Niagara University Library: Monthly Book Spotlight -- February 2002

Abraham Lincoln:
His Early Life

With the publication of David Donald's definitive biography Lincoln in 1995, one might have assumed that there would be nothing new to add to the already voluminous amount of Lincoln literature. Richly detailed and beautifully written, Lincoln is regarded by many as the culmination of the study of Abraham Lincoln's life and Presidency. Published in 1998, Douglas L. Wilson's Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln, a series of essays that focused on Lincoln's early life from his days in New Salem to his marriage to Mary Todd, signaled a shift in focus on the life of Abraham Lincoln, moving from the political to the personal. What knowledge we have about Lincoln in this period is based primarily on the oral histories that were collected after his death by his former law partner and biographer, William H. Herndon. Though many historians have viewed Herndon's work as unreliable, Honor's Voice makes the strong argument that Herndon was not only a careful researcher and interviewer, but a thorough one as well.

With Honor's Voice Douglas Wilson laid the groundwork for further studies on what some historians have referred to as the inner Lincoln, or in Herndon's words, the "subjective Lincoln." The first of these was Allen Guelzo's biography Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President, a thought provoking biography that focuses on Lincoln's intellectual development, both philosophically and spiritually. Guelzo draws much of the biographical material from the work of William Herndon, displaying as well a firm grasp of the intellectual and religious environment of 19th century America. Though the number of Lincoln biographies are too numerous to count, Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President ranks as one of the more original and stimulating ones.

Kenneth J. Winkle's The Young Eagle is another revealing and original study of Lincoln's early years. Utilizing the latest interpretive and methodological advances in historiography, and drawing on many of the recent analytical studies of 19th century American life, such as marriage customs, life expectancy and family life, The Young Eagle recasts many of the well known facts of Lincoln's life in an entirely different perspective. Written for both the historian and general reader, The Young Eagle is perhaps one the most important books on Abraham Lincoln to be published in some time.

As Douglas Wilson, Allen Guelzo and Kenneth J. Winkle have shown, interest in Abraham Lincoln remains high. Their books have demonstrated it is still possible to explore the life of Lincoln in fresh and revealing ways.

The Library's collection of books on Abraham Lincoln can be found on the basement level of the Library. The call number for David Donald's Lincoln is E457.D66 1995. The call number for Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln is E457.35.W547 1998. For Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President it is E457.2.G88 1999, and for the The Young Eagle it is E 457.W77 2001.

The Library also has additional new books on Abraham Lincoln, among them being Harry V. Jaffa's magnificent A New Birth of Freedom: Abraham Lincoln and the Coming of the Civil War (E459.J34 2000) and Jan Morris's interesting Lincoln: A Foreigner's Quest (E 457.M88 2000). For further information on the work of William Herndon the Library has Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln (E457 .H59 1998), edited by Douglas Wilson and Rodney O. Davis as well as Herndon's own biography of Abraham Lincoln, Herndon's Life of Lincoln (E457.H576).

This Monthly Book Spotlight was written by Jonathan Coe.