Ronald C. White, Jr., A. Lincoln

In this full-scale biography of Abraham Lincoln, Ronald White does a great job of conveying both the brilliance and the humanity of this great president. As you would expect, White chronicles Lincoln's upbringing, his education (or lack thereof), and his entry into the law profession. It is clear that these years set the stage for what is to come, as you can see the character that will become so essential to his success being formed. White chronicles Lincoln's early forays into politics, his time in the state legislature, and his early involvement with the nascent Republican party. He carefully reports on the famous debates with Stephen Douglas, as well as Lincoln's meteoric rise to the presidency. Lincoln's time in office is then reported with great care, showing not only Lincoln's important stances on slavery (though those are carefully discussed), but also how Lincoln operated as a politician and as a commander-in-chief (a role he felt mostly unprepared for, so he took up a reading program to educate himself, in true Lincoln fashion).

I loved this book, and am happy to recommend it. I think one of the components that intrigued me most about Lincoln the man was how he balanced his strong principles with political pragmatism or realism, knowing for instance how hard to push various abolition laws while at the same time being sure to not alienate border states that were on the fence about sessession and thereby imperiling the union further. A second element that intrigued me was how the political campaign system operated differently. Candidates for president didn't "campaign" for office: instead, others spoke on their behalf, and their record, speeches, and writings spoke for the candidates. It is intriguing to think how our political scene might be different if politicians were judged by what they've actually accomplished or the principles they have articulated over time instead of the promises they make and the persona they portray (not that these things were unimportant in Lincoln's day; it's naive to think of his era as an idyllic one, as White points out at various points).