Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln [Hardcover]

Douglas L Wilson (Editor), Rodney O. Davis (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Wilson and Davis] have done a service of inestimable value to historians by the complete, accurately transcribed, indexed, and annotated edition of the written accounts of Herndon's interviews with 264 people... It is a monumental achievement of scholarship. That is true not simply because of the editorial skill and effort required to complete it, but mainly because this material is the basis for most of what we know about the first half of Lincoln's life." -- James M. McPherson, The New York Review of Books

Product Details

• Hardcover: 864 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252023285
• ISBN-13: 978-0252023286
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( L ) > Lincoln, Abraham

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece in Scholarship, February 25, 2002

By 

Mark Behrendt (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln (Hardcover)

In the preface to his "Life of Lincoln", William Herndon expounded that when writing the history of Lincoln's early life "the whole truth concerning him should be known" and there should be "nothing colored or suppressed." Having set the standard Herndon failed to follow it, for there were something's even Herndon must have felt should not be put into print. Scholars wishing to explore Lincoln's early life beyond the insights offered by Herndon's biography had to turn to examining the letters and notes collected for over a twenty year period by himself and his collaborator Jesse Weik. This often proved to be a daunting task. As the editor's in their introduction noted even though available on Micro roll film specific documents are "very hard to locate" and even if located are "very hard to read." To further complicate matters the index to the Herndon collection prepared by the Library of Congress is "neither accurate nor complete." What Editors Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis have done in their "Herndon's Informants" is to transcribe all of the known Herndon, Weik letters and notes into a readable and properly indexed Documentary Edition. What they have also done is create a masterpiece of scholarship that will be used by students of Lincoln for decades to come. "Herndon's Informants" offers the student the complete Herndon collection, unabridged and un-editorialized. To anyone who has a strong interest in learning more about Lincoln's early life this is just about all that is available and it simply must become a part of your personal library.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A major contribution to Lincoln studies, August 5, 2007

By 

Richard Lawrence Miller, Lincoln author (Kansas City MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln (Hardcover)

With Herndon's Informants Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis have made a tremendous contribution to Lincoln scholarship. Much of what we know of Lincoln's pre-presidential years, especially, was compiled through interviews and correspondence by Lincoln's last law partner William H. Herndon. Although many of these items were published decades ago in Emanuel Hertz's anthology The Hidden Lincoln, that collection's limitations have long frustrated Lincoln students. The only alternative was the expensive and awkward-to-use microfilm verison of Herndon's papers available from the Library of Congress.

Now, however, Wilson and Davis have made this treasure trove of firsthand information available in an affordable and convenient format. Moreover, they have carefully tried to reproduce texts exactly, retaining oddities of spelling and punctuation, a feature entertaining to ordinary readers and valuable to scholars. The book's presentation of documents in chronological order is welcome. Scholars will probably be the main consumers using this product.

This volume is a major contribution to Lincoln studies.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Lincoln!!, October 26, 2006

By 

Judith Wilson (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Herndon's Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln (Hardcover)

Forget authors, historians with agendas. Read what the people who actually knew Abraham Lincoln said about him.

Before Lincoln's body was cold, William Herndon, Lincoln's law partner for 17 years and friend for longer, began interviewing Lincoln's friends, family members, enemies, acquaintances, neighbors, etc. His goal was to collect as much information as possible about his friend, so he could write a completely truthful biography. "Warts and all" Herndon said. Unfortunately, Herndon soon realized he could not use some of the information he collected because it was very personal and Lincoln's image would be tarnished. Fortunately, some of this information he could not use you will find in this book. While 98% of this book contains very interesting information about all aspects of Lincoln's life. It is the remaining 2%, the unsavory stuff, that is so fascinating! For instance, I was surprised to read about the number of Lincoln's friends who told stories about Lincoln's involvement with prostitutes (before his marriage). Some friends even speculate about Lincoln maybe having one or two illegitimate children. This book contains information I never learned in school about Lincoln!