Lincoln

by Emil Ludwig

1929. Translated from the German by Eden and Cedar Paul. Illustrated. A full-length life of the martyred President from his obscure beginnings to his tragic end-told in the same penetrating manner as this eminent German biographer used in writing the lives of Goethe and Napoleon. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Emil Ludwig (originally named Emil Cohn) was born in Breslau, now part of Poland. Ludwig studied law but chose writing as a career. At first he wrote plays and novella, but also worked as a journalist. In 1906, he moved to Switzerland, but, during World War I, he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Berliner Tageblatt in Vienna and Istanbul. He became a Swiss citizen in 1932, later emigrating to the United States in 1940.

At the end of the Second World War, he went to Germany as a journalist, and it is to him that we owe the retrieving of Goethe's and Schiller's coffins, which had disappeared from Weimar in 1943/44. He returned to Switzerland after the war and died in 1948, in Moscia, near Ascona.

During the 1920s, he achieved international fame for his popular biographies which combined historical fact and fiction with psychological analysis. After his biography of Goethe was published in 1920, he wrote several similar biographies, including one about Bismarck (1922–24) and another about Jesus (1928). As Ludwig's biographies were popular outside of Germany and were widely translated, he was one of the fortunate émigrés who had an income while living in the United States. His writings were considered particularly dangerous by Goebbels, who mentioned him in his journal.

Ludwig interviewed Benito Mussolini and on December 1, 1929 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. His interview with the founder of the Republic of Turkey appeared in Wiener Freie Presse in March 1930, addressing issues of religion and music. He also interviewed Joseph Stalin in Moscow on December 13, 1931. An excerpt from this interview is included in Stalin's book on Lenin. Ludwig describes this interview in his biography of Stalin. What was originally an omitted section of the interview by Joseph Stalin himself, Professor of Montclair State University Grover Furr had finally published an English version of it.

Ludwig's extended interviews with T.G. Masaryk, founder and longtime president of Czechoslovakia, appeared as Defender of Democracy in 1936.

Reviews

[Cecilia Del · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biografía de Abraham Lincoln, bien escrita y documentada

[Rodzyn Suchy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Piękne czasy kiedy to człowiek posiadający duszę poety i rozum wielu nigdy nie dościgniony, był prezydentem rodzącego się onegdaj imperium . Człowiek o moralności niewidzianej nigdy wcześniej ani już nigdy potem u szczytów władzy.
Gdyby książka była robakiem to ta prawdopodobnie byłaby tasiemcem. Każdemu polecam się z nim zapoznać ,ponieważ był to chyba najbardziej podniosły ,poetycki i mądry tasiemiec jakiego trzymałem kiedykolwiek w swych wynędzniałych dłoniach. Książka wciągnie wydaje mi się tylko zapaleńców albo osoby nieposiadające: rodziny, pracy, hobby, marzeń i życia prywatnego. Piszę tak dlatego ,że książkę czytało mi się naprawdę bardzo długo z momentami zmęczenia już lekturą. Jednak ten fakt nie przekłada się na moją ocenę końcową ze względu na pięknie opowiedzianą historię oraz na znakomitość przedstawienia bohatera w tej biografii.
Pan Prezydent Abraham Lincoln w książce jest przedstawiony w sposób niezwykle wręcz piękny a jednocześnie dość surowy. Każdą komórką mojego ciała chce wierzyć w to ,że ten człowiek w rzeczywistości był naprawdę taki sam jak został przedstawiony w książce. Pomimo miliona dwustu stron jakie ma książka było warto poświęcić jej swój czas i poznać a może nawet czegoś się nauczyć od osoby tak wielkiej duchem jak i ciałem.

[Elizabeth Guettner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abraham Lincoln and the times that tried his soul, by Emil Ludwig, tells of the life and numeruos hardships of president Abraham Lincoln. Ludwig writes in a way that allows the reader to see things through Lincoln's eyes, in the form of a story, rather than simply presenting facts. My favorite chapters are the ones in which Lincoln was a boy, and you catch a glimpse of his childhood. I don't really know how accurate Ludwig was in writing the thoughts of Lincoln, being that he isn't Lincoln, but it was entertaining nevertheless. Lincoln experienced more loss and trials than most, so his boigraphy is therefore rather depressing. I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in history and the life of Lincoln, but who also understands and can handle the realities of life.

[Saúl Girón · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesante la vida, y más que la vida, el pensamiento y modo de actuar de este hombre, quien sin duda fue un estadista y político distinto.
De manera casi consistente, intento mantenerme alejado de temas políticos, pero inevitablemente la lectura me lleva a conocer la vida de algunas personas y ahora le tocó el turno a Abraham Lincoln.
Será, pues, uno de los pocos políticos que realmente han demostrado a lo largo de la historia de la humanidad, que realmente quieren hacer bien las cosas.
La lectura como tal, me resultó bastante pesada. Quizás en esa época, hace más de 70 años, aún no se les daba por escribir novelas históricas, lo que explica que al comparar el estilo de escritura de este autor con Javier Moro o Ken Follett, me resultara un libro bastante soso.

[KNShaikh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A goof read on the life of Abraham Lincoln. I have always wanted to read on Abraham Lincoln and his life and this book has given lot of inputs in his life in the perspective of Union at that time.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good!