Becoming Abraham Lincoln: The Coming of Age of Our Greatest President

by Richard Kigel

Becoming Abraham The Coming of Age of Our Greatest President tells the true story of how this great American hero grew up and became a man. The story begins with Lincoln’s cousin describing the murder of Abe’s grandfather in 1782 by the Wabash Indians in the Kentucky wilderness. It ends as Lincoln turns twenty-five, downcast and debt-ridden after the failure of his first business venture, as he earns his first election victory to take his seat in the Illinois State Legislature. This vivid, authentic account of Abraham Lincoln in his formative years is told by those who were there—his friends and family. Supported by rigorous research, Becoming Abraham Lincoln is an authentic account of Lincoln’s childhood and adolescence in the actual words of those who knew him best. We see Lincoln as he was, according to law partner Billy Herndon, “just as he lived, breathed, ate and laughed in this world.” The historic eyewitness testimony in these pages forms a rich, detailed narrative unmatched in all Lincoln literature.

Genres: Biography, History, American History, Nonfiction, Presidents, Ebooks

299 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 6, 2017

Reviews

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of the book, the love for reading sounded very interesting. However, I did not feel it through the story.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a interesting and fascinating look at Abraham Lincoln's early years from birth to age twenty-five. Much has been written about Lincoln's rise to the presidency. Kigel's work fills that void by using this read on his formative years. I was quite impressed. His use of primary sources such as friends and acquaintances to tell Lincoln's story made this a very enjoyable read. Sometimes it was a little choppy in places but all in all it was a damn goodread.

[David Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating is probably 3.5 but I erred on the high rather than low side because of the tremendous amount of work the author did to pull pertinent passages from "Herndon's Informants" and other resources. The book ostensibly follows a chronological narrative but does seem rather choppy in places. These criticisms aside, the book is actually a pretty good summary of Lincoln's life as seen through the eyes of people who knew him.

Quick background: "Herndon's Informants" is a compendium by Lincoln experts Wilson and Davis. It collects all the interviews and correspondence conducted by Lincoln's long-time law partner William Herndon immediately after the assassination. Herndon communicated in person and by letter with dozens of people who knew Lincoln during his early life in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. He used the information in his biography of Lincoln written with Jesse Weik. Wilson and Davis pulled all of these together and provided substantial annotation to correct errors, give background, provide additional analysis, and create a hugely beneficial index.

Author Richard Kigel clearly spent a lot of time searching keywords in the index of "Herndon's Informants" to pull out relevant quotes and impressions on Lincoln throughout his upbringing. Each of the 32 chapters is short, packed with quotes (mostly well footnoted), and represents a vignette of some incident or period in Lincoln's life from birth through his formative years and into his early adult life in New Salem. He uses the quotes from people who knew Lincoln to give insight into Lincoln's development, character, and thoughts. Kigel adds his own insights, as well as enough background and transitioning material to make every chapter into its own story. As we progress through the chapters, we progress through Lincoln's life.

Some chapters carry the story concept better than others. Because the book is broken up into 32 more or less independent sections, some readers may not feel the overall story of Lincoln's life is fully coherent. Count me in this latter category. As much as I read about Lincoln, this book felt like it dragged on rather than carried me through. [In all fairness, I was taking notes as I went along rather than reading it for flow]

In my opening I alluded to the tremendous amount of work Kigel did going through Herndon's correspondence with Lincoln friends and family. This may be the book's greatest value. Herndon's Informants is near impossible to read (I'm being nice here) but serves as a fantastic primary resource for Lincoln researchers. Kigel has extracted comments, insights, and anecdotes on many facets of Lincoln's life and organized them into each of the chapter vignettes (Herndon's Informants has them spread almost randomly over 800 pages of text). So the book more or less works both as a general chronology of Lincoln's life and as a first step for Lincoln researchers looking for primary resource material.

There have been a spate of books on Lincoln's early life recently and some of them may (or may not) provide a better narrative, but I think none can match the level of effort Kigel has put into this volume.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Becoming Abraham Lincoln: The Coming of Age of Our Greatest President is a biographical sketch of Lincoln's life from birth until age 25 when he was elected to the Illinois state legislature. Richard Kigel primarily uses original source material collected by Lincoln's former law partner, Billy Herndon, collected after the President's death. The book is written in a readable, simple style. I read somewhere that the book was geared toward students and I believe the author is a schoolteacher. The book seems to follow along with that and school-age historians may find this of most interest.

An interesting new addition to the volumes of information on Lincoln, but I'm not sure there is much here that hasn't been covered before. However, the focus on Lincoln's early life is new.

Full disclosure: I won a copy of an advance reader copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

[Beth Neu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read several biographies of Abraham Lincoln, but this book comes from a little different angle, in that it focuses on the first 25 years of his life. I really enjoyed learning about his parents and their early years as well as Abraham's formative years. Most of the research for this book was actually conducted by his law partner, William Herndon, who interviewed people who knew Lincoln shortly after his death. I learned some new things about his early years by reading this book, including quotes from his cousin, Dennis Hanks, who lived with Lincoln during most of his years in Indiana and also moved to be near-by in Illinois when the Lincoln family moved there. We often hear of Lincoln's work ethic and his love of reading, but this book gives us more insight into his sense of humor, love of playing pranks and his physical strength that helped him defend himself and others.

[Abdullah Yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I picked this up. Probably the usual Lincoln story, just with more detail. But the early chapters are giving me something different.

His childhood was rough. Proper rough. The family moving, clearing land, living in those basic conditions, all that hard work. Then there is Lincoln himself, this very tall awkward boy who seems to have this strange hunger for books.

I actually laughed at some of the descriptions of him because they make him feel like a real person rather than somebody we have turned into a statue over the years.

And the way the story is told through people who actually knew him makes a difference for me. I am only three days in, so I am not going to pretend I know where the whole book is going. But right now I am interested in the boy more than the president, which I did not expect.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am only a few days into this and I honestly did not expect to be this interested in Lincoln as a boy. I think that is what is working for me so far. You hear Abraham Lincoln and immediately think of the president, the speeches, the Civil War, all of that. This book is taking me much further back than that.

The part about his family and the kind of place he grew up in really got my attention. The cabins, the work, the moving around, the lack of proper schooling. And then you have this boy who just keeps looking for books and wanting to learn. I liked that part a lot. It makes his later life feel less like something that just happened and more like something that was slowly taking shape.

I am still early in the book, so I don't know where it is all going yet, but I am enjoying seeing the younger Lincoln before he became the person everyone knows.

[Gage Arlen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have only been reading this for three days, but one thing I am enjoying is that it doesn't treat Lincoln like he was born knowing exactly who he was going to become. He comes across as a young man trying to figure things out.

The family history at the beginning took me by surprise. I didn't know much about Lincoln's grandfather or the circumstances surrounding his death, so that gave the story a different starting point for me. Then you get into Lincoln's own childhood and the life they were living, and it is hard not to notice how much work was involved in simply getting through the day.

I keep coming back to the books, though. He didn't have much, but he wanted to read. That part feels very real to me. Some people just have that need to know more, even when there isn't much around them to help.

I'm still early, but I'm curious to see what comes next.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very easy to get into book about the early years of one of my favorite people of all time!!! There was definitely a lot about his growing up years that I didn't know as well as some of the circumstances that shaped his character and who he would become. Anyone who wants to become something more need only follow his example and live life with the same integrity that Lincoln always showed. He was a complex and complicated personality and rose to the circumstances he had to deal with more admirably than most of us would. He is to me endlessly fascinating and I could read countless volumes on him. Recommend to anyone who wants more info on this great man. Well done Richard Kigel !!!!

[Mike Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly short book and as promised, it ends abruptly when Lincoln enters politics in Illinois. The anecdotes, old interviews, and writings from those who knew Lincoln were both fun and fascinating. I learned a lot about his early life although I've read quite a lot about him. To me, if you're interested in our greatest president then you should read this book. That old question about who you'd love to have a long dinner with (though I'd prefer a long walk in the hills with Lincoln [if I could keep up]) one of those people would be Abe Lincoln. One theme throughout is what a raconteur he was. There's nothing much more enjoyable than listening to a smart country person spinning tales.

[Fahd Abdullah · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something quite nice about reading this slowly.
I am only a few chapters in, but the thing staying with me is how little Lincoln had and how much he seemed to want to learn anyway. There wasn't some perfect school or comfortable home waiting for him. He had books when he could find them, work when there was work to do, and people around him who remembered him.

I especially liked the little details from the people who knew him. They make the story feel close somehow. You get these ordinary things about him instead of only hearing about the great man he eventually became.

I am not far enough in to say much more yet, but I think that is actually what I like about this book. It is making me slow down and pay attention to the person before the legend.

[Seymour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three days into this book and I am enjoying it more than I thought I would.

The thing I keep thinking about is how young Lincoln was just a normal boy in a very difficult place. He worked, got into things, read, learned, made mistakes and kept moving. Nothing about his early life sounds easy.

The education part is probably my favourite so far. He didn't have much formal schooling, but he clearly wanted to learn. He would read whenever he had the chance and hold onto things that interested him. That says a lot about him to me.

I also like that the book doesn't rush straight to the famous Lincoln. I already know how that story ends, of course. What I want to see now is how this particular young man got there.

So far, I'm glad I started it.

[Ethelbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only started this three days ago and I keep stopping to look up little things because some of the details about Lincoln's childhood are completely new to me.

What I like most is that he doesn't feel like the famous Abraham Lincoln yet. He's just Abe, growing up in a very hard environment, working, reading whatever he can get hold of and trying to make something of himself.

The reading part surprised me. The idea of him writing things down on boards when he had no paper says quite a lot without needing a big explanation.

So far, this feels less like reading about a president and more like watching a young person slowly find his way. I'm not very far in, but that is enough to keep me going.

[Tory Keefe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit, I started this thinking I might find it a bit dry. History books can go that way for me.

But I'm actually finding myself pulled into the early parts.

The story about his family, the move to Indiana, the work they had to do, and then Lincoln's growing interest in books all make the setting much clearer. I can picture the kind of life he was living.

What I like is that there is no need to make him seem perfect. He was young. He was learning. He was figuring out people and life like everybody else. Knowing what he eventually became makes these early years more interesting, because you keep wondering what little things might matter later.

Only three days in, so I'm not making any big judgement yet. But I will definitely keep reading.

[Benji Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this a few days ago and one thing I wasn't expecting was how much the family story would interest me. I thought I was going to get straight into Lincoln's childhood, but beginning with his grandfather and the history around the family gives you a sense of where all this is coming from.

Then Lincoln himself starts to come into the picture and you see how far removed his early life was from the way we think of him now.

I keep thinking about how different a person's future can look when you only know the ending. At this point in his life, he is just a young man dealing with work, family, money and trying to educate himself. There is something quite compelling about that.

I'm still early into it, but I want to see how he develops from here.

[Marion Hoyt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one has made me stop and think more than I expected.

I am still very near the beginning, but Lincoln's early life already feels like a reminder that people don't just wake up one day and become who history remembers them as.

There is so much before that.

Family, loss, work, books, mistakes, friendships, trying things and not always getting them right.

The fact that he had so little formal schooling but such a strong desire to read is probably what has stood out to me most. You can almost see his mind opening up little by little.

I don't know yet what parts of the book will stay with me by the end, but right now I am enjoying the process of getting to know the younger Lincoln.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am giving this book 4 stars because Lincoln, along with Charles Darwin, I regard as the two most important persons who every lived. My making this note is because the material in the book is not too exciting to say the least. I have read many biographies of Lincoln and this is a whole big book about history that is covered in those biographies in just a few sentences.
For those who simply love Lincoln, however, the contents of this book about his youth are just very important, making clear how incredible it is that he rose to be our greatest president from such a penniless, deprived beginning.
So if you are not such a Lincoln fan, this is just a 2 or 3 star book.

[Xavior Niles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know much about Lincoln before he became famous, and that is probably why I am enjoying this so far.

Three days in and I am still in the part where he is growing up and learning about the world around him. His life was not comfortable at all. There is a lot of work and loss around him, but he seems to have this determination to keep learning.

The stories from people who knew him are probably my favourite part so far. They make him feel less distant. You get little pieces of the person he was instead of just being told what kind of man he became.

I am not far enough into the book to say where I stand on the whole thing, but I am interested. And for me, that is a good sign.

[Colson Franklyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading this in small bits at the moment, mostly because there is a lot to take in.

The early picture of Lincoln is probably my favourite thing so far. He is not presented as this finished, wise old figure. He is young, curious, sometimes awkward, working hard and trying to understand the world around him.

Some of the details about how he got hold of books and taught himself stayed with me.

It made me wonder how many people have ability but never get the chance to develop it. Lincoln seems to have created chances for himself wherever he could.

Still early days for me, but there is enough here to keep me interested.

[Curran Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this because of Lincoln, but so far I feel like I am also getting a picture of the America he grew up in.

The frontier life, the travelling from one place to another, the amount of physical work people had to do, the lack of things we now take for granted. It makes his childhood easier to understand.

And then there is Lincoln trying to learn in the middle of all that.

I particularly like the little recollections from people around him. They give the story a different feel. It is easier to imagine a young Lincoln when you hear about the small things people remembered about him.

Only a few days into the book, so I'm still discovering it.

[Toby Kayce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading this in small bits at the moment, mostly because there is a lot to take in.

The early picture of Lincoln is probably my favourite thing so far. He is not presented as this finished, wise old figure. He is young, curious, sometimes awkward, working hard and trying to understand the world around him.

Some of the details about how he got hold of books and taught himself stayed with me.

It made me wonder how many people have ability but never get the chance to develop it. Lincoln seems to have created chances for himself wherever he could.

Still early days for me, but there is enough here to keep me interested.

[Deryck Bysshe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my third day with the book and I am taking my time with it.

I like the way the younger Lincoln is coming through. Not the president, not the man from the history books, just a young person growing up with very little and trying to make his way.

The parts about his reading have been especially interesting to me. Imagine wanting to learn that badly when you don't even have easy access to books. It makes me look at his later reputation as a great speaker and writer a little differently.

Still reading, still forming my opinion, but I am definitely interested.

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Becoming Abraham Lincoln is an interesting angle, focusing on Lincoln's early years, bolstered largely by quotes from William Herndon's research shortly after the assassination. While entertaining to read, the book really doesn't add information that is unique or new to the canon of scholarship about Lincoln. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Gail M. Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I lived in Illinois until I was 50 years old. I visited New Salem and Springfield many times. I thought I knew quite a bit about Lincoln, but this book revealed much I did not know. Very interesting read.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

A hagiography written by an exalted. Greatest. And Our. And Becoming. Puhlease!

[Jim Swike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knew somethings mentioned, but overall a great read about young Abraham Lincoln. Great details of his early life. Enjoy!

[Terry Tracz · Rating 4 out of 5]

With quotes from Lincoln’s cousin Dennis Hanks and other relatives who knew him as a youngster, it was a treat to learn about the more mischievous side of our honorable 16th President.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable reading. First time reading anything on the early years of one of America's greatest presidents. I now feel like I know the man!

[Sandra Fairbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gives some good insights to his early life.

[Heather]

This is a wonderful look into Lincoln's early years. I really enjoyed the information from his partner and finding out how humorous and fun Abe was.

This book would be especially good in a school library to give students information about the president's formative years. I am looking forward to sharing it with my students.

*Thank you to Richard Kigel, Skyhorse Publishing and Netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.