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Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer – How America's President Used Prose and Persuasion to Build Democracy and Confront Slavery
“A fine, invaluable book. . . . Certain to become essential to our understanding of the 16th president. . . . Kaplan meticulously analyzes how Lincoln’s steadily maturing prose style enabled him to come to grips with slavery and, as his own views evolved, to express his deepening opposition to it.” — Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World For Abraham Lincoln, whether he was composing love letters, speeches, or legal arguments, words mattered. In Lincoln , acclaimed biographer Fred Kaplan explores the life of America's sixteenth president through his use of language both as a vehicle to express complex ideas and feelings and as an instrument of persuasion and empowerment. This unique and engrossing account of Lincoln's life and career highlights the shortcomings of the modern presidency, reminding us, through Lincoln's legacy and appreciation for language, that the careful and honest use of words is a necessity for successful democracy.
416 pages, Paperback
First published October 28, 2008
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1699 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
April 24, 2020
This book has a lot of information. Almost to the point, I would say, of having way too much information. The author seems to repeat himself several times and the quotes that he cites seem to do the same. The chapters are extremely long as well. There are only 8 chapters in this book.
However, all in all, it was a good read, I learned a lot about our 16th president, and I'm glad that I have read it.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with interest in the subject.
However, all in all, it was a good read, I learned a lot about our 16th president, and I'm glad that I have read it.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with interest in the subject.
July 6, 2012
An exploration of the effects of being articulate, well-spoken and obsessed with learning is especially relevant after watching Obama use those three traits to take the presidency. It's the author's point that Lincoln's log cabin story has obscured how impressive a writer and speaker he really was. More importantly, we forget that with the exception of Theodore Roosevelt we've never really had a president before with equal deftness in reading, writing and speaking. Normally they are good at one and abysmal at the others. There's a part in the book where he takes one of Lincoln's speeches and lays it out into a poem. It's just one example but an incredible way to make the book's central point: that Lincoln's understanding of the English language and the power of persuasion were so impressive they we're not even aware that he was using them.
January 4, 2016
I'm glad I picked this book up as I'm interested in learning more about Lincoln outside of his extremely well documented presidency. Learning more about his self-education and what writers deeply influenced him, particularly to the point where he would frequently quote them in both formal and informal speech, was incredibly useful. However, I found the book itself to be rather a slog. Mr. Kaplan's writing often seems designed to be inaccessible, taking linguistic perambulations so convoluted as to rival those of the historical personage which he is so assiduously attempting to educate his willing readership on. ... if you get my meaning.
I was also rather disappointed at how little of Lincoln's writing actually appears in the book. There are no complete transcriptions, but only short excerpts. I had hoped to get a better sense of how Lincoln wrote, especially at different stages of his life. Sadly, I was disappointed on that front.
In the end, it's a useful book if you're looking to learn more about Lincoln before the Civil War, but don't expect an engaging read or extensive samples of his writing.
I was also rather disappointed at how little of Lincoln's writing actually appears in the book. There are no complete transcriptions, but only short excerpts. I had hoped to get a better sense of how Lincoln wrote, especially at different stages of his life. Sadly, I was disappointed on that front.
In the end, it's a useful book if you're looking to learn more about Lincoln before the Civil War, but don't expect an engaging read or extensive samples of his writing.
April 2, 2020
A succinct and persuasive look at our greatest president's literary history. The author narrates the influence great writing and writers had on Abraham Lincoln in his life and times. Even though there were a couple of typos, the text flowed smoothly and the pace was brisk. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to learn more about our 16th president's political career as well as anyone interested in the Civil War in general.
April 14, 2009
This was okay, but Douglas Wilson's "Lincoln's Sword" is a much better biography of Lincoln as a writer. Kaplan has some good insights, but much of the time he sounds like a college sophomore showing off in a mid-term exam: "Like Emerson, [Lincoln:] had the gift of aphoristic vividness in arranging linguistic tropes into effective combinations and shifting viewpoints." Ugh.
December 9, 2008
A hybrid book that never quite decides whether to be a biography laced with lit crit or a literary study in biographical context. Kaplan traces a few major influences -- the Bible, Shakespeare, Burns, Byron, and Emerson -- through Lincoln's life & writing; he finds some interesting echoes but rides his horses too hard. He is best at showing Lincoln's essayist approach to speechwriting and his faith in the power of words to move the nation.
August 8, 2012
I really like words, and I really like Abraham Lincoln, so I was pretty excited to read this book. It took me a couple of months to get through it though, partly because almost every time I sat down to read it I would start dozing within 15 minutes. I love that one of my favorite presidents is the most well read president, but the writing of this biography wasn't particularly exciting.
March 23, 2022
What an intriguing take on a Lincoln biography! Kaplan's thesis is that years of immersing himself in literature and honing his ability to express an argument prepared Lincoln for his final role as the nation's communicator. I liked this approach of chronicling Lincoln's development as a thinker and writer. Any bookworm would appreciate young Lincoln's obsession with reading. One interesting theme was Lincoln's own religious skepticism and his need to connect with a very religious nation in an honest way. On the downside, it's hard to distinguish between the author's own thoughts and opinions and Lincoln's. He seems to project a lot onto Lincoln that isn't supported by the cited evidence. For example, the author's preoccupation with sex takes him into some odd speculations about Lincoln's personal life.
June 30, 2013
A decent read, brilliant idea of looking at Lincoln's development as a writer to his progress in his career but could have been cut down in size by a hundred pages or so.
Read
July 23, 2019A fun discussion of Lincoln's reading and writing life. It's clear that there were parts of this book that Kaplan enjoyed writing (i.e., the parts about Lincoln's reading and writing life, naturally) and parts that he was less interested in (i.e., politics, campaigning, his personal life), and the latter are always a bit more of a chore to get through. However, I don't think that would stop anybody--especially bookish people--from enjoying and learning a lot from this book, both about the main subject of the book and other aspects of Lincoln's life.
January 20, 2023
Kaplan gives us a penetrating analysis of how language and literature were inseparable from the personality and politics of one of the preeminent wordsmiths of American history.
April 1, 2022
A close, detailed study of Lincoln’s writing, especially as it relates to his reading and his largely self-taught education. Highly recommended for an understanding of Lincoln’s inner life and its relation to his political career.
August 8, 2017
This book lives up to its' title: this is an Abraham Lincoln biography, but only where his writing is concerned. Major events in Lincoln's life are viewed through the prism of his written words and also of his literary predilections. In fact, much of the early chapters seem more devoted to what Lincoln read as a child and while he was growing up, than what he wrote. This is not surprising as it is true for most of us through the first two decades of life: what we read as a child can help to shape how we think and write about the world that we are a part of. Kaplan also repeatedly refers to Lincoln as an "autodidact", so much so that it starts to get slightly annoying.
Kaplan pays a lot of attention to what Lincoln writes during the 1830s and 40s - a critical period in Lincoln's life. These two decades see Lincoln become a politician by being elected to the Illinois State Legislature, and then one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He also launches his legal career, based on his own hard work and devotion at learning a craft from scratch. Kaplan notes Lincoln's political thought, and how he had an abhorrence of slavery well before he was elected President, something that he used to try to counter some later charges that he was a Johnny come lately to the anti-slavery cause.
Kaplan does not dwell over any one particular speech or group of speeches. The famous 1858 debates with Stephen Douglas are reviewed, but only in a general way. Part of the reason for this is because there are no verbatim transcripts of the speeches. Part of the reason is that these speeches were meant more for scoring points with the public in the heated campaign to become Senator, rather than for posterity. Also, entire books have been written about those debates, so Kaplan sees no reason to trample through already beaten ground.
What does seem to be missing is the absence of any of Lincoln's wartime correspondence: the numerous letters that he exchanged with high-profile figures such as Horace Greeley, and the letters that he wrote to everyday people, whether it be letters of condolence for the loss of a soldier or the gentle rejection of a patronage job. There is no mention at all of the actual military battles other than Lincoln speaking at Gettysburg. Again, these aspects of Lincoln and his life are covered in so many other books that Kaplan does not think they need to be rehashed here.
However, some more analysis of the major literary works of his presidency would have been nice. Kaplan spends so much time on Lincoln's earlier writings, that once he gets to the well-known ones of his presidency, they seem to be treated with a little less enthusiasm and critique. Again, perhaps this is because they have been gone over so many times before. But more discussion of his two Inaugural Addresses would have been welcome.
Kaplan pays a lot of attention to what Lincoln writes during the 1830s and 40s - a critical period in Lincoln's life. These two decades see Lincoln become a politician by being elected to the Illinois State Legislature, and then one term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He also launches his legal career, based on his own hard work and devotion at learning a craft from scratch. Kaplan notes Lincoln's political thought, and how he had an abhorrence of slavery well before he was elected President, something that he used to try to counter some later charges that he was a Johnny come lately to the anti-slavery cause.
Kaplan does not dwell over any one particular speech or group of speeches. The famous 1858 debates with Stephen Douglas are reviewed, but only in a general way. Part of the reason for this is because there are no verbatim transcripts of the speeches. Part of the reason is that these speeches were meant more for scoring points with the public in the heated campaign to become Senator, rather than for posterity. Also, entire books have been written about those debates, so Kaplan sees no reason to trample through already beaten ground.
What does seem to be missing is the absence of any of Lincoln's wartime correspondence: the numerous letters that he exchanged with high-profile figures such as Horace Greeley, and the letters that he wrote to everyday people, whether it be letters of condolence for the loss of a soldier or the gentle rejection of a patronage job. There is no mention at all of the actual military battles other than Lincoln speaking at Gettysburg. Again, these aspects of Lincoln and his life are covered in so many other books that Kaplan does not think they need to be rehashed here.
However, some more analysis of the major literary works of his presidency would have been nice. Kaplan spends so much time on Lincoln's earlier writings, that once he gets to the well-known ones of his presidency, they seem to be treated with a little less enthusiasm and critique. Again, perhaps this is because they have been gone over so many times before. But more discussion of his two Inaugural Addresses would have been welcome.
May 17, 2014
A fascinating subject but a pretty mediocre book. The most interesting part is the review of Lincoln's early influences of the great humanist writers that seem to stay with Lincoln throughout his career. It's also interesting so much of Lincoln's very early success was basically because he could actually read and write. Yet, there is very little insight into Lincoln's writing that one doesn't get just be reading it. The author tends to repeat nearly judgements throughout the book without explaining anything.
Further, there is very little of Lincoln's writing quoted. Often the author quotes little snippets of sentences making it very hard to get a sense of the writing. Finally, the flow of the book is perplexing. There are large jumps in time without any transition or explanation.
Overall, the book provides some guidance to further reading, but not much.
I did notice the comparisons of Lincoln and Obama are even more apt. Both grew up poor, were literate in cultures not know for it, were accused of being non believers, had little success before becoming president and relied on famous speeches as their claim to fame, over relied on their ability to persuade, and gave too much credit to the south's willingness to be reasonable.
Further, there is very little of Lincoln's writing quoted. Often the author quotes little snippets of sentences making it very hard to get a sense of the writing. Finally, the flow of the book is perplexing. There are large jumps in time without any transition or explanation.
Overall, the book provides some guidance to further reading, but not much.
I did notice the comparisons of Lincoln and Obama are even more apt. Both grew up poor, were literate in cultures not know for it, were accused of being non believers, had little success before becoming president and relied on famous speeches as their claim to fame, over relied on their ability to persuade, and gave too much credit to the south's willingness to be reasonable.
February 25, 2009
Some annoying errors marred it (Jackson did something as president in 1815--not!) early. Later, it got almost throw-across-the-room inaccurate, particularly on the Kansas-Nebraska Act. I realize the guy is an English prof, but he should have his basic facts down, like the differences between territories and states. Those errors will lead some astray, and they will just bother others (like me) to no end. The earlier part of this is better than the later part, and it's hard to believe how relatively little he said about Lincoln during his presidency. Maybe he figured that had been covered effectively elsewhere.
January 27, 2014
Lincoln is perhaps one of the most-written-about figures in American history, so it's a challenge to find a new angle to approach him from. It's a challenge Kaplan attempts but does not quite meet in a book about Lincoln specifically as a writer, examining his literary influences. Unfortunately, in the absence of definite evidence, much of Kaplan's book takes the form of "Considering X was published when Lincoln was 20, and was very popular, is it not possible it affected his thinking and writing?" It's an interesting take, but there's too much conjecture going on to be a solid work for me.
May 1, 2012
Biographies are hit or miss. If its someone you really like you can sit there and soak up the gory details, but if its someone you are just discovering, who really cares what kind of woman his great aunt Trudy was? The cool thing about this biography is that it had a theme. It looked at how Lincoln was a product of what he read. I swear that is the only reason I made it through the whole thing. Otherwise it would have been just one fact after another, an exercise in memorization, and I would not have retained much.
It was well written and well organized. I only got bored once or twice and it shifted gears before I stopped caring. It was a great summary of this man.
It was well written and well organized. I only got bored once or twice and it shifted gears before I stopped caring. It was a great summary of this man.
December 16, 2015
A stoical character, an entirely self-taught man with a strong work ethic.Lincoln was obsessed with words, for him each sentence had to be well crafted and each public speech had to be well polished. He was also obsessed with learning because he understood that manual labor wouldn't get him any opportunity to change his poverty status. This book is about what Lincoln did as a word crafter and how his public speaking skills made him became one of best well-spoken president of the US. This book brings up also a lot of historical evidence about slavery and politic debates. Worth reading for those who are studying american history.
December 2, 2019
This was an excellent book. It really focused on Lincoln's writings and how he drafted them, especially giving homage to his word choice. Woven throughout the book was history writ large. I read this book at the same time I was reading Team of Rivals. It was very interesting reading both books and seeing how they meshed, and especially what Lincoln thought as we was writing.
December 31, 2008
Matter of fact account of Lincoln's relationship with words and writers and how the well intentioned idea and the well phrased rhetoric can coexist. Especially recommended for literati people who need an injection of nonfiction once in a while.
January 7, 2009
This book was more political than personal, not my thing.
February 7, 2009
Very detailed study of the influences on Lincoln's prose style. Well done, but tedious.
Read
February 12, 2010This was an interesting book, but it was fairly dry and loaded with lots of facts in a rather artless way. When it was time to turn it in, I wasn't finshed and probably won't check it out again.
January 21, 2011
Had interesting aspects but kind of draggy
September 12, 2011
Held my attention just enough to slog through 5-15 pages at a time. Was glad to be done with it.
July 30, 2014
The premise was good, but I would say the book could be about 200 pages shorter. Honestly I skimmed the second half. Sometimes concise is good.
abandoned
February 12, 2014I think I am just not in the right mood for this. It has some interesting parts, but to me it reads more like a literary criticism than a biography.
February 21, 2019
This is a book I could put down. I did.
I give it good marks for subject, elegant delivery of good information, prose style, and the author’s literate assessment of primary sources.
Lincoln is the most written-about president, with good reason.
Kaplan offers a well-informed, systematic investigation of Lincoln’s reading habits and writing skills.
I know a published author who widely and deeply savored the exploration of Lincoln’s love affair with language and meaning. Likewise, I’m a writer and I was intrigued by much of what Kaplan offered in the first 100 pages or so.
I’m a historian. I am intuitively drawn to the longue durée concept of history and historical analysis, and its emphasis on the complex dynamics of deeply rooted, persistent structure underlying social, economic, and political transformations.
I explicitly reject the “great man” theory of history and historical analysis. I am actually disinclined to give credence to a biographer’s undocumented assertions that his subject “might have given credence to” anything in particular, or that his subject “must have believed” something or other, or that his subject “embraced as his own the melancholy of [Gray’s] ‘Elegy,’ [but] did not share, as a young man, its dark stoicism.”
Kaplan’s text is filled with statements like these. They aren’t to my taste. After 100 pages or so, I put the book down.
Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
www.richardsubber.com
I give it good marks for subject, elegant delivery of good information, prose style, and the author’s literate assessment of primary sources.
Lincoln is the most written-about president, with good reason.
Kaplan offers a well-informed, systematic investigation of Lincoln’s reading habits and writing skills.
I know a published author who widely and deeply savored the exploration of Lincoln’s love affair with language and meaning. Likewise, I’m a writer and I was intrigued by much of what Kaplan offered in the first 100 pages or so.
I’m a historian. I am intuitively drawn to the longue durée concept of history and historical analysis, and its emphasis on the complex dynamics of deeply rooted, persistent structure underlying social, economic, and political transformations.
I explicitly reject the “great man” theory of history and historical analysis. I am actually disinclined to give credence to a biographer’s undocumented assertions that his subject “might have given credence to” anything in particular, or that his subject “must have believed” something or other, or that his subject “embraced as his own the melancholy of [Gray’s] ‘Elegy,’ [but] did not share, as a young man, its dark stoicism.”
Kaplan’s text is filled with statements like these. They aren’t to my taste. After 100 pages or so, I put the book down.
Read more of my book reviews and poems here:
www.richardsubber.com
December 7, 2021
An excellent book, but a caveat is warranted
This is a VERY detailed examination of Lincoln's ideas, of how and where he acquired them, and of how he expressed them in his writings. Lincoln devotees will find it interesting and enlightening and might even wish to read the book while simultaneously reading the documents themselves. The books, as the author himself says, grew out of a graduate -level course on the literature of the Civil War that he taught for many years, and it shows. Those who merely want to know generally what Lincoln believed and are mainly interested i onlyn his best-known writings will find the book repetitive to the point of tedium and would be better served by reading one of the "modern" biographies.
This is a VERY detailed examination of Lincoln's ideas, of how and where he acquired them, and of how he expressed them in his writings. Lincoln devotees will find it interesting and enlightening and might even wish to read the book while simultaneously reading the documents themselves. The books, as the author himself says, grew out of a graduate -level course on the literature of the Civil War that he taught for many years, and it shows. Those who merely want to know generally what Lincoln believed and are mainly interested i onlyn his best-known writings will find the book repetitive to the point of tedium and would be better served by reading one of the "modern" biographies.
April 23, 2025
I so wanted to give this 5 stars but unfortunley I felt like there is some stuff that could’ve been cut and also I believe there might be better books about Abraham Lincoln. With that being the case however, I still think this book gives a great look into arguably the most talented reader and writer we’ve had as president and defintley reccomend this book if you want to learn more about the mind of Lincoln.
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