Abraham Lincoln

Penguin Lives

by Thomas Keneally

This self-made man from a log cabin-the great orator, the Emancipator, the savior of the Union, the martyr-was arguably our greatest president; but it takes a master storyteller like Thomas Keneally, author of the award-winning novel that inspired the film Schindler's List , to bring alive the history behind the myth. Acclaimed for his recent Civil War biography, American Scoundrel , Keneally delves with relish-and a keen, fresh eye-into Lincoln's complicated persona.

Abraham Lincoln depicts all the amazing man's triumphs, insecurities, and crushing defeats with uncanny his early poverty and the ambition that propelled him out of it; the shaping of the man and his political philosophy by youthful exposure to Christianity, slavery, and business; his tempestuous marriage and his fatherly love. We see him, elected to the presidency by a twist of fate, unswerving in the grim day-to-day conduct of the war as his vision and acumen led the country forward. Abraham Lincoln is an incisive study of a turning point in our history and a revealing portrait of its pivotal figure, his greatness etched even more clearly in this very touching human story.

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

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Thomas Michael Keneally, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright and author of non-fiction. He is best known for writing Schindler's Ark, the Booker Prize-winning novel of 1982, which was inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, a Holocaust survivor. The book would later be adapted to Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Often published under the name Tom Keneally in Australia.

Life and Career:

Born in Sydney, Keneally was educated at St Patrick's College, Strathfield, where a writing prize was named after him. He entered St Patrick's Seminary, Manly to train as a Catholic priest but left before his ordination. He worked as a Sydney schoolteacher before his success as a novelist, and he was a lecturer at the University of New England (1968–70). He has also written screenplays, memoirs and non-fiction books.

Keneally was known as "Mick" until 1964 but began using the name Thomas when he started publishing, after advice from his publisher to use what was really his first name. He is most famous for his Schindler's Ark (1982) (later republished as Schindler's List), which won the Booker Prize and is the basis of the film Schindler's List (1993). Many of his novels are reworkings of historical material, although modern in their psychology and style.

Keneally has also acted in a handful of films. He had a small role in The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (based on his novel) and played Father Marshall in the Fred Schepisi movie, The Devil's Playground (1976) (not to be confused with a similarly-titled documentary by Lucy Walker about the Amish rite of passage called rumspringa).

In 1983, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). He is an Australian Living Treasure.

He is a strong advocate of the Australian republic, meaning the severing of all ties with the British monarchy, and published a book on the subject in Our Republic (1993). Several of his Republican essays appear on the web site of the Australian Republican Movement.

Keneally is a keen supporter of rugby league football, in particular the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles club of the NRL. He made an appearance in the rugby league drama film The Final Winter (2007).

In March 2009, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, gave an autographed copy of Keneally's Lincoln biography to President Barack Obama as a state gift.

Most recently Thomas Keneally featured as a writer in the critically acclaimed Australian drama, Our Sunburnt Country.

Thomas Keneally's nephew Ben is married to the former NSW Premier, Kristina Keneally.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"[After receiving the party's nomination for U.S. president in May 1860], Abraham Lincoln was besieged for some days at his modest Illinois home. Enthusiastic crowds surrounded the white frame residence, and when Lincoln told them he would like to have them all indoors if only the place were big enough, one spectator shouted 'We will give you a larger house on the fourth of next March!' (the date of the presidential inauguration at the time)." -- the admiration of 'Honest Abe' begins, on pages 81-82

Author Keneally - an Australian scribe probably best known for Schindler's List - nimbly takes on another heroic figure from a much-troubled time period with the biography Abraham Lincoln: A Life. Clocking in at a nimble 175 pages, it is an easily digestible profile on the humble but hard-working and largely self-educated attorney from rural Midwestern roots who ascended to the highest office in the United States by the age of 52. Much like author McPherson's Abraham Lincoln (which was incredibly even shorter, however) from the same decade, this was also a straightforward yet still somewhat detailed bio geared (it would seem) for a 21st century audience that is probably not interested in committing to a more-standard 700+ page opus. So while it may not be 'the best' book on Lincoln out there, it was still often very good with its modest scope and easygoing prose.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fun fact was that Lincoln loved to read and would find time to read his books, even in small 5 minute intervals.

[Angus McKeogh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short shrift. Really was unable to delve into more detail about a truly great president. I’ll likely read something more in depth at a later date. Probably the most telling thing is how much the Republican Party has changed. Most of the values Lincoln stood for as a strong Federalist with a belief in ridding the country of slavery (a deist who didn’t really believe in man made religions) and reunifying the nation at Civil War ran completely contrary to the current separatist, evangelical, and “States’ Rights” platforms of the current party. Odd to see such a 180 degree flip yet the Republican Party still gladly pulls Lincoln in as “one of their greats” (unless again you buy into Trump rhetoric and place Lincoln behind Trump in greatness). 🤣 Yeah...there’s that.

Another sad commentary...I just witnessed the bloated, irrelevant, and disconnected speech of the current President Trump talking about his achievements as he leaves office. It was 19 minutes long and devoid of empathy or a real connection with the nation’s current circumstances. Throughout this book Lincoln wrote and delivered some of the most important speeches to ever come out of that office. A majority of them coming in at about 300 words. Those words said so much more and carried so much more gravity than pretty much every president since then. This country is in dire need of another Lincoln.

[Marc · Rating 2 out of 5]

After seeing the Spielberg film "Lincoln," I was inspired to go back and brush up on the key points of Lincoln's life. I didn't want to a devote a lot of time to a dense tome, so I picked up this 175-page Penguin Lives bio. I've read two other entries in the Penguin Lives series (Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King) and found them both to be lively and well-written profiles that left me with a clear sense of the person and of his historical importance, like especially engaging long-form magazine feature articles.

Unfortunately this book doesn't meet that standard. Keneally briskly ticks off most of the important facts of Lincoln's life, but the book never catches fire, and Mr. Lincoln never takes life. One problem is that the author provides very little historical context. Another problem is that he seems compelled to balance the positive with the negative, so too much of this slim volume contains trivial unflattering material (about Lincoln's marriage, for example) while discussions of Lincoln's great accomplishments are often rushed through too breezily. A reader approaching this book without any prior knowledge of its subject could easily come away without any sense that Lincoln was an especially great man or president.

[Collin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The primary benefit of Keneally's biography of Lincoln is it's consiceness. It's not a beautifully poetic piece, but it is a very direct and informative one, which is what I expected and wanted from it. At 175 pages, it's not a long read, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about this fascinating historical figure. In the current political climate, it's also quite an engaging image to put up next to our current divisive reality. More than anything though, I appreciate the process of somewhat de-mythologizing Lincoln and re-presenting him as a flawed, if heroically so, individual.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those compact books - I remember the cover and how I'd keep it in my backpack and read it whenever I could (on the bus or train commuting back and forth).

[Patrick O'Hannigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an introduction to Abraham Lincoln, this biography by Thomas Keneally whetted my interest in the man, and did a better job of explaining both his frontier amusement and his melancholy temperament than many other books have done. That said -- and somewhat surprisingly -- the book never quite catches fire, or rises to the level of eloquence that its legendary subject so often did.

[Nitin Sharma · Rating 2 out of 5]

A factual account of the most famous US president's life that is based on other biographies. It delivers as a textbook but as a novel it is unable to draw the reader into the life of Lincoln.

[05AlexxP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abraham lincoln is a auto biography on one of the best presiedent of the united states. In this biography you learn about his true point of views and his political reasons. you learn allot about his life and values, like were he gets his ideas from and what inspired him an example is how even when he was the president he subjected himself to manual laber because he felt it built charecter. As the famouse emblem of him cutting down a tree. i also learned that he didnt want to free the slave but he knew it would get him re elected, but sadly he was assasinated. In school we study allot about this figure but in this book you go deeper into his life and i recomend this book to whoever wants to learn more about abraham lincon. This book is worth 30 points and i rate it 5 stars because it has allot of historic facts and historical refrences.

[Ahmad Nazeri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty dry and rudimentary biography of Abraham Lincoln. It could serve as a good introduction to Lincoln but if you are knowledgeable about the topic, I would highly recommend the more comprehensive Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln instead.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography was short which made it easy to read. I didn't like that the author seemed to dwell on the negative aspects of Lincoln's life and his imperfections. He was a great man and I would rather read about the good things he did.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike most of the other biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Keneally's version, Abraham Lincoln: A Life weighs in at a meagre 175 pages. At times I felt that I was reading an extended Wikipedia version of Lincoln's life. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the brevity and incisiveness of Keneally's writing. The length and pace of the book was perfect for someone who might not want to wade through the standard 500+ page alternatives.

I have never read anything by Keneally before, but from reading the back flap, discovered that he wrote the novel that inspired the film Schindler's List. There was definitely a sense of poetry to his writing which was a welcome surprise in a genre known for it's adherence to the cold hard truth. I knew little to nothing about Lincoln the man and thrilled to get glimpses of the circumstances that shaped his life.

Lincoln's relationship with his father was one marked by tension and conflict. The son of a pioneering farmer, the two were often at odds over Lincoln's reluctance for a life of manual labor and his abiding love of books and knowledge. In fact, when Lincoln's father passed away, "Abraham did not attend the funeral or ever raise a monument over his father's grave."

Some of the most interesting and endearing revelations about young Lincoln included his appreciation of bawdy jokes, his love of reading, and his resistance and questioning of the popular religious ideas of his day. Working at a general store as a young man, "people remembered that ... Lincoln read purposefully between customers, even for just five minutes at a time. One later friend's first sighting was in a local house, Lincoln lying on a trundle bed rocking a cradle with his foot while reading. Another villager remembered him atop a wood heap, reading a statute book. He also had a book in hand as he walked from group to group along the street." As a man of 25, Lincoln wrote a pamphlet entitled "Little Book on Infidelity" that "attack[ed:] the divinity of Christ, the veracity of the Bible, and the logicality of predestination." Luckily for our nation, a friend of Lincoln's threw the pamphlet in the fire. If the pamphlet had been published or seen by other eyes, Lincoln may never have won the Presidency.

As a young man, Lincoln was revolted and disturbed by the treatment of slaves that he observed firsthand in New Orleans. As described by friend John Hanks, "There it was when we saw Negroes chained, maltreated, whipped, and scourged. Lincoln saw it; his heart bled, said nothing much...I can say, knowing it, that it was on this trip that he formed his opinions of slavery. It ran it's irons in him then and there, May 1831." Interestingly enough, Lincoln, like most of the nation, viewed Native Americans with hostility and was not necessarily sympathetic to their plight. Nor did Lincoln believe (or at least say publicly) that blacks should automatically be able to vote, serve as jurors or hold office. He came into office as a deeply divisive candidate. Within hours of his inevitable election to the office of the President, "the South Carolina governor had called the legislature into special session to authorize a state convention of the dissolution of the Union and the formation of a Southern Confederacy." The Southern slaveowners were convinced, and terrified, that Lincoln would try to interfere with their way of life and free their chattel. Tensions were so high, that for the first time in American history, the Army stationed troops along Pennsylvania Avenue to protect Lincoln during his inauguration.

Having never read anything about the Civil War except what was in my sixth grade history textbook, I found Keneally's history of the conflict to be informative without being overly dry (I'm not a fan of military history). It was surreal to read of the deaths of 23,000 men in one battle at Antietam. Reading of the parades of citizens in carriages who rode out to Bull Run to watch the battles was even more surreal.

Perhaps most compelling were the glimpses into Lincoln's private life as President - his devotion to his family (although his wife, Mary, was said to have "vexed & harrowed the soul out of that good man"), the loss of two of his sons, and the profound sadness that filled his life and kept him awake at night. Keneally describes a photo of Lincoln as "a lean...tall man, somewhere between august and rough hewn, possessing an appearance of tentative strength but already bearing unreachable, unquenchable sorrow in his profound eyes." Lincoln struggled with depression but also seemed to remain remarkably calm and self-assured during the most difficult times of his term. "Perhaps the depression and steadfastness were two faces of the one being, and one entailed the other. He had learned from his youth how to endure debilitating self-doubt."

Only three short, but heart-rending pages, are devoted to the last day of Lincoln's life. The assassination was eerily presaged by a dream that Lincoln had in which he viewed his own corpse lying in state in the White House. In the end, Keneally describes Lincoln's lifeless body as "the bloodied nation incarnate"; a moving and vivid description that invokes the disastrous results of the Civil War on the country and the man.

Read for yourself:

So here is Lincoln in the spring of 1837: tortured in equal and abundant measure by self-doubt and ambition, ill-clothed, rough-mannered, hard up, possessed of his peculiarly American powers of articulation and charm, burdened by whawt now would be considered clinical depression, plagued by exultant vision, yearning for and terrified by women, raucous in joke telling, gifted in speech, abstinent in drink, profligate in dreams. No man ever entered Springfield, a town that would become his shrine, as tentative, odd-seeming and daunted as Abraham Lincoln.

"In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth." - Lincoln

...Lincoln's characteristic mood was one of sadness, but his face could suddenly brighten, and he would become radiant and glowing.

Lincoln and Billy Herndon [law partner/assistant:] moved into new premises across the public square from the courthouse. It was an office that quickly took on an increasing look of disarray, Lincoln even having a parcel of documents tied with string and classified with the words: "When you can't find it anywhere else, look into this." Apple seeds and orange rinds from Abraham's profuse fruit eating littered the floor. Herndon was a newshound, so that the floor was also strewn with pages of broadsheets. To add to the eccentricity of the office, Lincoln filed papers in his stovepipe hat, a habit he had picked up during his time as a post-surveyor in New Salem. He made frequent use of the sofa, which was too small for his long body, so that his upper body would lie on it and the lower would be extended over a number of chairs. Thus he would lie under heaps of newspapers.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall pretty dry, knowing most of Lincoln’s story from watching multiple documentaries. But I appreciated that it was “to the point” - not a 500+ page biography. Would be good for school age children to get a short recap of his life and presidency in 175 pages. Did learn a few things-mostly about Mary Todd and not about Lincoln though. Ending was abrupt-he’s shot and dies and that’s literally it. No wrap up of his funeral, what happens to the US during reconstruction, etc.
I did know that Mary Todd was impulsive and had a self-destructive personality, but didn’t realize how jealous she was. When women would “flirt” with her husband she would embarrass herself by yelling at the woman and then fighting with Lincoln for hours, letting others over hear their quarrel.
Lincoln’s “cloud of depression” was called “The hypo.”
John Wilkes Booth’s brother, Edwin was also an actor. “Edwin was said to have saved Robert Lincoln from an accident at a New Jersey train station and was a devout Union man. John Wilkes Booth had chosen to live in the north throughout the war, but hated Lincoln as an American version of Caesar, the destroyer of genuine republican values.”
Lincoln had a dream that the President had been shot-he walked into a room and soldiers were looking over a bed…but he decided that it wasn’t he who would die, since dreams were never personal. Mary Todd didn’t want to go to the theatre that night, being tired but Lincoln said he needed a good laugh.
Mary did spend a lot of money on her clothing, but also by re-decorating the White House. “The extent of her spending on what her husband called “flub-dubs” for the White House had run up her own personal debts to $27,000, and if Lincoln lost, these bills would be sent to him for settlement.”

[Mariele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again, my review vanished. Why does this keep happening?

Well then. In brief.

A re-read. The first time, it didn't leave much of an impression on me. For professional reasons, I needed to revisit the biography, and I could source all the necessary information from it. While being thankfully short (175 pages), it gives you a good first impression of Lincoln's personality and roots. Young Abraham is particularly interesting. But due to its brevity, the book does not dwell on any topic in detail. For example, it skips through his presidential achievements quickly. It does not have much insight on his position on indigenous people. I found it strange that his heart wept for the enslaved Africans, whereas he seems to show no scruples expelling (and eventually exterminating) the American natives.
Also, it ends abruptly the day he dies. Fair enough - the title is "Abraham Lincoln. A Life". However, it would have been interesting to find out how the funeral and burial went to pass, being a national event, or what became of his wife and two surviving sons. (Which would have added perhaps a further 25 pages to the book. Is that such an unreasonable demand?)
Considering the vast amount of research, this book provides a condensed introduction to the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. Don't expect any in-depth historical background information, though.

[Jo Young Switzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of Lincoln by Thomas Keneally is a conversational summary of Lincoln's life, from birth "on a mattress of corn husks" to his death which reflected " . . . the bloodied nation incarnate." Many books about Abraham Lincoln exist, and this one can serve a helpful purpose in opening the readers' eyes by giving them an overview of his life. The next steps can be more focused books about certain parts of his life, like Team of Rivals which focuses on his work with his cabinet in the White House. This is a highly readable book, full of information, but not what one would call a scholarly book. It opens the door to learning more about him by providing a summary of his growing up, his roots in the Midwest, and his time in the White House. I think it is a great book for someone who wants to explore Lincoln in depth and for whom a readable overview can provide context. I enjoyed it greatly and hope to learn even more about this most enigmatic and impressive president.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book while visiting the theater in Washington, DC where Lincoln was assassinated. Usually, I prefer to digest history in fiction form, but this book seemed like a short read, and by an author who is known for exceptional writing. While it didn’t read like a novel, Keneally did a fantastic job of bringing a seemingly larger-than-life figure in American history down to earth with language like, “But, depressed or not, he was unrelenting. Perhaps the depression and steadfastness were two faces of the one being, and one entailed the other. He had learned from his youth how to endure debilitating self-doubt.” Keneally succinctly lays out the facts of Abraham Lincoln’s life while humanizing him, making the sometimes tedious details of history more accessible to non-historians like me.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Penguin Lives series is/was a series of short biographies published about famous people written by respected authors. The Australian-born writer Thomas Keneally’s short biography of Abraham Lincoln fits the mission of The Penguin Lives series well. I read the book on the Kindle. The biography was published in 2003. The book has a section on sources. Keneally’s biography of Lincoln covers a lot of ground in a short book. I think Keneally does a beautiful job of summarizing the biography of Lincoln in a short book. Keneally writes that “Lincoln was a complicated soul” (Keneally 181). Keneally’s book captures “Lincoln’s complicated soul” in a short book (Keneally 181). The book does not have a chapter that does not introduce the theme of Lincoln’s biography. The book does jump right into the biography of Lincoln. One theme I noticed was Lincoln's complexity (Keneally 147). A reader does notice specific themes in the biography. Frederick Douglass noticed this complexity in Lincoln, but he admired Lincoln later on in Lincoln’s presidency nonetheless (Keneally 147). Another theme of Keneally’s biography is the fact that “Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln were fretful souls” (Keneally 181). Mary Todd Lincoln is an important but minor presence in this short biography of Abraham Lincoln. There are some other themes in Keneally’s biography of Abraham Lincoln, but I notice those two themes in the book. I found Keneally’s biography to be readable. I enjoyed his writing style. Thomas Keneally’s short biography is a well-done biography of Abraham Lincoln.

[Brad Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just completed Thomas Keneally's 'Abraham Lincoln' which I found to be surprisingly entertaining and refreshingly insightful. Far from a dry historical account, Keneally presents Lincoln in a personable light. We observe his foibles and his brilliance as Abe struggles personally and socially to be just and fair. Keneally's story, with its tragic ending, grants the reader insight to a self reliant man who succeeded in reuniting a nation but did not live long enough to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling, smoothly-written biography of Lincoln. I've had this since 2010...In college I read With Malice Toward None and I've always been intrigued by Lincoln. He was a man of talents and foibles and dealt with many issues, from depression to political opposition, a... let's say, "rather difficult" wife, and the loss of two children.

There are many sources listed in the afterword, but there are no footnotes, if you're looking for them. It's a good overview of the man's life and might inspire further reading.

[Mshelton50 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. As part of Penguin’s Short Lives Series, Thomas Keneally — the Australian novelist who wrote Schindler’s Ark — has written one of the most fascinating, fresh and insightful books ever about America’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. I don’t think I have learned as much about the ‘Great Emancipator’ from any other non-fiction book; only Gore Vidal’s Lincoln painted as full a picture of the flesh-and-blood man. Terrific.

[Deb Lancaster · Rating 2 out of 5]

I told my husband I'm reading this because I know nothing about Lincoln. Apparently we watched the film. I retained nothing.

This book has not helped. I found myself so very bored, which doesn't feel right but there we are.

Perhaps it's the writing rather than the content but I was honestly relieved when he finally got shot.

[Georgene Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a short readable biography! I've learned that this is just one of the Penguin Lives series. Thank you publishers, and thank you Hermitage Bookshop in Cherry Creek North for choosing it for me!

[Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent quick read of Lincoln’s life. I learned a lot about certain facts and sequences of events I hadn’t appreciated.

[Jessica Vucinaj · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very confusing and hard to understand

[Maryrita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short biography but covers essential material!

[Ryan Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

It must be difficult to write something new about someone who has been dead for almost eight-score years. I learned some new things from this matter-of-fact biography.

[Richard Danks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the book to be somewhat tedious and boring. The writing style appeared in the form of a school textbook of a historical event. Glad to be finished.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read with brief look at Abe Lincoln's life. Not enough detail for those starved for a solid background on the president but good for someone looking for an overview or refresher.

[Ed Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good starter book. But I didn’t read anything new.

[Blaine Welgraven · Rating 4 out of 5]

“But, depressed or not, he was unrelenting. Perhaps the depression and steadfastness were two faces of the one being, and one entailed the other. He had learned from his youth how to endure debilitating self-doubt.” - Thomas Keneally, Abraham Lincoln, A Life