973.7L63 ASq5b cop. 2 Squire, Dick The "Best" Lincoln Biography LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY presented by PRATT r.OTiTiF. CTTON Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.archive.org/details/bestlincolnbiogrOOsqui The "Best" Lincoln Biography Results of a Survey DICK SQUIRE The Lincoln Press . . . Bedford, Ohio 1955 The "Best" Lincoln Biography Results of a Survey DICK SQUIRE The Lincoln Press . . . Bedford, Ohio 1955 COPYRIGHT, 1955 BY RICHARD J. SQUIRE Printed in an edition of 500 copies. THE LINCOLN PRESS * 451 BROADWAY * BEDFORD, OHIO \ fiSaSi Llncd^ 0OfW Since March 1953 a 'Lincolniana' column has appeared with more or less regularity under the writer's by-line in the monthly Amateur Book Collector. In January 1954 a thin pamphlet was issued containing reprints of two of these col- umns. The present pamphlet— a little thinner —presents two more columns, being the ann- ouncement and the results of a survey which was conducted to determine what is considered to be the best one-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln. A good cross-section of Lincoln enthusiasts re- sponded to the request for opinions, and included many of the best known Lincoln authorities and a fair number of serious but lesser known coll- ectors. The fact that Benjamin Thomas' volume was the leading vote getter will come as no sur- prise to most readers. The system of page numbering used in this series of pamphlets needs explaining. The pages in the 1954 pamphlet mentioned above were numbered from 3 to 15, and are continued in this pamphlet. Future similar publications will follow in sequence with the same ingenious, confusing system. <21 LINCOLNIANA Number 17 By DICK SQUIRE THE "BEST" ONE- VOLUME LINCOLN WHAT is the best one-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln? There can be no definite answer to such a question, na- turally, since it is purely a matter of opin- ion, and there may even be a wide diver- gence of views as to just what is meant by "Best." Recognizing the hazards of the venture, this column is going to attempt to collect the opinions of Lincolnians and other interested readers, and find out what volume is considered to be the best. You are invited to send in your first, second, and third choice of what, in your opinion, are the three best one-volume biographies of Lincoln. The votes will be tabulated, evaluating three points for each first choice, two points for each second, and one for each third. The results will be announced in a future issue of Amateur Book Collector. Send your ballot either directly to the writer or in care of the editor. For those who have an aversion to writing letters, a scribbled post card will do. To encourage voting, and to commem- orate the event, the results will be re- printed in a pamphlet of very limited edi- tion, if a sufficient number of readers par- ticipate. The following is a selective list, but by no means an exhaustive list, of books that are likely to be considered. Only those biographies which cover Lincoln's entire life are eligible, and only those which have appeared within the covers of a single volume. Paul M. Angle, editor, The Lincoln Reader, 1947. A composite biography, made up of selections of 65 writers; this is one of the most interesting and readable of all Lincoln biographies. Recently re- printed in a Pocket Books edition. Isaac N. Arnold. The Life of Abraham Lincoln, i885. An impersonal biography, though written by a close personal friend of Lincoln, with a good round-up of Lin- coln's character. William E. Barton. The Life of Abra- ham Lincoln, two volumes, 1925, also in one volume. A long, rather pompous biog- raphy, full of detail, but valuable for pre- viously unworked material. Lord Charnwood. Abraham Lincoln, 1916. One of the all-time best sellers of Lincoln books. Written by an Englishman for British readers, it reached its greatest popularity in America. Norman Hapgood. Abraham Lincoln, The Man of the People, 1899. A conven- tional biography. William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Weik. Herndon's Lincoln, three volumes 1889, one volume 1930. Highly controversial when published, it is now valuable main- ly for its vivid personal descriptions of Lincoln. J. G. Holland. The Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1866. The best, most inclusive of the early biographies. Stefan Lorant. The Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1954. The most recent Lincoln biography, it is mainly a book of illustra- tions adorned with a brief but adequate text. John G. Nicolay. A Short Life of Abra- ham Lincoln, 1902. A cold and concise recital of facts about Lincoln's life and his administration, written by one of his famous private secretaries. Alonzo Rothschild. Lincoln, Master of Men, 1906. Important in its day, it is still well worth reading. Carl Sandburg. Abraham Lincoln, six volumes, 1926 and 1939; one volume, 1954. A national best-seller. Nathaniel Wright Stephenson. Lincoln, 1922. A skillfully written, but at times unconvincing, biography that enjoyed a brilliant though brief term of popularity. Ida M. Tarbell. The Life of Abraham Lincoln, two volumes, 1900; one volume, 1920. An idealistic eulogy, now completely outdated. Benjamin P. Thomas. Abraham Lincoln, 1952. Perhaps the most reliable of all Lincoln biographies, incorporating the findings and interpretations of modern Lincolnian scholarship. Reprinted from Amateur Book Collector for March 1955 LINCOLNIANA Number 21 By Dick Squire THOMAS IS TOPS The best one-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln, according to the recent survey made among Lincoln students throughout the United States, is Benjamin P. Thomas' Abraham Lincoln, published in 1952. The survey, conducted by this writer with the cooperation of The Amateur Book Collector, brought responses from many of the leading names in the Lincoln fraternity, and should definitely settle the perpetual debate over which is "best" — at least until a new candidate appears. It is very unlikely that a new production will be forthcoming for many years which would seriously challenge the two top books. The clear-cut second choice was Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years, published in one volume in 1954. The third selection was Lord Charnwood's Lincoln, published in England in 1916. Points 1. Thomas 61 2. Sandburg 45 3. Charnwood 16 4. Angle 6 5. Herndon & Weik 5 It is significant that practically all the voting was confined to five titles. Six other books received from one to three votes each, and are not listed in the tabulation. Thomas' book was the overwhelming first place choice, but a number of the cards carried notations indicating that, though Thomas was the voter's first selection, the Sandburg volume was relegated to second place only after a difficult debate in the voter's mind. The votes for Herndon's Lincoln came from recognized authorities in the field, who voted for the book fully aware of its many deficiencies, but recognize Herndon's uncommon ability for simple but vivid de- scription. All the one-volume editions of Herndon carry the preface and notes by Paul M. Angle, which make it a much more trustworthy piece than the earlier two-and three-volume editions. Any one of the first four books would provide a reader who had little previous knowledge of Lincoln an adequate and accurate history of the life of Lincoln, from birth to death. Each is excellent in the presentation and interpretation of Lin- coln's personality and personal traits. Each is eulogistic while being realistic. Each is complete in itself. But not so with Herndon. No one should read Herndon who is not already familiar with a good Lincoln biography (preferably Thomas or Sandburg — or Charnwood or Angle). An unbalanced conception of Abraham Lincoln is planted in anyone who depends exclusively upon Herndon's Lincoln for his knowledge. In the category of non-essential infor- mation is the report of how this writer voted. I made out my ballot before receiv- ing any returns, to avoid the possibility of being swayed by others judgment. I was in line with the majority in the first two choices, naming Thomas first and Sand- burg second. However, in the third choice I strayed from the pack, selecting Paul M. Angle's The Lincoln Reader. While I have no quarrel at all with those who chose Charnwood, fully aware of the literary and historical merits of the British pro- duction, I believe that The Lincoln Reader is about the most absorbing of all Lincoln biographies, owing its charm to Angle's skillful selecting of passages from 65 out- standing authors of the past century. Perhaps many consider it an anthology rather than a biography. Reprinted from Amateur Book Collector for November 1955 ... a sable^skrouded funeral car look kirn, along ike same winding way. Inal he had followed on his journey. lo ^J/P asnmglon, back lo ike prairie soil from wkick ke came, wkile a nalion sorrowed, a <=J^>incoln legend grew tkrougkoul ike land. — •Benjamin P. Tnomas in Abraham Lincoln^ Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1952 Q4 ni Hue wijlil- came uilrh yrza\ quieh fiwJ there tt?a^ r#sh Che prairie years, Hie war yews, were over. — Carl iSandburg in Abraham Lincoln; Harcourt, Brace & Co. 1939 and 1954 25 3 The mourning ol a nation, voiced to later times by some ol trie best lines ol more than one ol its poets, ana deeper and more prevailing lor the lack ol comprehension which some had shown him belore, lollowed his body in its slow prog- ress ... to opringiield, . . . where ... it was laid to rest. ■ — Lord Charnwood in Abraham Lincoln Henry xlolt and Co. 1916 q6 §? The two "Lincolniana" columns from the Amateur Book Collector have been reproduced in facsimile by photo offset from clippings taken from the pages of that periodical. The rest of the pamphlet was printed from hand set foundry type in a random variety of type faces. d-s Bedford, Ohio December, 1955 27 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 973.7L63ASQ5B C002 THE BEST LINCOLN BIOGRAPHY: RESULTS OF A 3 0112 031781518