Review of Abraham Lincoln: A Biography by Benjamin P. Thomas
Abraham Lincoln: A Biography, by Benjamin P. Thomas, is generally considered one of the main texts about the life of Abraham Lincoln. This book chronicles the life of Lincoln from his early years spent in Illinois and nearby states, through his legal and political careers, to his assassination after the culmination of the Civil War. Throughout the book, Thomas frequently attempts to determine the veracity of the frequently reported events of Lincoln’s life, and spends considerable time divining which events occurred, and which were fabricated stories. The end result is that the reader can be relatively certain that they are viewing a clear picture of Lincoln’s entire life.
In general, it seems that there is little about Thomas’ work to criticize. His careful examination of the evidence allows him to reveal where other authors have misrepresented or wholly fabricated tales of Lincoln’s early life. Interestingly enough, Lincoln’s presidency is not given an inordinate amount of space or attention, but receives space appropriate to its duration, relative to the other events of his life. Another highlight of this work is Thomas’ insight into Lincoln’s motives, as well as the motives of those who surrounded him. The brief sketches he presents of Lincoln’s Cabinet members and some of the Civil War generals allow for a fascinating comparison with the actions and words of the main subject of his study. Additionally, Thomas’ skillful maintenance of Lincoln as the central figure of the Civil War, which is only appropriate in a biography of Lincoln, provides an interesting contrast between this book and most other books written about the Civil War era, which are largely concerned with the action in the field, and only briefly mention the politics of the situation from the official standpoint. His writing style is fluid and easy to comprehend, making this book an excellent choice for both the scholar and the non-scholar.
The only real difficulty which I had with this book was the placement of Chapter 19, “Profile of a President.” As the second to last chapter in a book which was otherwise exclusively chronological, this chapter impeded the flow of the narrative. It seems that it may have been better placed as a retrospective chapter, with which Thomas could have ended the book. However, to have structured the book in this alternate manner might have lessened the impact of the final chapter, particularly the brief section on Lincoln’s assassination. Another potential strategy for dealing with this chapter would have been to place it nearer to the middle of the book, shortly after Lincoln had assumed the presidency. While the chronological narrative would be disrupted to some extent, the information provided in this chapter could provide the reader with additional foresight into Lincoln’s actions, rather than providing seemingly retrospective information on what he had chosen to do throughout his presidency.
Other readers might find it problematic that Thomas is clearly a supporter of Lincoln. Although his bias is not so strong that he systematically denounces anyone who spoke ill of Lincoln, it is clear that Thomas has a great deal of admiration for Lincoln, and this obviously colors his writing. Someone less enamored of Lincoln would clearly not have written this book in the same manner. Overall, however, the clarity and scholarly value of this book override any biases or other shortcomings of the book. It emerges as an outstanding examination of the life of a man who is considered by many to be the greatest of our presidents.
