Mr. Lincoln: The Life of Abraham Lincoln

by Allen C. Guelzo

This set is a collection of 12 lectures by prominent historian Professor Allen C. Guelzo. Professor Guelzo, "formerly of Eastern University, is Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era and Professor of History at Gettysburg College. He holds an M.A. and a PhD. in hsitory from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.Div. from Philadelphia Theological Seminary, and an honorary doctorate in history from Lincoln College. His teaching awards include the American Library Association Choice Award. His book Abraham Redeemer President has won several prizes." (The Teaching Company)

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Audiobook, American History, War, Presidents

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Allen Carl Guelzo (born 1953) is the Henry R. Luce III Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College, where he serves as Director of the Civil War Era Studies Program.

Reviews

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forgive me, Lincoln, for I have sinned. I attempted to listen to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and it was so bad. To atone, I have listened to this wonderful lecture series by Lincoln historian Allen C. Guezlo to learn actual real things about your life. ... I don't know how to close out a confession properly, so I'll just say, dude, you rocked.

This is a twelve-part lecture series, each lecture around 35 minutes, that details the life of Abraham Lincoln from his birth in Kentucky to his assassination by John Wilkes Booth. He was a truly fascinating man, who loved his country, believed in moral rights and human rights, and always tried to live within the law. Guezlo presents his lectures in clear and concise detail and while he clearly has great admiration for President Lincoln, he is impartial and gives the facts as they are.

This is a great summary of the life and achievements of a remarkable man.

[Michael Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent set of lectures on a formidable subject. Guelzo always delivers his lectures with passion and thoughtfulness.

[Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful series of university lectures. I have read a good number of books about Lincoln, and I enjoyed hearing some of it again and some of it with new information or a new interpretation. The professor reads his lectures with real excitement, as he tells the great tale of a great man.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good short lecture series on Lincoln that has some insights especially towards his Douglas debates as well as Civil War considerations.

The lecturer is enthusiastic and besides being a noted expert on the subject also really seems to enjoy the talk so it makes this series far more enjoyable

Highly Recommended for any one who want to learn about this pivotal president. If you already know quite a bit its still worth it for some of the lectures insights.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating! It it sometimes a surprise to find out the truth about those we viewed as American heroes.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting & informative, I listened to it free on Audible. The instructor sounded like he was preaching most the time but it’s fine.

[MindProbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

a concise and compellingly-told account of Lincoln's life, full of lucid detail and character observation, admiring of Lincoln but not so blindly reverential as to whitewash his flaws and limitations, particularly the naive, incrementalist, "moderate" view on the subject of slavery which he held for much of his life, until the circumstances of the war brought him around to the necessity for wholesale abolition. Prof. Guelzo's delivery is engagingly passionate and theatrical (at least one audible review compares him with some accuracy to Kelsey Grammer), but while it doesn't seem to substantially taint his academic rigour or impartiality for the most part, his personal conservatism does colour his analysis in places (a casual conflation of morality with religious belief here, a distinction drawn between "equality of outcome" and "equality of opportunity" there), particularly in his summing-up of Lincoln's legacy as he sees it in the last lecture. that blemish aside, though (he's allowed to think what he wants; I'm allowed to think what I want about what he thinks), these lectures did overall, like good teaching ought to, leave me feeling better-informed and interested to learn more.

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Lincoln: The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Allen Guelzo is a brief US historical biographical survey in the best possible senses of the word. Guelzo is a masterful narrator, helping to bring to life his subject. You get a sense for the man who would become the 16th president, and then you see him come into office and lead the country through the civil war, as well as his assassination. This series is short. It would be less than a single credit if it were a class. But there's a decent amount of power here, and quite a bit of respect for the President Lincoln. It is well worth some time, if you are into the history of the United States, Civil War, or the man who carried the one through the other.

[Jacob Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only book I’ve read twice (in my biography you’ll see that I just started to read in 2019, so I expose myself to a lot of new books—haven’t had the time to reread much yet).

I love its simplicity. Abraham Lincoln is one of my hero’s, so I always love getting a little refresher on his life. Guelzo has written a few things that I find contradictory in other Lincoln books (e.g. his feelings towards religion), but overall it’s a wonderful book/collection of lectures!

Perfect for those new to Lincoln!

[Torie Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I happened upon this after my trip to DC, and my desire to know more about my favorite president. This was actually a series of lectures, but the speaker was fantastic. His knowledge, and energy, and flow of stories and facts made it so easy to listen to. Lincoln has been my favorite president since high school, when you HAD to learn about him. But diving deeper, learning more, has cemented that he was an incredible president, human being, and role model.

[Beth E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love hearing these lectures, from Great Courses, and this presentation was fantastic. The small things we never learned about Lincoln's life... that he did not have a professed faith and instead worked hard to lead a life of integrity and honestey -- Honest Abe -- such that no one could ever fault him for not having a faith they thought was the only way to such a life of respect. I enjoyed all the small details, the details we never heard, and the whole picture of such an admired president.

[Neil Funsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Professor Guelzo's style and he doesn't disappoint here! An extremely interesting overview of our 16th President and a surprising twist of the effect Calvinism had on his conduct of the war and leadership style. Highly recommended!

[Bev Kimmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio. It was a series of lectures by the author and gave a good summary of highlights of his life with the reason why he made his crucial decisions. I am looking forward to another of this author’s books on Lincoln

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and thought-provoking. I'm not sure if only 12 lectures was enough - it gives a good overview with some depth, but it didn't always feel like enough.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series of lectures. A great way to get introduced to Lincoln. Guelzo gives a very high level overview of Lincoln and the Civil War.

[Jason Roland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Having it broken up into lectures helped me keep things organized. Recommend.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little biography. Learned a bunch about Lincoln's early life.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good audiobook that kept good pace and won't bore you. I'm now more motivated to see his final resting place in Springfield, IL and visit other places that he touched during his life.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great brief overview of Lincoln. Audiobook was quite enjoyable. Very happy with this

[Jeff J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short biography of President Lincoln.

[John Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good review of the rise and life of Lincoln. Well worth the time

[Joe Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fine overview of a very important life. Fine instructor who got lots of detail into the 6 hours.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guelzo weaves precision, primary documents, and interesting stories to build a fairly quick biographical overview of Lincoln and his life.

[Randolph King · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series follows the life of Abraham Lincoln starting with his father and grandfather to build a picture of the family and of Lincoln’s childhood, then going through his death.

The story is told in three parts. The early history and his family relationships. Then his political career, telling of his leaving the family, his successful command during the Blackhawk War and finding his place in the world through several failures, gaining success in a law and his joining the new Whig party. And following his career in politics and how he left the Whigs for the new Republican Party and, by a small chance, gained the opportunity to run in the 1860 presidential election. Much of the last section deals with the Civil War, and how he managed to make the issue of slavery a crucial part of the war in spite of the resistance of slave-holding states still part of the union.

The lectures paint a much more complex image of Lincoln than we usually receive. Although a stanch abolitionist, he believed slavery would die out on his own and would be willing to compromise his position for the sake of the union. Yet in the end, he still managed to make his goals a reality.

The lecture series is interesting and well worth the little time commitment to listen to. The accompanying book doesn’t add much, but provides an outline to the lectures with a couple of questions to highlight key points.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent lectures on the life of Abraham Lincoln. I was most surprised to learn that Lincoln did not have a profession of faith in Christianity, especially given his marvelous second inaugural address.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great overview of Lincoln's life. Of all the Modern Scholar and Teaching Company lecture series I have listened to this was probably the best. Lincoln's story is of course one of the greatest in U.S. history. But Guelzo is as good of a lecturer as I have heard. Definitely recommended.

[Nickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The professor is great to watch. He makes the time on the treadmill less painful. And the content is interesting too. Whigs...

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I prefer a less glib or theatrical presentation style but Guelzo is one of the foremost scholars in this area.

[Dayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one teaches better than Allen Guelzo from the Teaching company. Always well researched and informative.