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 both as a vehicle to express complex ideas and feelings and as an instrument of persuasion and empowerment. 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.
GÇ£A fascinating new book. . . . Although Fred Kaplan never mentions Mr. Obama by name, itGÇÖs hard to read this volume without thinking of the current president . . . and this bookGÇÖs focus on the role that language and writing played in one presidentGÇÖs life promises to shed light on the role they may play in anotherGÇÖs. . . . Mr. Kaplan does a persuasive, highly perceptive job of explicating the influences that various authors had on LincolnGÇÖs thinking.GÇ¥ (Michiko Kakutani, New York Times)
Fred Kaplan is 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.
416 pages
