Herndon's Lincoln (Knox College Lincoln Studies Center) [Hardcover]

William H. Herndon (Author), Jesse W. Weik (Author), Douglas L. Wilson (Editor), Rodney O. Davis (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2006 | Series: Knox College Lincoln Studies Center

William H. Herndon aspired to write a faithful portrait of his friend and law partner, Abraham Lincoln, based on his own observations and on hundreds of letters and interviews he had compiled for the purpose. Even more importantly, he was determined to present Lincoln as a man, rather than a saint, and to reveal things that the prevailing Victorian conventions said should be left out of the biography of a great national hero. A variety of obstacles kept Herndon from writing his book, however, and not until he found a collaborator in Jesse W. Weik did the biography begin to take shape. It finally appeared in 1889, to decidedly mixed reviews. Though controversial from the outset, "Herndon's Lincoln" nonetheless established itself as a classic, and remains, as Don E. Fehrenbacher declared, "the most influential biography of Lincoln ever published." This new edition restores the original text, includes two chapters added in the revised (1892) edition, and traces the story of how this landmark biography got written. Extensive annotation affords the reader a detailed look at the biography's sources.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this new volume, coeditors Douglas Wilson and Rodney Davis have brought the landmark biography up to date with more than seventy years of Lincoln scholarship, thereby giving us the definitive modern edition of the work. . . . Wilson and Davis's new edition of Herndon's Lincoln will not only help scholars scrutinize the biography itself, but will also afford them the remarkable opportunity to see how the memory of one of America's greatest presidents was constructed."--Journal of the Early Republic

Book Description

An important new edition of the foundational Lincoln biography

 

William H. Herndon aspired to write a faithful portrait of his friend and law partner, Abraham Lincoln, based on his own observations and on hundreds of letters and interviews he had compiled for the purpose. Even more importantly, he was determined to present Lincoln as a man, rather than a saint, and to reveal things that the prevailing Victorian conventions said should be left out of the biography of a great national hero. A variety of obstacles kept Herndon from writing his book, however, and not until he found a collaborator in Jesse W. Weik did the biography begin to take shape. It finally appeared in 1889, to decidedly mixed reviews.  

Though controversial from the outset, Herndon’s Lincoln nonetheless established itself as a classic, and remains, as Don E. Fehrenbacher declared, “the most influential biography of Lincoln ever published.” This new edition restores the original text, includes two chapters added in the revised (1892) edition, and traces the story of how this landmark biography got written. Extensive annotation affords the reader a detailed look at the biography’s sources.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press; 1 edition (September 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252030729
• ISBN-13: 978-0252030727
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #891,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Herndon Revisited, January 22, 2007

By 

L. B. Hughes (Calhoun County, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Herndon's Lincoln (Knox College Lincoln Studies Center) (Hardcover)

This is a reprint of the Lincoln biography published in the 1880s by his former law partner, Billy Herndon. Lincoln biographers have spent 95 years telling why Herndon was mistaken about this or that--until recently. Now they are beginning to say the earlier historians were wrong and Herndon was probably right. I had never read Herndon, but only had seen him quoted selectively. Billy comes through as a very honest man and a bit like Lincoln. One can see why the latter asked him to be his partner, and stuck it out in partnership with him for a good 20 years. The editors say Herndon was a better back-room lawyer than Lincoln, but Lincoln a much better courtroom lawyer, and the partnership complemented itself that way. Billy was better at research, and that suggests Billy did very good research on his Lincoln biography, too. Shortly after Lincoln was shot Herndon interviewed and corresponded with scores of people from Lincoln's family and his early life. It's easy to see why the law firm was successful, because Billy was a real bulldog. But his book was not well received in the 1880s when first published, largely because many thought it too crude in those days to point out Abe's mother's illegitmacy, etc. But Herndon was going to put down whatever the facts bore out. He adored Lincoln, and believed his greatness would be enhanced more by the truth than by lies... I now have a much higher regard for Herndon than formerly... On the other hand, the editors and publisher deserve low marks for the smallness of the type face, which goes down even smaller in the footnotes, making this important book more difficult to read than it should be. Don't be put off by the first Preface, either, which should be either buried at the end of the book or deleted.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars required reading, March 5, 2009

By 

J. A. Haverstick (Lancaster, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Herndon's Lincoln (Knox College Lincoln Studies Center) (Hardcover)

I ditto the first 5-star. Maybe we could say that there are popular biographies, scholarly biographies and personal recollections. There is no substitute for Herndon's recollections, a man who spent thousands of hours with Lincoln in everyday life. Sure, he's no Boswell; sure, some factual claims may be in dispute...but there are still those thousands of hours. This may not be the only - or even "best" - biography of Lincoln, however, if you're reading two biographies, I'd say this should be the second.

I actually didn't have a problem with the book's format and I'm 66 and read most of it in bed. It's more well produced than the average 21st cent volume. I was disappointed that the editors chose to leave out some of the original illustrations. Whatever they thought of them, I prefer to see volumes as they originally appeared, if possible.

There are some spots that drag (the duel episode, for instance) but it's quite an easy read and this edition, in the notes in the back, clarifies all controversial points. ( These endnotes that modern books almost always substitute for footnotes ARE something to gripe about!) I don't think I've gotten such a feel for Lincoln, the walking, talking human being, from another source.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A voice as close to Lincoln as you can read, December 11, 2008

By 

S. Davis (Elmwood Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Herndon's Lincoln (Knox College Lincoln Studies Center) (Hardcover)

Herndon's Lincoln almost ignored by everyone, but Lincoln scholars has been republished. Editors Doug Wilson and Rodney Davis both of Knox College have made the source of much Lincoln history available to today's reader. Herndon was a great researcher, but his writing style is very odd sounding to modern ears. His partner Jesse Weik is the primary author of the text and is very readable. It was published late in Herndon's life and never reached the wide audience he had hoped. It is an essential source for anyone interested in who Lincoln was and how he came to be the great nineteenth century politician. You will arrive at a much fuller appreciation for the political climate of early Illinois and the Western states as they were known at that time. Lincoln is revealed by the reflections of his contemporaries as an admirable man, as a complex man, and as an imperfect man. Herndon relates events he was directly involved in as a first hand witness to who was A. Lincoln. He spent a great deal of time collecting correspondence from those who knew Lincoln before he became President. It seems that Herndon struggles to find the words to capture the true man, he is never satisfied with his efforts. You can almost hear him thinking the plow won't scour. His collected letters speak for themselves. History is greatly in debt to Lincoln's law partner, William Herndon, and modern readers seeking to learn more of Lincoln are greatly in debt to Wilson and Davis. If you are not a Lincoln scholar, I would skip to "a note on the text and annotation" and then start reading, you will come back to the preface with a much better understanding after you are done. Lincoln as he was, neither all saint nor all sinner. I can't imagine a more essential book for those who are interested in studying Abraham Lincoln.
You will probably want to learn more from Lincoln contemporaries. Inside Lincoln's White House: The Complete Civil War Diary of John Hay