In Their Own Words: Abraham Lincoln

Rating:
Summary: Perfect blend of historical and contemporary
Review: "More books have been written about Lincoln than any other American," says Sullivan in his biography of our sixteenth President. Not all of them are well done - but this one is excellent and deserves a place on the shelf next to Freedman's Caldecott award-wining Lincoln: A Photobiography (Houghton Mifflin, 1987). Sullivan defines primary and secondary sources, then describes the life and times of Lincoln with a liberal sprinkling of quotes from the President and those who knew him. Excerpts from Lincoln's speeches, letters, and other writings are included, explained, and set into context. The Gettysburg address is reproduced in its brief but effective entirety. The book also gives relates the major events of the Civil War.
The writing is simple and uncluttered, and the oversized text and well-spaced lines make for easy reading. Photos and illustrations add to the narrative without distracting. Chapters are tight and concise, and the design (a mix of contemporary borders with Lincoln's handwriting gracing new chapters) is the perfect blend of old and new.
The book meets the usual 100 page requirement for biographies for middle school reports; teachers who may be turned off by the large print and compact size will appreciate the attention to detail as well as the scholarly chronology, bibliography, further reading, photo credits, and index. Pair this fine example of citing sources, acknowledging other points of view and relaying research from primary sources with Holzer's Abraham Lincoln the Writer (Boyds Mill Press 2000).

Rating:
Summary: Perfect blend of historical and contemporary
Review: "More books have been written about Lincoln than any other American," says Sullivan in his biography of our sixteenth President. Not all of them are well done - but this one is excellent and deserves a place on the shelf next to Freedman's Caldecott award-wining Lincoln: A Photobiography (Houghton Mifflin, 1987). Sullivan defines primary and secondary sources, then describes the life and times of Lincoln with a liberal sprinkling of quotes from the President and those who knew him. Excerpts from Lincoln's speeches, letters, and other writings are included, explained, and set into context. The Gettysburg address is reproduced in its brief but effective entirety. The book also gives relates the major events of the Civil War.
The writing is simple and uncluttered, and the oversized text and well-spaced lines make for easy reading. Photos and illustrations add to the narrative without distracting. Chapters are tight and concise, and the design (a mix of contemporary borders with Lincoln's handwriting gracing new chapters) is the perfect blend of old and new.
The book meets the usual 100 page requirement for biographies for middle school reports; teachers who may be turned off by the large print and compact size will appreciate the attention to detail as well as the scholarly chronology, bibliography, further reading, photo credits, and index. Pair this fine example of citing sources, acknowledging other points of view and relaying research from primary sources with Holzer's Abraham Lincoln the Writer (Boyds Mill Press 2000).

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the finest juvenile biography of Lincoln available
Review: George Sullivan's biography of "Abraham Lincoln" for the "In Their Own Words" series is one of the finest juvenile books on Lincoln I have read, and I have been reading a lot of them this month. Of course, as a rhetorician I would have liked to have seen even more excerpts from Lincoln's speeches: the "House Divided," "Cooper Union," and the 2nd Inaugural Address are basically boiled down to a choice sentence or two. Although "The Gettysburg Address" is presented in its ten sentence entirety. There is no mention of Lincoln's 1st Inaugural.. Still, Sullivan does make ample opportunity to use Lincoln's own words, culled from letters or public conversations, at every opportunity. He also does a nice job talking about the motivations of the younger Lincoln as he struggled to make something of his life.

The details of the Civil War are toned down to a reasonable level, since both the constant parade of generals and the unrelenting slaughter can be a bit overwhelming. If anything is given short shrift in this biography it is Lincoln's love life. Anne Rutledge receives a couple of sentences and there is nothing about his complicated courtship with Mary Todd before their marriage. Nor is there anything about her tragic fate following Lincoln's assassination. However, these seem to me quite reasonable omissions in a book aimed at this particular age group. After all, it is not like they will never find a more comprehensive biography of Lincoln down the road.

I have seen several juvenille biographies of Lincoln that are not half as good and cost three or four times as much as this fine effort. There are a couple dozen illustrations, only a handful of which are not from the 19th-century, which is pretty impressive, given the competition. George Sullivan has written a book that does not water down its subject matter for the younger audience. I find the reliance on Lincoln's own words to be particularly commendable. For upper elementary school students this would be the first volume I would recommend they read about Lincoln.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the finest juvenile biography of Lincoln available
Review: George Sullivan's biography of "Abraham Lincoln" for the "In Their Own Words" series is one of the finest juvenile books on Lincoln I have read, and I have been reading a lot of them this month. Of course, as a rhetorician I would have liked to have seen even more excerpts from Lincoln's speeches: the "House Divided," "Cooper Union," and the 2nd Inaugural Address are basically boiled down to a choice sentence or two. Although "The Gettysburg Address" is presented in its ten sentence entirety. There is no mention of Lincoln's 1st Inaugural.. Still, Sullivan does make ample opportunity to use Lincoln's own words, culled from letters or public conversations, at every opportunity. He also does a nice job talking about the motivations of the younger Lincoln as he struggled to make something of his life.

The details of the Civil War are toned down to a reasonable level, since both the constant parade of generals and the unrelenting slaughter can be a bit overwhelming. If anything is given short shrift in this biography it is Lincoln's love life. Anne Rutledge receives a couple of sentences and there is nothing about his complicated courtship with Mary Todd before their marriage. Nor is there anything about her tragic fate following Lincoln's assassination. However, these seem to me quite reasonable omissions in a book aimed at this particular age group. After all, it is not like they will never find a more comprehensive biography of Lincoln down the road.

I have seen several juvenille biographies of Lincoln that are not half as good and cost three or four times as much as this fine effort. There are a couple dozen illustrations, only a handful of which are not from the 19th-century, which is pretty impressive, given the competition. George Sullivan has written a book that does not water down its subject matter for the younger audience. I find the reliance on Lincoln's own words to be particularly commendable. For upper elementary school students this would be the first volume I would recommend they read about Lincoln.