Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings (Library of America Paperback Classics) [Paperback]

Abraham Lincoln (Author), Gore Vidal (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2009 | Series: Library of America Paperback Classics

?Alone among American Presidents, it is possible to imagine Lincoln, grown up in a different milieu, becoming a distinguished writer of a not merely political kind.?
--Edmund Wilson

Ranging from finely honed legal argument to wry and some sometimes savage humor to private correspondence and political rhetoric of unsurpassed grandeur, the writings collected in this volume are at once a literary testament of the greatest writer ever to occupy the White House and a documentary history of America in Abraham Lincoln?s time. They record Lincoln?s campaigns for public office; the evolution of his stand against slavery; his electrifying debates with Stephen Douglas; his conduct of the Civil War; and the great public utterances of his presidency, including the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.

Library of America Paperback Classics feature authoritative texts drawn from the acclaimed Library of America series and introduced by today?s most distinguished scholars and writers. Each book features a detailed chronology of the author?s life and career, and essay on the choice of the text, and notes.

The contents of this Paperback Classic are drawn from Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832- 1858 and Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865, volumes number 45 and 46 in the Library of America series. They are joined in the series by a companion volume, number 192s, The Lincoln Anthology: Great Writers on his Life and Legacy from 1860 to Now.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Ranging from finely honed legal argument to dry and sometimes savage humor to private correspondence and political rhetoric of unsurpassed grandeur, the writings collected in this volume are at once the literary testament of the greatest writer ever to occupy the White House and a documentary history of America in Abraham Lincoln's time. They record Lincoln's campaigns for public office; the evolution of his stand against slavery; his pyrotechnic debates with Stephen Douglas; his conduct of the Civil War; and the great public utterances of his presidency, including the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.

For the first time, the authoritative editions of works by major American novelists, poets, scholars, and essayists collected in the hardcover volumes of The Library of America are being published singly in a series of handsome paperback books. A distinguished writer has contributed an introduction for each volume, which also includes a chronology of the author's life and career, an essay on the text, and notes. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Abraham Lincoln

Gore Vidal was born Eugene Luther Vidal in 1925, later adopting the surname of his grandfather, Senator Thomas Gore, as his first name. He is the author of numerous novels—the first, Williwaw, written when he was twenty-one—as well as scripts for film, television and the stage, including the extremely successful The Best Man and Visit to a Small Planet. He is perhaps best known for his historical novels, including Burr (1973), 1876 (1976), and Lincoln (1984). He won the National Book Award in 1993 for his book of essays, United States (1952-1992). 

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 550 pages
• Publisher: Library of America (July 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598530534
• ISBN-13: 978-1598530537
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Literary Lincoln without Sidekick Speechwriters or Dumbdowns, March 30, 2000

By 

"jazzyjimmy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Selected Speeches and Writings: Abraham Lincoln (Paperback)

This book chronicles not only texts of key speeches showing the evolution of Lincoln's view of slavery, but also insightful letters revealing some private thoughts of this shrewd railroad lawyer whose ambition propelled him to heights that made him the best President our Republic has ever seen. The 1838 Lyceum speech of Lincoln's youth gives stunning insight into that ambition. This book supports the notion that Lincoln was also the greatest writer to ever occupy the White House, revealing an impressive variety of literary styles, from meticulous legal argumentation to a dry, concise wit. In light of Lincoln's literary legacy, it is no wonder that each President since Woodrow Wilson has deemed the aid of professional speechwriters vital to their strategies. And even with the professional help the modern chief executives have gotten, Lincoln's rhetoric remains the most sublime of all our Presidents.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Greatest President?, April 3, 2007

By 

Moses Operandi "Social Commentator & Part-tim... (Baldwin, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Selected Speeches and Writings: Abraham Lincoln (Paperback)

Abraham Lincoln is a giant in American history, but it wasn't until I read his speeches and writings that his wisdom and wit became apparent. This is a man born in the depths of poverty, and who climbed to the very top. The Gettysburg Address, largely ignored when it was first given, has risen to become one of the most profound, definite, and understood explanations of the American dream..."we will witness a new birth of freedom...that government ofthe people, by the people, and for the people will not perish from the earth..." God Bless Lincoln, and God Bless America.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest American, June 30, 2008

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Gowiththeflow "JB" (Memphis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Selected Speeches and Writings: Abraham Lincoln (Paperback)

Of all the folks in the storied history of this world of ours, Mr. Lincoln is the one I'd most like to have had the opportunity to meet....this book takes one as close as he or she can get to that imaginary event.