOTS of time. It's 4 volumes. Worth it if you have the time.
5. Lincoln in American Memory, by Merrill Peterson....In many ways this story of the changing interpretations of Lincoln over the years was the most enjoyable book on Lincoln for me. Not a biography, but historiography.
6. The Day Lincoln Was Shot, by Jim Bishop.... The best and most informative book on the assasination. No demented conspiracy theories either.
7. Lincoln at Gettysburg, by Gary Wills....I learned more about the Gettysburg Address form this book than I had learned on the subject in the 40 years prior to my reading it.
If you enjoy biographies, it's easy to get lost in the sea of Lincoln works, but there's a wealth of books on the other Civil War era personalities as well......just a few.
1. To Purge This Land With Blood, by Stephen Oates....A great bio of John Brown.
2. In the Hands of Providence, by Alice Trulock....An excellent bio of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.
3. Custer, by Jeffrey Wert.... This book is so good that even I, a non-fan of George Armstrong Custer was able to enjoy it.
4. General James Longstreet, by Jeffrey Wert....Another terrific book by Mr. Wert.
The book, I think, has had a lot to do with the changing interpretation of Longstreet, and for the better.
Rufus Rejects:
Grant, by William McFeely....Another so called classic that I couldn't read. Mr McFeely tried so hard to show Grant's warts that, to me he got lost in them.