With Malice Toward None : Life of Abraham Lincoln, The

Rating:
Summary: An excellent biography of an incredibly complex man.
Review: "With Malice Towards None" is a very creditable work and a fine attempt to explain the author's view of Abraham Lincoln. Oates views Lincoln as a genuinely good man, highly ambitious, self-made, and first and foremost: a politician. Like all politicians who are heads of state, Lincoln had to grapple with the issues of his day. In his day, however, the issues were unusually intractable, difficult, and complex, such that the nation was unable to solve them through established institutions. It took an actual Civil War to decide whether slavery in America must go, whether America is first and foremost a union of united States, or whether it was a Union of essentially sovereign single states. These were and are great issues, and the greatness of Lincoln is that he stood in the center of these issues, spent his entire presidency grappling with them, and ultimately, it was his unswerving leadership, not perfect but great, that ultimately led America to resolution of these issues.

Oates shows us that Lincoln was a politician. He wheedled, compromised, and was carried by great events as often as he shaped them. This does nothing to take away from the man who, along with Washington, ranks as doubtless one of our two greatest presidents. While opposing slavery, Lincoln was ready to compromise with it, at least sometimes to some extent. Oates does a good job of explaining this in a non-revisionist way that shows respect to Lincoln and to history.

Oates' writing is clear, and his research thorough. This is not a perfect book in that it is not a complete view of Lincoln. No 400 or so page book about this complicated man could achieve that. On the other hand, Oates portrays Lincoln brilliantly, and with insight, as a gifted leader and politician in an incredibly difficult time.

I would have enjoyed more discussion of some of Lincoln's more extreme actions, his bending (some would say breaking) of the Constitution, and the extremes to which he went to achieve ultimate military victory for the North. Oates does touch on this, but more would have been welcome.

An excellent book about a difficult and complex subject. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent biography of an incredibly complex man.
Review: "With Malice Towards None" is a very creditable work and a fine attempt to explain the author's view of Abraham Lincoln. Oates views Lincoln as a genuinely good man, highly ambitious, self-made, and first and foremost: a politician. Like all politicians who are heads of state, Lincoln had to grapple with the issues of his day. In his day, however, the issues were unusually intractable, difficult, and complex, such that the nation was unable to solve them through established institutions. It took an actual Civil War to decide whether slavery in America must go, whether America is first and foremost a union of united States, or whether it was a Union of essentially sovereign single states. These were and are great issues, and the greatness of Lincoln is that he stood in the center of these issues, spent his entire presidency grappling with them, and ultimately, it was his unswerving leadership, not perfect but great, that ultimately led America to resolution of these issues.

Oates shows us that Lincoln was a politician. He wheedled, compromised, and was carried by great events as often as he shaped them. This does nothing to take away from the man who, along with Washington, ranks as doubtless one of our two greatest presidents. While opposing slavery, Lincoln was ready to compromise with it, at least sometimes to some extent. Oates does a good job of explaining this in a non-revisionist way that shows respect to Lincoln and to history.

Oates' writing is clear, and his research thorough. This is not a perfect book in that it is not a complete view of Lincoln. No 400 or so page book about this complicated man could achieve that. On the other hand, Oates portrays Lincoln brilliantly, and with insight, as a gifted leader and politician in an incredibly difficult time.

I would have enjoyed more discussion of some of Lincoln's more extreme actions, his bending (some would say breaking) of the Constitution, and the extremes to which he went to achieve ultimate military victory for the North. Oates does touch on this, but more would have been welcome.

An excellent book about a difficult and complex subject. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A decent portrayal of Lincoln, but not a great one
Review: Abraham Lincoln is one of the most written-about men in history. There are scores of biographies, profiles, analyses, everything to do with this great man. Because of this, it is difficult to find a good, comprehensive work that details his life adequately and faithfully. In this book, Stephen B. Oates gives a good representation of Lincoln, giving a pretty good account of his life and not trying to raise the man to deity (as others have done). Despite this, however, there are several flaws in this book that make it only of average quality.

Oates commits what I consider to be the unpardonable sin in biography--he attempts to get inside Lincoln's head. One of the necessary qualities of a good biographer is that he or she should not try to psychoanalyze the subject, should not assume he knows what was going on inside the subject's head, and should certainly not embellish the account with a bunch of supposed conversations and feelings which are more the fabrication of the author than the feelings of the subject. Oates breaks all of these rules.

The most annoying thing about the book is that Oates will paraphrase what he thinks Lincoln said. He may give a short quotation, but then he closes the quote and proceeds to adlib what he assumes Lincoln would say, speaking in the first person as though he were the President himself. He uses the pronoun `I' in his own narrative, when he should be using `he.' If you can get over Oates pretending to speak for Lincoln himself throughout most of the book, the rest of the account is pretty decent. But I had a hard time getting past that.

For a 400 or so page biography, this book covers the subject moderately well, though not excellently. Many men, such as Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, or Admiral Farragut, are barely mentioned, as if Lincoln had nothing to do with them at all. It would have added greatly to the account to have a more detailed description of the Civil War, and about Lincoln's counterparts in the South (such as Davis). Still, this is a pretty good book, though far from definitive in any way. With the mountains of work available on this great man, there's got to be something better out there.

Rating:
Summary: A decent portrayal of Lincoln, but not a great one
Review: Abraham Lincoln is one of the most written-about men in history. There are scores of biographies, profiles, analyses, everything to do with this great man. Because of this, it is difficult to find a good, comprehensive work that details his life adequately and faithfully. In this book, Stephen B. Oates gives a good representation of Lincoln, giving a pretty good account of his life and not trying to raise the man to deity (as others have done). Despite this, however, there are several flaws in this book that make it only of average quality.

Oates commits what I consider to be the unpardonable sin in biography--he attempts to get inside Lincoln's head. One of the necessary qualities of a good biographer is that he or she should not try to psychoanalyze the subject, should not assume he knows what was going on inside the subject's head, and should certainly not embellish the account with a bunch of supposed conversations and feelings which are more the fabrication of the author than the feelings of the subject. Oates breaks all of these rules.

The most annoying thing about the book is that Oates will paraphrase what he thinks Lincoln said. He may give a short quotation, but then he closes the quote and proceeds to adlib what he assumes Lincoln would say, speaking in the first person as though he were the President himself. He uses the pronoun 'I' in his own narrative, when he should be using 'he.' If you can get over Oates pretending to speak for Lincoln himself throughout most of the book, the rest of the account is pretty decent. But I had a hard time getting past that.

For a 400 or so page biography, this book covers the subject moderately well, though not excellently. Many men, such as Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson, or Admiral Farragut, are barely mentioned, as if Lincoln had nothing to do with them at all. It would have added greatly to the account to have a more detailed description of the Civil War, and about Lincoln's counterparts in the South (such as Davis). Still, this is a pretty good book, though far from definitive in any way. With the mountains of work available on this great man, there's got to be something better out there.

Rating:
Summary: Well Researched and Insightful
Review: I am an Abraham Lincoln buff, but I have mostly read books that either focus on his life in photographs, or his position on important issues such as slavery, or military strategy. However, I was very impressed with what a comprehensive biography this is, it focuses on the complexities of his character and how the politics of a democracy initially hindered his attempts at maintaining the Union, and how he eventually mastered his fellow politicians and the divided public to become one of the greatest leaders in history. It also examines how he embodies the modern version of the American dream: a self made, self-taught workaholic, which interestingly enough was scorned upon during his lifetime as a trait of lower birth, yet the overriding theme is that our freedoms allowed such a principled, intelligent man to rise above his cicumstances to great success. It is also utterly tragic, as it examines the unraveling of his family both during his years as President, in which he sacrificed all elements of a personal life, as well as following his assasination. An enthralling read.

Rating:
Summary: One of the 3 Best 1 Volume Biographies About Lincoln
Review: I have been studying Abraham Lincoln for nearly 40 years. Many Lincoln scholars consider WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE by Stephen B. Oates one of three BEST one-volume biographies of Abraham Lincoln ever written to date. The other two are LINCOLN by David Herbert Donald and ABRAHAM LINCOLN: A BIOGRAPHY by Benjamin P. Thomas.

Rating:
Summary: One of the 3 Best 1 Volume Biographies About Lincoln
Review: I have been studying Abraham Lincoln for nearly 40 years. Many Lincoln scholars consider WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE by Stephen B. Oates one of three BEST one-volume biographies of Abraham Lincoln ever written to date. The other two are LINCOLN by David Herbert Donald and ABRAHAM LINCOLN: A BIOGRAPHY by Benjamin P. Thomas.

Rating:
Summary: Makes Lincoln Human
Review: I have read (and earlier reviewed) David Herbert Donald's biography of Lincoln and I found it to be more comprehensive than this book. But, then again, Donald's biography is well over 800 pages whereas this one is a mere 440 or so. With more brevity, Oates, nonetheless does a great job and he humanizes Lincoln as well as does Donald.

There are some shortcomings, however. For example, Oates does not delve very deeply into Lincoln's strong antipathy towards his father, nor does he go into great depth as to his strong love of his stepmother. Likewise, he does not recognize Licoln's first love for what it was, as does Donald. Rather, he treats Ann Rutledge merely as a close friend.

Both Donald and Oates do a good job in showing Lincoln to be a master politician but, with more pages, Donald is able to more fully illustrate this. But, many people don't have the patience to read a legnthy tome. Although I think that Donald's biography is the single best one of Lincoln, for a work half of that legnth, this fine biography is five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely amazing book!
Review: I sure wish I had read this book when I had to take American History in high school. This makes the civil war in general, and Abraham Lincoln in particular, come so alive. The novel format is perfect, with it's short sections and chapters. You learn history without feeling like you need to memorize dates and battlefield movements.
It brings home the point that we were very fortunate that Lincoln was our President at that time.
Strongly recommend this book.


Rating:
Summary: BEAUTIFUL PAINTING OF AN AMAZING AMERICAN
Review: I'm always amazed at the reasons given for poor reviews of histories and especially, biographies. The prevailing consensus is always that the author was trying to present an otherwise inaccurate portrayal of the subject - or at least inaccurate as they view the subject. Such is the case with Jefferson, and now, apparently Lincoln. Historians such as Oates interpret the "facts" in no different manner than the reader does - albeit the reader should (if interested in balance) read multiple sources before they condemn any one source.
Mr. Oates does an amazing job of chronicling Lincoln's humble beginnings to the Presidency. What makes this special is the emotional detail Mr. Oates does in weaving the multiple personal and professional difficulties he had - all while trying to win a war. General McClellan, assassination plots, Mary's emotional imbalance, a tempestuous cabinet, and frequent bouts of depression all make his story even more amazing.
Another reviewer mentioned that this book reads like a novel & they're right - a true accomplishment and very good place to start if want to really learn about someone who was much much more than just the 16th President.
Enjoy!