What are the best books on Lincoln? Where should a reader begin? After all, there are more than 15,000 books that have been written about Abraham Lincoln, which is more than any other person in human history, with the exception of Jesus Christ. No worries! The Abraham Lincoln Center for Leadership and Public Policy has a list organized by various topics that includes the best Lincoln books written by Lincoln scholars and other specialists in the fields of leadership theory, law, education, business, etc., etc. fields.
Biography
Perhaps the most well-known, one-volume account of Lincoln's life is the late historian David Herbert Donald's Lincoln (1995). Donald's book emphasizes four aspects of Lincoln's life: his ambition, his law practice, his married life, and his several electoral defeats. Donald talked about his book as part of C-SPAN's series, Booknotes in 1995 (see video).
Law
Abraham Lincoln lived most of his adult life as a practicing lawyer. It was as a lawyer that he fed his family, made his reputation, bonded with Illinois, and began his political career. Brian Dirck's Lincoln the Lawyer (2009) explores the origins of Lincoln's desire to practice law, his legal education, his partnerships with John Stuart, Stephen Logan, and William Herndon, and the maturation of his far-flung practice in the 1840s and 1850s. Dirck discussed his book as part of Hildene's (Robert and Mary Lincoln's Vermont home) Winter Lecture Series (see video).
Leadership
Education
Slavery
Presidency
Commander-in-Chief
Assassination