2013 – With Malice Toward None

There’s not a lot to say about With Malice Toward None by Stephen B. Oates other than “read it.” This biography of Abraham Lincoln covers his life more than his politics and policies. If you’re just starting out doing some research on this beloved President, this is a great place to start.

However, if you’re expecting detailed accounts of each decision, each policy, each major historical moment, it’s not here. Oates hits the highlights, gives some detailed accounts, but this isn’t a historians’ history book. Its style is more of a novel, making it a quick read, and quite enjoyable. Because of this, I think anyone of any age could read it and get a solid base about who Lincoln was, how much tragedy surrounded his life, and how all of it shaped the man who became our 16th President.

I hadn’t realized that one son had died before he became President; one died while he was in office; his mother died when he was very young; his supposed “true love” died; … and the other tragedies that surrounded him make it all the more astounding that he remained a good man when others would have taken the path of drinking or drugs or other harmful vices. And though only touched on in this book, you see how shrewd he was. He was honest, yes, but he wasn’t naive.

Another aspect about him that I hadn’t really latched on to was the fact that he was an incredible writer. He loved words (he also educated himself; teaching himself how to read and write, he taught himself law and math, and all of it he excelled at). He wrote all of his speeches (no speechwriters or teleprompters!) and I even read where (not sure if it was in this book or something else) that though most people say that Mark Twain was the greatest American writer, Abraham Lincoln was better. Going back and reading some of his speeches that are easily found online, I have to agree. He was brilliant with the English language.

I came away from this book with a much deeper appreciation for our 16th President: not the shrewd politician, but the man.

I shall do nothing in malice. What I deal with is too vast for malicious dealing. —Abraham Lincoln to a Louisiana Unionist, 1862