Lincoln, Fred Kaplan
Lincoln, Fred Kaplan
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Lincoln
The Biography of a Writer

Author: Fred Kaplan

Narrator: Dan John Miller

Unabridged: 21 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Published: 11/01/2008

Synopsis

For Abraham Lincoln, whether he was composing love letters, speeches, or legal arguments, words mattered. In Lincoln, acclaimed biographer Fred Kaplan explores the life of America’s sixteenth president through his use of language as a vehicle both to express complex ideas and feelings and as an instrument of persuasion and empowerment. Like the other great canonical writers of American literature – a status he is gradually attaining – Lincoln had a literary career that is inseparable from his life story. An admirer and avid reader of Burns, Byron, Shakespeare, and the Old Testament, Lincoln was the most literary of our presidents. His views on love, liberty, and human nature were shaped by his reading and knowledge of literature. Since Lincoln, no president has written his own words and addressed his audience with equal and enduring effectiveness. Kaplan focuses on the elements that shaped Lincoln’s mental and imaginative world; how his writings molded his identity, relationships, and career; and how they simultaneously generated both the distinctive political figure he became and the public discourse of the nation. This unique account of Lincoln’s life and career highlights the shortcomings of the modern presidency, reminding us, through Lincoln’s legacy and appreciation for language, that the careful and honest use of words is a necessity for successful democracy. Illuminating and engrossing, Lincoln brilliantly chronicles Abraham Lincoln’s genius with language.

About Fred Kaplan

Fred Kaplan is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of several biographies including The Singular Mark Twain, Gore Vidal, Henry James, The Imagination of Genius, Charles Dickens and Thomas Carlyle, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Boothbay, Maine.

Reviews

Goodreads review by ✨Bean's

This book has a lot of information. Almost to the point, I would say, of having way too much information. The author seems to repeat himself several times and the quotes that he cites seem to do the same. The chapters are extremely long as well. There are only 8 chapters in this book. However, all in......more

Goodreads review by Ryan

An exploration of the effects of being articulate, well-spoken and obsessed with learning is especially relevant after watching Obama use those three traits to take the presidency. It's the author's point that Lincoln's log cabin story has obscured how impressive a writer and speaker he really was.......more

Goodreads review by Dan

I'm glad I picked this book up as I'm interested in learning more about Lincoln outside of his extremely well documented presidency. Learning more about his self-education and what writers deeply influenced him, particularly to the point where he would frequently quote them in both formal and inform......more

Goodreads review by Joseph

A succinct and persuasive look at our greatest president's literary history. The author narrates the influence great writing and writers had on Abraham Lincoln in his life and times. Even though there were a couple of typos, the text flowed smoothly and the pace was brisk. I would recommend this boo......more

Goodreads review by Dan

A hybrid book that never quite decides whether to be a biography laced with lit crit or a literary study in biographical context. Kaplan traces a few major influences -- the Bible, Shakespeare, Burns, Byron, and Emerson -- through Lincoln's life & writing; he finds some interesting echoes but rides......more

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