With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln

I have read scores of books on Lincoln since I was about 9 years old. He was such an interesting and unusual man it is easy to see why there have been more books written about him than any man who ever lived! That by itself shows that there is much to him and even though he lived over 150 years ago his incredible gift with words lets him speak to every person today.This book goes over his life and the events in it as many books have done before but the difference for me is that there are so many little details and anecdotes about events that make them even more powerful, gives me a new way of understanding what Lincoln was facing and how he dealt with it.The opposition to the emancipation is shown in its many aspects in a way that makes it clear how brave a move it was for Lincoln and how committed he was to getting rid of slavery. His growth as a man from a racist society to where he ended up is a testament to his ability to lead people. The North as well as the South were very hostile to blacks, slave or free. Lincoln, while he hated slavery, could not see how the two races could live together, even though he had no hatred for blacks at all, knew most whites did. Therefore he saw colonization, where blacks are settled in a place for just blacks in either Africa or the Caribbean or Central America,as the only reasonable solution. This was a popular notion in his day amongst others who hated slavery but could not see how blacks could live with so many bigoted whites. However, Lincoln was for colonization only on a voluntary basis. No blacks would be forced to go. He thought that would be an easy task as the blacks were treated to horribly but whenever he broached the topic with blacks the overwhelming majority refused colonization. America was their country too. They wanted to reform it not leave it.Eventually Lincoln saw that colonization would not be viable and ended up asking for blacks to have full citizenship and even get the right to vote. When he announced that idea to a crowd outside the window of the White House John Wilkes Booth, in the crowd, decided in his racist mind that Lincoln had to be killed, and did so 3 days later.Lincoln had respect for all people white or black, slave or slaveowner. He was, as was often mentioned, "a very poor hater." He was motivated by a need to see justice for all, all his life and slavery was the greatest, and to use his words "most monstrous injustice", ever and he struck it down when he knew he could lead the people to accept it.This book makes clear the incredible challenges Lincoln faced with almost constant attacks on him by the democrats, much of the media, and some in his own party.Even the day after the Inaugural ball when he gets word that Fort Sumter needed to be resupplied he has to immediately deal with the potential trigger to the civil War.His cabinet and military advisors are split as to what to do. Some say surrender the fort, its not worth anything.Some sayfight back. Lincoln has no military experience and is faced with a major challenge. He weighs the options, sends trusted friends to Charleston to tell him the potential reaction to various options and also if there is any pro Union sentiment that can be utilized. He had a view that the Secessionist were a minority of the people and that reason could yet get the South back.The message came back that there was no pro Union sentiment. He then decided that since he had just told the people in his inaugural address that he would hold all Federal property and institutions he would do so. And if there was to be a Civil War the South would have to fire the first shot.Lincoln understood the motivator that would be for the North and also how that would make it harder for other Nations to support the South.Over and over in this book the challenges Lincoln faced are clarified, put in true context and detailed so as to better understand the genius of this most amazing man.

This has to be, one of, if not THE best of biographies written of President Abraham Lincoln. We come to know a complex, yet straightforward man, a man Americans can be proud of -- no matter the prevailing PC mantras. Here we see a good man become great as he follows his conscience and upholds the tenet "All men are created equal."The author has done an astonishing job presenting to us the 16th President of the United States -- his convictions, his foibles, his habits, his mannerisms, the studied way he accrues facts, and the immoveable judgements he makes based on those facts.Mr. Oates also involves us in the politics of the day:the rancor, the jealousies, the mood of the country in tumultuous times, and the ultimately the love of Americans for their president. We also see the Commander in Chief dealing with a recalcitrant, sometimes pettyCabinet, Union Generals who won't fight and those who will.We owe Mr. Oates many thanks for allowing our acquaintance with Abraham Lincoln. This is a wonderful book about extraordinary leader.

One of the better Lincoln biographies. It does the best job of giving perspective to the role of abolitionists relative to the Republican's anti-extension of slavery. In the same vein it gives a very understandable sense of the demise of the Whigs and the rise of the Republicans. While there are many insightful views of Lincoln's life, I found myself noticing what was missing. I suspect this is more a matter of having read enough Lincoln, I want to see everything in every book which is too high a standard to which to hold any author.All in all, this is very informative and I thoroughly enjoyed it - as I consumed it almost as if it were a suspense novel!

Excellent condition

Often biographies or other historical works employ facts and figures, intricate detail and cross-reference to mask a poor writing style. Others take sides, coloring history with our own time's prejudices. However, these kinds of books are best when told as a story, engaging readers with the passionate yet impartial telling of the substance of the subject, set against a backdrop of rich and understandable temporal context. "With Malice..." does this very well. Following Lincoln from childhood until his assassination, one is drawn into the times and the man, and comes away with not only a better understanding of events, but a great appreciation for the nature of his character - truly a man with malice toward none. For those interested in a deeper dive, a very extensive section of bibliography and notes is provided. If I could insist on one book for every one of our current political hopefuls to read, this would be it.

An excellent, informative read. I must say I balked when I saw the 700+ pages on my e-reader but I found this tome to be extremely readable

I am from another part of world and was curious to know the life of Lincoln. I read another book and it was quite hard for me to understand due to the large narration of politics of that time.This book shows Lincoln as a human and for me it’s quite impressive

After diving into 'Abraham Lincoln' by James McPherson, I felt I had to supplement my new knowledge of this great man with a book that goes in deeper, really adds flesh to the bones that McPherson formed for me, this book did that. Now I've not read any other 'lengthy' Lincoln biographies but I'm willing to state here and now that I know this is the best one of the bunch, I just know it. This book is an absolute masterpiece, if you want the Lincoln story in all its aspects, do yourself a favour and buy this book.The book is a masterful recollection of his life as a boy, man, friend, father and President. You come to learn about what really made him tick, where he felt most comfortable, what he hated, and much more. I love how much detail the book puts into Lincoln's life before the White House, his jobs as rail splitter, shop merchant, business man, lawyer and his burgeoning political career. It is this early stage of life that Lincoln truly developed his ideologies, and these go on to inform his decisions and actions as President.It details beautifully his resolve during the Civil War, how it impacted him, how it tormented him. I really got an idea of just how much of himself he lost during the conflict, he was the epitomisation of the term, 'War President', he spent hours reviewing war tactics, hours reviewing and building war tactics, hours sat in the telegraph department waiting for all important updates from the front. The book really walks you into his life during the War, at times I felt like I was there with him, hoping for said good news. I've seen some reviews criticise how much Oates writes about the Civil War but I disagree, the Civil War played a pivotol part in defining Lincoln for generations to come, it had to make up a significant part of the book.It's not just a book about Lincoln either. It's a book about his wife Mary, his sons Robert, Tad and Willie, his best friend Josh Speed, Secretary of State Seward, his Commanding General Ulysses Grant, War Secretary Stanton and so on. The time and space that Oates gifts to these characters adds a further depth to Lincoln's story. The book at times reads like a thriller, you find yourself furiously flicking pages to find out how Lincoln navigated that particular political issue, or how it handled another slow general. His political acumen shines through perfectly in this book.Importantly also, the book handles elements of Lincoln that many avoid, elements that call him a dictator who ignored Congress and the Supreme Court in exercising his war powers. Yes it's a fair criticism that must be answered and Oates does this well, he brilliantly articulates Lincoln's thinking during this testing time for the Union, that the interpretation of his war powers under the constitution gave him the ability to do all it took to save the Union. So often, it felt like Lincoln's thinking places him generations ahead of everybody else.What really struck me too is just how much of the American populice really despised Lincoln during the Civil War, national opinion really waxed and waned, sometimes reaching dangerously high levels of discontent. One wonders how the Union didn't implode at times. But it was due to Civil War victories and astute political maneuvering by Lincoln that the Union stayed together and the book really depicts this well.I'm going to close up the review now. When Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Boothe while viewing a production of 'Our American Cousin', I really felt the loss, I became endeared to him through the pages, so much so that I have my next Lincoln book on the way. Oates' writing style is excellent, so accessible, it looks like a 'slogger' but it really isn't, as I said, the book reads so well, like a thriller at times. I massively enjoyed this book and will be re-reading it soon. If you after an in-depth, readable and well informed life of Lincoln, this is your book, it sets the standard.Thank you for reading.

I read the book once and it was so good I wanted a copy in my phone!

Must read for all GRE and GMAT students