Customer Reviews

The Life of Abraham Lincoln

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
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I've loved Abraham Lincoln since I read a biography of him in the third grade for a book report. There are no shortages of biographies of the great men in American History and they are all generally variations on the same stories that I learned in the third grade.

This book is unique in that it is written by a general in the Union Army..though he never mentions that in the book. The author actually knew Lincoln, fought for the Union and can knowledgably speak of the other generals and the civil war as he was involved.

But this is not a book about Henry Ketcham, much to his credit. It's a loving book of Lincoln. It is not a book to learn the history of the time, though you do. It's a book to make you feel as if you actually knew Lincoln. Reading the Eulogies at the end of the book brings tears to your eyes and makes you realize what a truly great man he was. Not just a great President, that's obvious, but a great man.

Growing up in Illinois I learned a great deal about Lincoln. I even built a scale model of his home from a photograph. But I never learned who the man was, the sense of what he would like to talk to, or as a neighbor. This book filled that void in my eduacation, a void that looks even more important in hindsight. I understood the important decisions Lincoln had made and knew the dates he had made them. But I never had been told why he made those decisions and had been so firm in his support of them. It had always bothered me to be told someone was great because they had made great decisions. But in this book we don't meet the famous Lincoln written about in today's history books. In this book we met Lincoln as a contemporary of the author. We meet the man Henry Ketcham knew. And it is through his words that I finally got a sense of the man behind all those great decisions.

Ketcham wrote this book only decades after Lincoln's death but in that time society and technology had both changed a bit. For example, he mentions how as a result of growing up earlier and on the frontier that Lincoln had not had such modern conveniences as gas lights in his home or sidewalks and paved roads. I got a sense of just how rapidly technology was affecting society even then. And it struck me even more powerfully than seeing the mock-ups of frontier homes had. If Lincoln's childhood had seemed rough to someone who thought gas lights were advanced he truly had it hard. And the description of the house being open along one side had not made it into any of the books I had previously read. I cannot imagine what winter must have been like for that family.

When the inevitable ending comes it does so with more sorrow for what a man we lost, not just a president but a person. He had held himself to a very high standard while being compassionate enough to understand if others could not manage to hold themselves to the same. He forgave others their weaknesses but strove to strengthen himself. And he enjoyed a good book more than most while still able to tell a funny story well when it came to be his turn. His heart had been broken but he worked to give what he could of what was left.

I really feel as if I have only now met the real Abraham Lincoln. And if you read only one book about him, this should be that one.

My only regret is that I did not read this book earlier in life; in my formative years, so to speak. A history lesson I shall long savior. I often took for granted the life of our 16th President from the little learned in school or in a Hollywood synopsis. A copper penny, a five-dollar bill, was my only present recollection of this ancient being. But now, what a great man, I have found! The Life of Abraham Lincoln, by Henry Ketcham, though a book of antiquity is a work presently easily read. For any American who reads the biographies of great men in the hopes of learning some nugget to inspire, I highly recommend this E-Book. Let the following quote by J. G Holland sum up my feelings of Mr. Lincoln: "Conscience, and not expediency, not temporary advantage, not popular applause, not the love of power, was the ruling and guiding motive of his life. He was patient with his enemies, and equally patient with equally unreasonable friends. No hasty act of his administration can be traced to his impatience. He had a tender, brotherly regard for every human being; and the thought of oppression was torment to him. A statesman without a statesman's craftiness, a politician without a politician's meanesses, a great man without a great man's vices, a philanthropist without a philanthropist's impracticable dreams, a Christian without pretensions, a ruler without the pride of place and power, an ambitious man without selfishness' and a successful man without vanity."

I just finished reading this title. I have read modern day witings about President Lincoln. This item was published in 1901 by the author who lived in Lincoln's times and added personal reflections of Lincoln during the Civil War, Lincoln's assassination and the subsequent mourning, and the Nation's collective response to him. The writing was clear, coherent, and very easily read. I learned new things about the man who saved the Union, which I did not glean from modern day authors. Thank you, Amazon Kindle, for bringing this book into my realm of knowledge of one of America's great, if not the greatest, presidents. Our current leader cannot hold a candle to this man, though he tries mightily to emulate him! They just don't make 'em like this any more!

This is a very well written history of President Lincoln.

I learned a number of things about the President that I hadn't heard.

Examples - I didn't know that when he was six, he had a brother who died. The first woman he loved died, and it clearly affected him for the rest of his life (as you would expect).

Almost half of the biography covers Lincoln's life before the Civil War. You'll hear about Lincoln's first encounter with the sale of slaves. His goal in running for Senator against Stephen Douglas (not what you would expect).

The author also discusses Fremont, McClellan and Horace Greeley in relation to Lincoln.

Really well done - and you get a feel for this man and the role in history that he didn't ask for.

Specifically about this Kindle edition - if optimized, it would have been nice to add the pictures also.

Please note - if you want details of the marriage of President Lincoln, this isn't the place for it. The author doesn't think those on the outside know the true story, so he doesn't go into details. He does explain his views, though.

I have read many books about President Lincoln and thought I knew a lot about him. This book provided me with a far better look at who he really was and how and why he thought and acted as he did. If you want better insight into the humanity of this man this is a must read.

An excellent look into the life of one of our most trreasured leaders. This is worth your time to read.

In a day when people of character are so needed but "spin doctors" are so prevalent, this book breathes hope and freshness. Lincoln, a man assaulted on every side with immeasurable challenge rises above the voices of criticism and acts based on Divine wisdom from a true heart that refused to pollute the truth with a desire to be popular and powerful. Ah, to have character-stamina like Lincoln. His brilliance is underestimated, his wisdom was not human, and the price he paid for doing what was right for American cost him the ultimate sacrifice. How rare, such a man, as Abraham Lincoln. I wept as I read, and then re-read, some of the words written from his very hand.

I am grateful for the labor of the original writer and the one who digitized this great work. Read this book. You will think differently. It will inspire, challenge, and wound you for Goodness's sake.

An incredible read, indeed.

DGH - Atlanta, GA

That is one of the unique things that you can learn about Abraham Lincoln in this book. Considering it was written in the 1800s, it was very informative and the "older" English distracted little if any from the content of the book and the description of Lincoln's character. If you want to know more about what made the man such as why he extracted a pig from the roadside mud, why he did not partake of wine with dignitaries, etc. This is the book for you. I give it four stars because the section about the Civil War was a little too drawn out and less about the character and the life of Lincoln. Additionally, pictures and photographs could've easily been included in this book, but sadly they were not.

Yes, get this book for free, and read it. You will not be disappointed.

An exceptionally informative and helpful on the whole life of Abraham. Very helpful in understanding the strength of his character and the high principles by which he was guided in his personal life and in his leadership of the Nation. There is no doubt that a man of lesser character and principle could not have ridden out the storm of the Civil War nor salvaged our nation from its demise.