Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Volume 2

Weik, Jesse William, 1857-1930Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.2
Word count
550K words
Chapters
55

Tags

English Originals Political and Military Leaders Historical ReappraisalPolitical TurmoilFate and FortunePresidential BiographyGroup BiographyCivil War Era

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life, Volume 2 (of 2) by Herndon et al.Author: Weik, Jesse William, 1857-1930,Language: English, Class: E456: History: America: Civil War period (1861-1865), Release Date: Jan 3, 2012

Editor's review

This is the second volume of a biography of Lincoln, compiled from materials provided by William H. Herndon, who knew Lincoln over many years, and written by Jesse William Weik. It is an early biographical text with a firsthand perspective. Its value lies not in elegant prose but in the closeness of its sources to the subject: it preserves a wealth of recollections, letters, and period detail, allowing readers to see Lincoln's growth from country lawyer to wartime president and to sense the concrete atmosphere of nineteenth-century American political life. It should be read as a documentary biography rather than a modern scholarly definitive work: the narrative carries the compiler's period standpoint and sentiment, and some anecdotes need to be checked against later research. Suitable for readers interested in Civil War history, biographies of political figures, or documentary writing; those who want a tightly structured, up-to-date modern Lincoln biography might first choose a contemporary work and then return to this book. The electronic edition is convenient for searching names and events, making it suitable for topical reading or writing reference.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Read Volume 1 first or familiarize yourself with Lincoln's early years before entering this volume's wartime and presidential years.
  2. Mark passages involving letters and memoirs while reading so they can be checked against later research.
  3. Read alongside a Civil War chronology to reduce difficulties caused by names and military developments.
  4. Use the book as a collection of source materials: read by topic, such as legal career, party politics, and wartime decisions.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55

FAQ

How is this book different from common modern Lincoln biographies? Its materials come from recollections and compilations on the Herndon side, who knew Lincoln over many years. It carries a firsthand perspective and a nineteenth-century narrative tone, with rich detail but not modern scholarly definitiveness. Modern biographies are usually more complete in textual criticism, notes, and source criticism; the two can be read in comparison.
Can I read Volume 2 without having read Volume 1? Yes, but Volume 2 continues Lincoln's middle and later years. Without knowledge of his early life and legal career, some personal relationships and party backgrounds may seem abrupt. It is advisable at least to skim Volume 1's table of contents or a brief chronology of Lincoln's early years before entering this volume.
What kind of reading is the electronic edition suitable for? The electronic edition is convenient for full-text searching of names, places, and events, and is suitable for topical skimming and writing verification. For continuous reading, proceed chapter by chapter and take brief notes to avoid losing the thread amid old-fashioned long sentences and numerous names.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Weik, Jesse William, 1857-1930 Author · American · 1857–1930

Jesse William Weik (1857–1930) was an American biographer. His main contribution was his collaboration with William H. Herndon, Abraham Lincoln's longtime law partner, on a biography of Lincoln. The works held in this collection are volumes 1 and 2 of Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life. Drawing on first-hand materials available to Herndon as Lincoln's law partner, the book recounts Lincoln's life from his early years through his political career and is regarded as one of the important early biographical texts on Lincoln. Public information about Weik's life is limited; his writing centered on organizing source materials on Lincoln's life and compiling biography. His work offers later readers a detailed reference for understanding Lincoln and his era.