Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years [Paperback]

Carl Sandburg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 1974 | Series: Harvest Book, Hb 297 (Book 1)

Originally published in six volumes, Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln was called “the greatest historical biography of our generation.” Sandburg distilled this work into one volume that became the definitive life of Lincoln. Index; photographs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

CARL SANDBURG (1878-1967) was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize, first in 1940 for his biography of Abraham Lincoln and again in 1951 for Complete Poems. Before becoming known as a poet, he worked as a milkman, an ice harvester, a dishwasher, a salesman, a fireman, and a journalist. Among his classics are the Rootabaga Stories, which he wrote for his young daughters at the beginning of his long and distinguished literary career.

Product Details

• Paperback: 762 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; One-volume ed edition (October 23, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156026112
• ISBN-13: 978-0156026116
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pulitzer Prize winner's master work., October 27, 1999

By 

Scott Brundage - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years (Paperback)

I believe Sandburg is the only author to win the Pulitzer for both poetry and history. Originally a multi volume history taking decades to complete, this single volume work is an appetizer. I read it in the 1960's and went on with relish to the full multi volume work.

This single volume is insightful, laser like in it's detail yet painting the times of Lincoln in a broad and beautiful brush. Did you know that in 1860 tools could be honed to within one ten thousandth of an inch of accuracy? That magazines and newspapers said the world would change for-ever because of the new "instant" communication nation wide?

This is more than biography. It is a woven fabric depicting the times and life of Abraham Lincoln.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An American Classic on a Classic American, March 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years & the War Years (Library of the Presidents) (Hardcover)

I collect old and rare books. My mother bought me a copy of Sandburg's one-volume edition published in 1954. Honestly, it was slow to start, but once it got to the 1850's, I couldn't put it down. Lincoln's deeds are so often trivialized in our history books. But Sandburg meticulously builds up the background in a way that forces his reader to appreciate the magnitude of the moment, and the importance of each decision--whether right or wrong--that President Lincoln made. It easily took three full weeks to read, but it was more than worth it. I closed the book thinking, "I can't believe it's over!" My advice: Read this book right away, and make someone else read it too. You'll need someone to talk to when you're through!

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars definitive Lincoln by one of America's best, August 23, 2002

By 

Karen Sampson Hudson "Karen Sampson Hudson" (Reno, NV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years & the War Years (Library of the Presidents) (Hardcover)

Thousands upon thousands of Civil War books are available, as American readers seem to have a limitless appetite for that era. If you are looking for the best, read Sandburg on Lincoln. A major American poet takes on one of the best-known, best-loved, most tragic of American historical figures.

When I was a freshman in high school, our English teacher offered us a deal: Anyone who read Sandburg's biography (then in six rather daunting volumes) would not have to attend class for a semester. I took him up on that offer, and was blessed to find my way through Sandburg's gift to the American people. Here is the highly detailed, thoroughly researched, and articulately written story of Abe Lincoln's years among us.

If you have time to read only one of the Civil War books from that burgeoning genre, read this one. You will come to know, from the inside out, this prairie boy who became a towering figure in American history.