Lincoln's Youth: Indiana Years, Seven to Twenty-One, 1816-1830 [Paperback]

Louis A. Warren (Author), Arnold L. Gesell (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0871950634 | ISBN-13: 978-0871950635

First published in 1959 to mark the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth, Louis A. Warren's classic study of Lincoln's formative years in Indiana tracks his growth from awkward boy to serious young man poised on the brink of a brilliant career. Here are fascinating glimpses of Lincoln's family life, the people he knew, the places he visited, his physical development, and the tragedies he suffered. Perhaps most revealing is Warren's treatmnet of Lincoln's education, both in the schools he briefly attended and in the books he read, and the influence of Thomas Lincoln in forming the character of his son.

Product Details

• Paperback: 298 pages
• Publisher: Indiana Historical Society (November 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871950634
• ISBN-13: 978-0871950635
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #879,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PERFECT FOR THE 200 YEAR LINCOLN ANNIVERSARY, November 4, 2008

By 

Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lincoln's Youth: Indiana Years, Seven to Twenty-One, 1816-1830 (Paperback)

This book on Abraham Lincoln's youth, the years spent living in Indiana, is put out by the Indiana Historical Society. That means, because of their strict integrity of publishing, the book is fact and every fact has been substantiated. This is the book to own for the anniversary year. It is filled with many lesser known stories and events about Lincoln. It tells how the family came to move from Kentucky to Indiana. Many tales of family deaths, marriages, land and wonderful moments in everyday life. It concludes with the reasons for leaving Indiana for Illinois.

Louis A. Warren is noted for his depth of research in his historical writing as well. This book includes 65 pages of notes and sources for the fan who wants to dig deeper into the interesting life of Lincoln. It includes an index. It is also illustrated with very interesting photos and maps. One page offers examples of the signatures of Abe Lincoln and 5 of his American progenitors, back to Abe's Great-great-great grandfather.

Every school library, not just Indiana libraries, should own this book in their reference.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lincoln the Indiana pioneer, August 23, 2007

By 

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

This review is from: Lincoln's Youth: Indiana Years, Seven to Twenty-One, 1816-1830 (Paperback)

For many years this was the standard account of Lincoln's passage from childhood into teenage years and the verge of adulthood. Although the parts devoted to Lincoln may be superceded by a later treatment, Warren's volume contains many details of pioneer Indiana that aren't collected together elsewhere.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect!, July 7, 2009

By 

NA Miles "VDH" (West Rising Sun, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lincoln's Youth: Indiana Years, Seven to Twenty-One, 1816-1830 (Paperback)

It's so great to read history from groups and historians that actually tell it honestly. It's no secret that this book was written in 1959, not 1969, 1979 or even here in 2009. No doubt the 200th anniversary edition would have non important, made up falsehoods about Lincoln's skin color, sexual orientation, relationships with X, Y and Z, etc. All the schlock that makes professors money these days, just not scholarly research.

This book, published during the sesquicentennial celebration of Abe's birth is remarkable. It's so well-documented, yet smooth that I just read it in two hours at the local library -- while everyone else watched Michael Jackson's funeral. (And you wonder how Obama was elected?)

As the two other reviewers noted (just two, how sad), the book is thankfully filled with many lesser known stories and events about Lincoln.

There was the time that Indians basically killed all the folks in his town, including some relatives. Would Howard Zinn or the media mention that savagery? Or the time some Mississippi blacks tried to steal his flatboat and kill Abe and his friend? Would the civil war lessons include that?

Real events, formative events, such as that trip down the Mississippi to witness the greed, debauchery and secular hedonism of New Orleans, and his comments about how awful the Big Easy would be at summer's end. (Gee, prophetic 176 years later)

It also finally puts to rest the notion that Lincoln was not religious. He clearly was and it's all there, as that effected his abhorrence of slavery while Democrats supported it.

We also learn that cliche from educators of Abe only spending one year in school is not true.

There's much more.

I urge all to read, even if none will.

So be it.

Good work, Mr. Warren. Sentient historians like you are sorely missed. We will try to pick up the slack for you.