Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewSpecial Achievement Award, Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, 2017
"Acclaimed Lincoln scholars Wilson and Davis have combed the large correspondence of Lincoln's law partner Herndon to discover every reference to Lincoln as a man, a public figure, and an almost mythological hero, and have selected for this book those letters that have substantive value as "information, anecdote, opinion, or speculation" about the president."--
Library Journal"William Henry Herndon's biography of his one-time law partner, Abraham Lincoln, has long been the gold standard for Lincoln biographies. But Herndon's voluminous correspondence with friends, publishers, and the merely curious are almost as rich in substance as Herndon's biography. Wilson and Davis have now given us a thorough collection of Herndon's letters, thoroughly identified and noted, which will stand as major contribution to any study of the life of Abraham Lincoln."--Allen C. Guelzo, author of
Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President"Significantly contribute[s] to Lincoln scholarship."--
Journal of Southern History"This compilation of letters, many of which are published for the first time and are gathered from repositories from across the nation, adds significantly to our understanding of both Lincoln and the man who was his law partner for nearly two decades. Herndon defenders as well as critics will find great value in this comprehensive and carefully annotated volume."--Edna Greene Medford, co-author of
The Emancipation Proclamation: Three Views"A major scholarly achievement that will be of great value to Lincoln biographers and scholars."--James M. McPherson, author of
War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861-1865"This an excellent work and an essential one for anyone interested in Lincoln and the man who strove to tell his story as he believed it should be told."--
Civil War News"A treasure trove for Lincoln scholars. . . . Herndon's voluminous and detailed letters, identified and annotated expertly by Wilson and Davis, confirm the late Lincoln scholar David Donald's observation that 'To understand Herndon's own rather peculiar approach to Lincoln biography, one must go back to his letters.' Essential."--
Choice"An eye-opening look at many facets of Lincoln: his parents (the father illiterate, the mother from what Herndon calls 'a lecherous family'); his pastimes (he loved playing chess and handball); his lax parenting style (he was 'a tool or a slave' to his young boys, letting them run wild in the law office); and his predictions (he foresaw his assassination, saying more than once, 'Billy, I feel as if I shall meet with some terrible end')."--
Wall Street Journal "This invaluable collection of Herndon's letters about Lincoln ably supplements
Herndon's Informants, the editors' magnificent compilation of reminiscences gathered by Herndon from scores of people who knew Lincoln. Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis, along with the University of Illinois Press, deserve the undying gratitude of everyone who cares about Lincoln in particular and American history in general."--Michael Burlingame, author of
Abraham Lincoln: A Life
