The Boy's Life of Abraham Lincoln (Classic Reprint) by Helen Nicolay

by Helen Nicolay, Unknown Author

"Helen Nicolay was the daughter of John Nicolay. John was the secretary to President Abraham Lincoln and along with Hay wrote an extensive biography of Lincoln. Nicolay has written an excellent biography for younger readers. She uses language easy for her reader to understand and at the same time she does not talk down to them. This is an excellent choice for any student studying American History."

When reading, keep in mind that this was written in 1905, so the tone, descriptions, and word choices aren't what we'd use today. (e.g references to native Americans, women's place in the working world/politics, ...)

Genres: Nonfiction, Civil War, History

Paperback

First published January 1, 1906

Reviews

[quinnlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

what I wouldn't give for a conversation with Abraham Lincoln.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was much better than I expected for a book written in 1905. As described here, Lincoln was faultless; every young boy (remember when this was written), should strive to be like this great man. Nicolay's father, John, was Lincoln's secretary for the duration of his presidency. Along with John Hay, he wrote a 10 vol biography of Lincoln. This book was published four years after the Sr. Nicolay's death.

p 89 I'd like to have heard Lincoln tell one of his stories.
He had a wonderful memory and a fine power of making his hearers see the scene he wished to depict; the the final charm of his stories lay in their aptness, and in the kindly humor that left no sting behind it.

p 92 An admirable trait for any politician:
His absolute and impartial fairness to friend and foe alike was one of his strongest traits, governing every action of his life.

p 106 The political parties in the late 1850s:
All over the country old party lines were beginning to break up and re-form themselves on the question of slavery. Keeping its old name, the Democratic party became the party in favor of slavery, while the Northern Whigs and all this Democrats who objected to slavery joined in what became know as the Republican party.

There were almost 4 million people held in slavery when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Bottom line: It was high time for me to read this summary about Lincoln and the Civil War. I'll probably pick up one of the more recent biographies that I have on my shelves and read that in the near future.

[erl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too bad. This book showed up in my podcast feed. It was written before the construction of the Lincoln memorial, and I had never heard of it. It covers many of the famous myths about Abraham Lincoln, such as his scrupulous honesty and the little girl who told him to grow a beard. One wonders how influential the book was in creating the myth behind the man. It was interesting to see how beloved our 16th president was, and how the entire nation mourned his death. Such a contrast to our current administration.

[Vickie Andrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

The biography was enjoyable to read to was written like a novel rather than a textbook.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, perhaps it is very pro-Lincoln; however, it is a great read. Although other family members are mentioned, Abraham Lincoln is definitely the focus and you will learn about his complete life-span and almost every difficulty he went through before becoming the 16th President of the United States.