Abraham Lincoln, Stephen B. Oates
Abraham Lincoln, Stephen B. Oates
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Abraham Lincoln
The Man behind the Myths

Author: Stephen B. Oates

Narrator: Milton Bagby

Unabridged: 7 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/13/2021


Synopsis

An essential book for any student of Lincoln and American history, Abraham Lincoln: The Man behind the Myths is acclaimed Lincoln biographer Stephen B. Oates’s unique exploration of America’s sixteenth president in reality and memory.In this multifaceted portrait, Oates, “the most popular historical interpreter of Lincoln” (Gabor S. Boritt, New York Times Book Review), exposes the human side of the great and tragic president—including his depression, his difficulties with love, and his troubled and troubling attitudes about slavery—while also confronting the many legends that have arisen around “Honest Abe.” Oates throughout raises timely questions about what the Lincoln mythos reveals about the American people.

About Stephen B. Oates

Stephen B. Oates is the author of sixteen books, including The Approaching Fury; With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln, and Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King Jr. He has won the Christopher Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Book Award for his work. Oates was a consultant and commentator in Ken Burns’s Civil War series on PBS, and is a recipient of the Nevins-Freeman Award of the Chicago Civil War Round Table for lifetime achievement in the field of Civil War studies. He is a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

About Milton Bagby

Milton Bagby, winner of the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration in 2017 and an AudioFile Earphones Award, has done radio and TV commercials for over twenty years. In 2011 he began recording voice-overs for audiobooks and to date has recorded over forty books for Audible, ACX, Books in Motion, and Radio Archives, among others.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jacky on June 30, 2016

The first four parts of the book were pretty good, but the last part of the book switches from historical storytelling to debunking various Lincoln assassination plots and recounting the final years of Mary Todd Lincoln. It's an odd choice and a super depressing one. It's like drinking a nice cup of......more

Goodreads review by Nick on November 30, 2017

One thing that I like about this author is that he has a "take no prisoners" attitude about people who make things up and try to sell the results as history. Thus, he takes on everyone from Herndon to the folks who did bad Lincoln conspiracy movies. The only real weakness in the book is that the part......more

Goodreads review by ErnstG on April 23, 2021

This isn't a short biography but more valuable -- it is a succinct summary of the major elements of a biography. Who better to write it than one of his most acclaimed biographers? The fourth part of the book debunks some of the wilder conspiracy stories. It was the only part of the book that I though......more

Goodreads review by Tom on September 19, 2021

I found this book to be more informative and interesting than some of the Lincoln biographies I've read (or tried to read) because Oates dispenses with all the practical necessities of a full biography (see his "With Malice Toward None" for that) and focuses on revealing the Lincoln that myths and s......more

Goodreads review by Caryn on July 24, 2018

Uncommonly lyrical writing for biography-maybe because it goes beyond the typical timeline to examine something I've often pondered-is that Lincoln we've read about the real man, or some sort of construct created out of our own need for a father figure/hero? If he is a myth, who guided and guarded h......more


Quotes

“The standard one-volume biography of Lincoln.” Washington Post

“There is no better introduction to current thinking about Lincoln and his place in history.”  Newsday

“Here, in these pages, Lincoln is still alive.”  Los Angeles Times

“Oates re-creates the life and world of Abraham Lincoln with the skill of a master painter. He succeeds in portraying both the facts and myths of history as essential to our understanding it.”  Christian Science Monitor

“A powerful book.” Richmond Times-Dispatch

“There is a piece of Lincoln in us all. This book can help us find it.” William C. Davis, award–winning historian