ABRAHAM LINCOLN, A NEW PORTRAIT

by Henry B.- Ed. Kranz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 9, 1959

This ""new portrait"" of Lincoln is more a composite one than a new one, for although the book, a collection of essays by authorities on Lincoln, is designed ""to display the enormous range of Lincoln's arresting personality and to interpret some of its puzzling paradoxical features"" the resulting picture of Lincoln is much the same as that known to history and accepted by legend. Some of the essays are excellent, others less so, among the best being ""Lincoln, the Lawyer"" by William H. Townsend; ""Lincoln as a Politician"" by David Donald, ""Lincoln's Journey to Greatness"" by Philip Van Doren Stern; others include ""Lincoln as a Plain Man of the People,"" ""Lincoln and Democracy,"" ""Lincoln, Man of God,"" ""Lincoln in Shirt Sleeves,"" ""Lincoln and Music,"" etc.; in addition there are excerpts from his writings, speeches and sayings, a few poems about him, a well-known account of him by his law partner, William H. Herndon, and a brief bibliography. Not too carefully edited -- one Lincoln anecdote is repeated in four different essays -- and frequently ponderous, this book, interpretative rather than historical, will hold little appeal for average readers, although it should interest collectors of Lincolniana and find a place in more extensive American historical libraries.

Pub Date: Oct. 9, 1959

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1959

Categories: NONFICTION