The Lincoln collector, confronted with approximately 10,000 books and pamphlets relating to Abraham Lincoln, must wonder if he has tackled too vast a subject. No other historical personage, excepting Napoleon, has been studied and written about as much as our 16th President. And the list of Lincoln publications continues to grow at a steady pace.

We have always felt the collector should have an attainable goal; that is, a selective list of books which would offer what is considered to be the most authoritative and best written works on the subject. But the myriad of choices presents a profound problem for serious readers and collectors. Where does one begin assembling a basic Lincoln library? To address this problem, we offer the following list of 154 titles pertaining to Lincoln 's life and times. [For those who ask, we chose 156 because that is what number the essential list came to.]

We don't expect everyone to agree with our choices, but this list does represent the consensus of leading authorities in the field of Lincoln scholarship. But we accept responsibility for the final choice. This list has not been prepared in catalogue form. Therefore, we simply list each title, indicating the major editions for both scholarship and collecting. We list the first trade edition only if there are no major additions in subsequent (if any) editions. If there is a reprint with added material, or a limited edition of note, we will list other significant editions after the first as (b), (c), etc.

One can certainly collect well beyond this list, for there are many significant and collectible printed works that would add to any Lincoln library. These specialized categories (e.g. the assassination, his youth or legal practice, bibliographies, campaign literature, etc.) each would have their own additional "essential" titles.

WE SUGGEST YOU USE THIS AS A CHECKLIST AND ADVISE US WHICH BOOKS YOU SEEK.

For a downloadable, printable version of this list, Click HERE
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THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN QUARTERLY. Volume I, March 1940, through Volume VIII, December 1952. 52 issues; wraps. A complete run of this informative publication from the Abraham Lincoln Association. Superb essays, interpretive in nature; mostly original articles by the major Lincoln contributors --- Randall, Thomas, Angle, Pratt, et al. A Lincoln-related frontispiece was a regular feature.		Angle, Paul M. HERE I HAVE LIVED: A HISTORY OF LINCOLN’S SPRINGFIELD, 1821 – 1865. Springfield: 1935. 313p., ft., illus., fold. map. [B] Chicago and New Salem: 1971. New Introduction by the author. A history of Springfield to the end of the Civil War, emphasizing Lincoln’s connections with the city, by the one-time Librarian of the Illinois State Historical Society.		Angle, Paul M., with Case, Richard G., eds. A PORTRAIT OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN LETTERS BY HIS OLDEST SON. Chicago:  1968.  92p., ft.  This valuable source contains over eighty letters written between 1903 and 1926 in which Robert Todd Lincoln commented about his father’s life.
Baber, Adin. THE DESTINED MOTHER OF A PRESIDENT.  Kansas, IL:  1963.  174p., tipped in ft.  A genealogical study of the Hanks family.		Baker, Jean. MARY TODD LINCOLN:  A BIOGRAPHY. New York:  1987.  429p., illus.  The standard portrait of Mary Lincoln.		Ballard, Colin R.  THE MILITARY GENIUS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.   New York: 1926.  246p., ft., illus.  [B] Cleveland and New York:  1952.  New Preface by Fletcher Pratt. Intended as a rebuttal to the notion that Lincoln was a bumbling armchair general who needlessly interfered with his field commanders, Ballard’s view, that Lincoln was an excellent though unconventional strategist and the first modern commander in chief, has become widely accepted.
Baringer, William E.  A HOUSE DIVIDING: LINCOLN AS PRESIDENT ELECT. Springfield: 1945.  356p., ft. An excellent study of Lincoln during the secession winter of 1860-61.		Baringer, William E. LINCOLN’S RISE TO POWER. Boston: 1937. 373p., ft., illus. A fine account of Lincoln’s strategy that, within two years, turned him from a defeated senatorial candidate into the successful Republican candidate for President.		Baringer, William E. LINCOLN'S VANDALIA: A PIONEER PORTRAIT. New Brunswick: 1949. 141p., illus. Lincoln passed his freshman course in politics in this lively frontier capital. Here started his rivalry with Stephen A. Douglas, as well as the friendships that would one day carry him to the White House.
Barton, William E. THE LINEAGE OF LINCOLN. Indianapolis: 1929. 419p., illus. Detailed genealogical research on the Lincoln and Hanks families.		Barton, William E. PATERNITY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN: WAS HE THE SON OF THOMAS LINCOLN? New York: 1920. 414p. An essay on the chastity of Nancy Hanks. When many popular scholars developed what Barton felt were unsatisfactory refutations of the rumors, he took on the subject himself.		Bates, David H. LINCOLN IN THE TELEGRAPH OFFICE. New York: 1907. 432p., ft. Personal recollections and dispatches of a War Department telegraph office manager and a cipher operator, 1861-1866.
Beale, Howard K., ed. THE DIARY OF EDWARD BATES, 1859 – 1866. Washington: 1933. 685p. The diary of Lincoln's Attorney General, a southern moderate and unionist. documents life and politics in St. Louis during the secession crisis, Washington in wartime, legal and administrative issues, and his evaluation of Lincoln.		Bernard, Kenneth A. LINCOLN AND THE MUSIC OF THE CIVIL WAR. Caldwell, ID: 1966. 333p., ft., illus. Excellent work on the importance of patriotic music during the Civil War.		Beveridge, Albert J. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 1809-1858. Boston: 1928. 2 vols. (607p.; 741), fts. One of the classic Lincoln biographies. Though older, still one of the finest studies on Lincoln's early life. Beveridge died before finishing.
Boritt, Gabor S. LINCOLN AND THE ECONOMICS OF THE AMERICAN DREAM. Memphis: 1978. 420p., illus. Lincoln's economic concerns and observations long preceded the political issues of slavery and secession. These ideas helped him not only face his political trials but create a clearer vision of the American Dream.		Boritt, Gabor S., ed. THE HISTORIAN'S LINCOLN: PSEUDOHISTORY, PSYCHOHISTORY, AND HISTORY. Urbana: 1988. 423p., illus., ports.; THE HISTORIAN'S LINCOLN: REBUTTALS, WHAT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS WOULD NOT PRINT. Gettysburg: 1988. Wraps, 43p., erratum sheet. Numerous writers, among them Current, Fehrenbacher, McPherson and Oates, defend and denounce various images of Lincoln and views of his biographers, focusing on the fundamental issue of whether Lincoln's ultimate commitment was to union or liberty.		Borreson, Ralph. WHEN LINCOLN DIED. New York: 1965. 231p., ft., illus. The assassination and aftermath as told in quoted writings by eyewitnesses and observations of the people of the day. Richly illustrated; elegantly edited.
Braden, Waldo W. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, PUBLIC SPEAKER. Baton Rouge: 1988. 119p. An analysis of Lincoln's rhetorical style argues persuasively that he was a gifted, underrated orator with a style based on simplicity, common sense and good moral character. Excellent study of Lincoln's development as a campaigner and speaker.		Braden, Waldo W., ed. BUILDING THE MYTH: SELECTED SPEECHES MEMORIALIZING ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Urbana and Chicago: 1990. 259p. A compilation of 23 speeches that illuminate the rhetorical dimension of the Lincoln myth; includes orations by Emerson, T. Roosevelt, Cuomo, Taft, Frederick Douglass, Garfield, and Booker T. Washington.		Brooks, Noah. WASHINGTON IN LINCOLN'S TIME. [A] New York: 1895. 328p. [B] MR. LINCOLN'S WASHINGTON: THE CIVIL WAR DISPATCHES OF NOAH BROOKS. Staudenraus, P.J., ed. South Brunswick, NJ: 1967. 481p Excellent insights on the time and place.
(Browning, Orville H.) Pease, Theodore, & Randall, James, ed. THE DIARY OF ORVILLE HICKMAN BROWNING: 1850-1881. Springfield: 1925. 2 volumes (700p.; 698p Thirty-one years in the life of this Illinois senator, cabinet member, and political associate and personal friend of Lincoln.		Bruce, Robert. LINCOLN AND THE TOOLS OF WAR. Indianapolis and New York: 1956. 368p., ft., illus. A fine treatment of the Union development of technology.		Bryan, George S. THE GREAT AMERICAN MYTH. [A] New York: 1940. 436p., illus. [B] Chicago: 1990. 2nd ed., with new Introduction by William Hanchett. The classic interpretation of Lincoln's assassination as a simple conspiracy, carried out by John Wilkes Booth acting on his own and dying in the Garret barn. Noted authority William Hanchett provides an insightful essay, viewing the assassination through the eyes of Lincoln's biographers since 1865.
Bunker, Gary L. FROM RAIL-SPLITER TO ICON: LINCOLN'S IMAGE IN ILLUSTRATED PERIODICALS, 1860-1865. Kent & London: 2001. 387p., illus. Editorial, news, poetic, and satirical content from contemporary periodicals is artfully woven into the narrative of a copiously illustrated history of the development of Lincoln's public profile.		Burlingame, Michael, ed. AN ORAL HISTORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN: JOHN G. NICOLAY'S INTERVIEWS AND ESSAYS. Carbondale: 1996. 167p. With fellow secretary John Hay, Nicolay spent the years from 1872 to 1890 writing a monumental ten-volume biography of Lincoln. In preparation for this task, Nicolay interviewed men who had known Lincoln both during his years in Springfield and when he became President; among them Orville H. Browning, John Todd Stuart, Stephen T. Logan, Ward H. Lamon, James Speed, and Robert Todd Lincoln. These 39 interviews are supplemented by two previously unpublished essays by Nicolay.		Burlingame, Michael, and Ettlinger, John R. Turner, eds. INSIDE LINCOLN'S WHITE HOUSE: THE COMPLETE CIVIL WAR DIARY OF JOHN HAY. Carbondale: 1997. 393p. Justly deemed the most intimate record we will ever have of Abraham Lincoln in the White House, this is, according to the editors “one of the richest deposits of high-grade ore for the smelters of Lincoln biographers and Civil War historians.” This authoritative and unedited edition of Lincoln's secretary's finely written diary includes a body of notes providing a critical apparatus to the diary, identifying historical events and persons.
Carman, Harry J., & Luthin, Reinhard, H LINCOLN AND THE PATRONAGE. New York: 1943. 375p., ft., illus. The standard work on an important aspect of Lincoln's career.		Carpenter, Francis B. SIX MONTHS AT THE WHITE HOUSE WITH ABRAHAM LINCOLN. THE STORY OF A PICTURE. New York: 1866. 359p The valuable recollections by the painter of the famous scene of Lincoln and his cabinet considering the Emancipation Proclamation.		Carwardine, Richard J. LINCOLN. [A] London: 2003. 352p. [B] LINCOLN: A LIFE OF PURPOSE AND POWER. New York: 2006. 1st American ed., 394p., illus. From across the Atlantic comes a political biography like no other, examining Lincoln both as a rising politician and as president, and focusing on the sources of his authority and achievement, both moral and pragmatic. It reveals his political talents and serious moral purpose but shows, too, how in pursuing office he depended on public opinion and the machinery of party. As war-leader, he saw the limits as well as the possibilities of power, and looked beyond the government to other engines of support.
Chamlee, Roy Z. LINCOLN'S ASSASSINS: A COMPLETE ACCOUNT OF THEIR CAPTURE, TRIAL, AND PUNISHMENT. Jefferson, NC: 1990. 622p., illus., maps. Extensively researched work, digging deep into War Department files, pretrial and trial testimony, newspaper accounts and manuscripts.		Charnwood, Lord (G.R.B.) ABRAHAM LINCOLN. [A] London: 1916. 479p., ft., fold. map. [B] Lanham, MD: 1996. 347p. Introduction by Peter W. Schramm. A balanced and thorough one-volume biography, by the English nobleman with the abiding respect for Lincoln's statesmanship. Still a fine read and good history.		Cox, LaWanda. LINCOLN AND BLACK FREEDOM: A STUDY IN PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP. Columbia: 1981. 254p. This remains the latest and best scholarship on Lincoln's personal and political views on race; she concludes that Lincoln and Republican radicals “shared an identity of purpose, if not of rhetoric and tactic, in seeking basic rights, citizenship, and political participation for former slaves.”
Cuomo, Mario M., and Holzer, Harold, eds LINCOLN ON DEMOCRACY. New York: 1990. 416p., ft., illus. One of the greatest writers among American presidents, here, collected for the first rime, are Abraham Lincoln's memorable expressions on those subjects closest to his political soul: equality, freedom, and self-determination. Includes essays by Gabor S. Boritt, James M. McPherson, Mark E. Neely, Jr., and others.		Current, Richard N. THE LINCOLN NOBODY KNOWS. New York: 1958. 314p. A collection of essays on controversial episodes from each period of Lincoln's life, by one of his abler biographers.		Dirck, Brian R. ed. LINCOLN EMANCIPATED: THE PRESIDENT AND THE POLITICS OF RACE Dekalb: 2007. 203p. In this volume, seven historians attempt to answer critical questions on Lincoln's views on race and if he truly deserves his fame as the "Great Emancipator." With a thought-provoking forward by Allen Guelzo.
Dirck. Brian R. LINCOLN THE LAWYER Urbana: 2007. 208p. Abraham Lincoln lived most of his adult life as a practicing lawyer. this book illustrates that these were the very skills Lincoln used so deftly to hold a crumbling nation together during his presidency.		Donald, David H. LINCOLN. New York: 1996. 714p., illus., maps. “A grand work --- the Lincoln biography for this generation.” --- Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.		Donald, David H. LINCOLN RECONSIDERED: ESSAYS ON THE CIVIL WAR ERA. [A] New York: 1956. 200p. [B] Revised ed. New York: 2001. 208p. The author addresses basic issues relating to Lincoln and the Civil War.
Donald, David H. LINCOLN’S HERNDON. New York: 1948. 392p., illus. A fine biography of Lincoln’s law partner, biographer, and friend.		Donald, David H. “WE ARE LINCOLN MEN”. New York: 2003. 288p., illus. Friendships never came easy for a man as private and as mysterious as Abraham Lincoln. This highly original book by a great historian and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize offers an enlightening way of looking at Lincoln by observing how he dealt with his friends and close associates, revealing much about how he grew in his mastery of managing other men.		Donald, David H., ed. INSIDE LINCOLN’S CABINET: THE CIVIL WAR DIARIES OF SALMON P. CHASE. New York: 1954. 342p., ft. An intimate record and fine resource on the inner workings of Lincoln’s administration by his Treasury Secretary.
Dorris, Jonathan. PARDON AND AMNESTY UNDER LINCOLN AND JOHNSON: THE RESTORATION OF THE CONFEDERATES…1861-1898. Chapel Hill: 1953. 459p. The best work on the subject; well written and thoroughly researched.		Duff, John J. A. LINCOLN, PRAIRIE LAWYER. New York: 1960. 443p., ft., illus. A flavorful, anecdotal account of Lincoln’s circuit practice from 1837-1861.		Emerson, Jason. THE MADNESS OF MARY LINCOLN. Carbondale : (2007). 1 st ed., 304p, illus. In 2005, historian Jason Emerson discovered a steamer trunk formerly owned by Robert Todd Lincoln's lawyer and stowed in an attic for forty years. The trunk contained a rare find: 25 letters pertaining to Mary Todd Lincoln's life and insanity case, letters assumed long destroyed by the Lincoln family.
Farber, Daniel. LINCOLN’S CONSTITUTION. Chicago & London: 2003. 240p. The Civil War brought pressure on the Constitution that had never seen before or since. Did the South have the right to secede? What is the nature of the Union, and what are the limits of states’ rights? Faber evaluates Lincoln’s legal legacy comprehensively, leading the reader to understand the constitutional problems that arose during Lincoln’s term, what arguments he made in defense of his actions, and how his words and deeds fit into the context of the times.		Fehrenbacher, Don E. LINCOLN IN TEXT AND CONTEXT: COLLECTED ESSAYS. Palo Alto: 1987. 363p. A wide-ranging and insightful collection, from this admired Lincoln scholar.		Fehrenbacher, Don E. PRELUDE TO GREATNESS: LINCOLN IN THE 1850’S. Stanford: 1962. 205p. Penetrating essays on Lincoln’s rise to national prominence.
Frank, John P. LINCOLN AS A LAWYER. Urbana: 190p. [B] Chicago: 1991. 2nd ed., 208p., new Introduction by Cullom Davis. A fine study by a former professor at the Yale University law school. Lincoln spent 25 years as a lawyer and no one can truly understand him as a public figure without an understanding these years.		Franklin, John Hope. THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. New York: 1963. 181p., ft., illus., facsims. A great work by a great historian, describing the evolution of the document in Lincoln’s mind and its impact on the course of the war at home and abroad.		Gary, Ralph. FOLLOWING IN LINCOLN'S FOOTSTEPS: A COMPLETE ANNOTATED REFERENCE TO HUNDREDS OF HISTORICAL SITES VISITED BY ABRAHAM LINCOLN. New York: 2001. 480p., map. From Abraham Lincoln's law offices to his White House office and from his Springfield address to the spot where he first heard the news of Robert E. Lee's surrender, this guidebook includes detailed maps and diagrams of the cities and buildings that Lincoln called home.
Goff, John S. ROBERT TODD LINCOLN. Norman: 1969. 268p., illus. A sympathetic portrayal.		Goodwin, Doris Kearns. TEAM OF RIVALS: THE POLITICAL GENIUS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. New York: 2005. 916p., illus. A skillful, multiple biography, centered on Lincoln’s ability to create a cabinet out of gifted, divergence personalities, and how Lincoln’s personality shaped the most significant presidency in the nation’s history.		Guelzo, Allen C. LINCOLN’S EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION: THE END OF SLAVERY IN AMERICA. New York: 2004. 332p., illus. No single official paper in American history changed the lives of so many Americans as the Emancipation Proclamation. But no American document has been held up to greater suspicion. One of the nation’s foremost Lincoln scholars examines Lincoln’s purposes in planning and issuing the Proclamation and identifies the sources, language, sequence, readership, and impact of the Proclamation’s creation.
Hanchett, William. THE LINCOLN MURDER CONSPIRACIES. Champaign: 1983. 304p., illus. A thoughtful analysis of the assassination and of the various theories put forth to explain the murder. “The best interpretation of the assassination I have ever seen in print.” - Mark E. Neely, Jr.		Harper, Robert S. LINCOLN AND THE PRESS. New York: 1951. 418p. A study commencing in 1836 when Lincoln’s name first appeared in print, with emphasis on Civil War civilian attitudes and editorial opinion.		Harris, William C. WITH CHARITY FOR ALL: LINCOLN AND THE RESTORATION OF THE UNION. Lexington: 1997. 336p., illus. In this comprehensive examination Harris maintains that Lincoln held a relatively conservative vision of the restoration process, challenges the view that Lincoln modified his policy late in the war to accommodate Radical Republican demands, examines the reasoning and ideology that lay behind Lincoln’s policies, and evaluates Lincoln’s successes and failures in bringing restoration efforts to closure.
Hendrick, Burton J. LINCOLN’S WAR CABINET Boston: 1946. 482p., ft., illus. Portrays each of the members of the Cabinet and the part they played in the various crises of the administration.		Herndon, William H., & Weik, Jesse W. HERNDON'S LINCOLN: THE TRUE STORY OF A GREAT LIFE; THE HISTORY AND PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Chicago: 1889. 3 volumes, fts., plates. (B) ABRAHAM LINCOLN: THE TRUE STORY OF A GREAT LIFE. New York : 1892. 2 vols. (331p.; 348p.). (C) HERNDON'S LIFE OF LINCOLN . New York : 1930. 1 vol., ed. with an Introduction by Paul Angle. 511p. (D) Urbana and Chicago : 2006. Wilson, Douglas L., and Davis, Rodney O., eds. 481p., illus. Done in association with the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Herndon was Lincoln 's law partner and this remains an essential source for the lawyer Lincoln's “growth” years, telling much of his personal habits and tastes from 1837 to 1860. The 1892 edition contains material not found in the original, including much on the 1858 Illinois campaign and an informative appendix.		Hertz, Emmanuel. LINCOLN TALKS: A BIOGRAPHY IN ANECDOTE. New York: 1939. 698p., ft. A useful, reliable, and readable collection of stories organized by topic.
Hesseltine, William B. LINCOLN AND THE WAR GOVERNORS. New York: 1948. 405p An authoritative study of Lincoln’s relationship with state executives.		Holzer, Harold. LINCOLN AT COOPER UNION: THE SPEECH THAT MADE ABRAHAM LINCOLN PRESIDENT New York: 2004. 338p., illus. Delivered in New York in February 1860, Abraham Lincoln’s Cooper Union speech, which Lincoln later said made him President, dispelled doubts about his suitability for that office. Holzer presents Lincoln’s speech as a masterly combination of scholarship, a brief for equality and democracy, a ringing warning to would-be secessionists, and a rallying cry for the country and the Republican Party.		Holzer, Harold, ed. THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES: THE FIRST COMPLETE, UNEXPURGATED TEXT. New York : 1993. 394p., illus. A terrific reference; well edited, with a valuable introduction.
Holzer, Harold, ed. LINCOLN AS I KNEW HIM: GOSSIP, TRIBUTES, AND REVELATIONS FROM HIS BEST FRIENDS AND WORST ENEMIES. Chapel Hill: 1999. 352p. Noted Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer sifted through letters, diary entries, books, and speeches written by those, famous and unknown, who actually met Lincoln, and offers up an intimate look at a man who was a terrible dresser, loved raunchy stories, and let his kids run all over him. We learn this and more about an extraordinary man who made an impression on everyone who met him.		Holzer, Harold; Boritt, Gabor S.; & Neely, Mark E THE LINCOLN IMAGE: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE POPULAR PRINT. New York: 1984. 250p., illus. Focusing on prints produced in Lincoln's lifetime and in the iconographically important months immediately following his death, three well-known Lincoln experts document the efforts of popular printmakers to make Lincoln’s face recognizable in an era which lacked modern media exposure methods such as newspaper photos, etc.		Hyman, Harold M. A MORE PERFECT UNION: THE IMPACT OF CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION ON THE CONSTITUTION New York: 1973. 562p. An outstanding survey of the legal aspects of the conflict, and how Lincoln, who believed the Constitution sacred, used it to the upper limits to prosecute the war.
Jaffa, Harry V. CRISIS OF THE HOUSE DIVIDED: AN INTERPRETATION OF THE ISSUES IN THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES. Garden City, NY: 1959. 451p Perhaps the best book written on the debates.		Jaffa, Harry V. A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE COMING OF THE CIVIL WAR Lanham, MD: 2000. 549p. The culmination of nearly a half-century of study and reflection by one of the foremost scholars of American history and politics. Jaffa skillfully illuminates Lincoln's understanding of the concepts of self-government, equality, and statesmanship, and he offers penetrating insights into Lincoln's refutation of the political philosophy and constitutional interpretations of the southern secessionists.		Johannsen, Robert W. LINCOLN, THE SOUTH, AND SLAVERY: THE POLITICAL DIMENSION Baton Rouge and London: 1991. 144p. An astute analytical study which traces the political dimension of Lincoln’s antislavery stance as it evolved from the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 to his election as President in 1860, showing Lincoln becoming increasingly antislavery and anti-Southern in response to the demands of politics.
Kauffman, Michael W. AMERICAN BRUTUS: JOHN WILKES BOOTH AND THE LINCOLN CONSPIRACIES. New York: 2004. 508p., illus The definitive biography of the assassin.		Keckley, Elizabeth. BEHIND THE SCENES: OR, THIRTY YEARS A SLAVE, AND FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE. New York: 1868. 371p., ft. A classic reminiscence by Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker.		Kincaid, Robert L. JOSHUA FRY SPEED: LINCOLN’S MOST INTIMATE FRIEND. Harrrogate, TN: 1943. 250 copies, 70p., illus. A fine biography, including the fascinating letters written by Lincoln to his closest friend.
Kunhardt, Dorothy Meserve, and Kunhardt, Philip B., Jr TWENTY DAYS. New York: 312p., illus. This beautiful book, containing more than 300 illustrations, tells the moving story of twenty fateful days in America’s history: from the night of April 14, 1865, when Abraham Lincoln was shot, to the afternoon of his burial in Springfield.		Leech, Margaret. REVILLE IN WASHINGTON, 1860-1865. New York: 1941. 438p., illus. The Pulitzer Prize-winning work of history, written like a novel, tells the story of the capital during the Civil War.		Lewis, Lloyd. MYTHS AFTER LINCOLN. [A] New York: 1929. 422p. [B] Revised ed., 1940, with new Introduction by Carl Sandburg. [C] THE ASSASSINATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN: HISTORY AND MYTH. Lincoln & London: 1994. With new Introduction by Mark Neely, Jr. 367p. The traditions, legends, and folklore that grew after Lincoln’s murder; and his influence and the reality.
Long, David E. THE JEWEL OF LIBERTY: ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S RE-ELECTION AND THE END OF SLAVERY. Mechanicsburg, PA: 1994. 368p., illus. A splendid, comprehensive investigation of the 1864 presidential campaign, presenting the case as the most important election in American history.		Luthin, Reinhard H. THE FIRST LINCOLN CAMPAIGN. Cambridge: 1944. 328p. An objective picture of the 1860 campaign, Lincoln’s and of his opponents.		Luthin, Reinhard H. THE REAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN: A COMPLETE ONE VOLUME HISTORY OF HIS LIFE & TIMES. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1960. 778p Another fine one-volume biography of Lincoln.
McCarthy, Charles H. LINCOLN’S PLAN OF RECONSTRUCTION. New York: 1901. 531p A very detailed account.		McCrary, Peyton. ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND RECONSTRUCTION: THE LOUISIANA EXPERIMENT. Princeton: 1978. 423p. An authoritative study of the crucial attempt at rebuilding part of the South.		McPherson, James M. ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION. New York: 1991. 256p. These graceful essays, written by one of America’s leading historians, offer a series of thoughtful and engaging essays on aspects of Lincoln and the Civil War rarely discussed in depth.
McPherson, James M. BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM: THE CIVIL WAR ERA. [A] New York: 1988. 904p., illus. [B] THE ILLUSTRATED BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM: THE CIVIL WAR ERA. 2003. Revised ed., 786p., illus., maps. Quite simply superb, and easily the best one volume work on the Civil War. A Pulitzer Prize-winner.		Miller, William Lee. LINCOLN'S VIRTUES: AN ETHICAL BIOGRAPHY. New York: 2002. 515p., ft. Lincoln, Miller says, was a great man who was also a good man. It is the central thrust of this "ethical biography" to reveal how he became both, to trace his moral and intellectual development in the context of his times and in confrontation with the leading issues of the day - most notably, of course, that of slavery.		Mellon, James, ed. THE FACE OF LINCOLN. New York: 1979. 201p., illus. A wonderful collection of portrait photographs, all of high quality, augmented by Lincoln’s own writings and those of men who knew him.
Mitgang, Herbert, ed. LINCOLN AS THEY SAW HIM. [A] New York: 1956. 519p. [B] ABRAHAM LINCOLN: A PRESS PORTRAIT. New York: 1971. A biography fashioned from contemporary sources, primarily journalistic.		Monaghan, Jay. DIPLOMAT IN CARPET SLIPPERS: ABRAHAM LINCOLN DEALS WITH FOREIGN AFFAIRS. Indianapolis: 1945. 505p., illus Still the best work on Lincoln’s foreign policy		Neely, Mark E., Jr. THE FATE OF LIBERTY: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND CIVIL LIBERTIES. New York and Oxford: 1991. 278p. The Pulitzer Prize-winning exploration of the whole range of Lincoln’s constitutional policies
Neely, Mark E., Jr. THE LAST BEST HOPE OF EARTH: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE PROMISE OF AMERICA. Cambridge, MA: 1993. 214p., ft., illus. An excellent compact biography, which vividly recaptures the central place of politics in Lincoln’s life.		Neely, Mark E., Jr., and Holzer, Harold. THE LINCOLN FAMILY ALBUM: PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF A HISTORIC AMERICAN FAMILY. [A] Garden City, NY: 1990. 192p., illus. [B] Carbondale: 2006. Paperback. Revised ed. Found among the effects of Robert Todd Lincoln Beckworth (Lincoln’s last direct descendant) when he died in 1985, this collection of family photographs and personal letters provides an intimate view of a legendary American family.		Neely, Mark E., Jr., and McMurtry, Gerald THE INSANITY FILE: THE CASE OF MARY TODD LINCOLN. Carbondale and Edwardsville: 1986. 236p., ft., illus. The tragic story of how and why Robert Todd Lincoln caused his mother to be committed to an insane asylum.
Nevins, Allen. THE ORDEAL OF THE UNION. New York: 1947-71. 8 volumes. Fts., illus., maps. A Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s definitive history of the war, with much on Lincoln as Commander in Chief.		Nichols, David A. LINCOLN AND THE INDIANS: CIVIL WAR POLICY AND POLITICS. Columbia, MO: 1978. 223p. The only title to tackle this subject, though a bit critical of Lincoln for not putting more time into the problem.		Nicolay, John G. A SHORT LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN New York: 1902. 578p., ft. Nicolay’s condensation of his and Hay’s 10 volume classic. It was his last task for Lincoln - he died while working on the book.
Nicolay, John G., and Hay, John. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: A HISTORY. New York: 1890. 10 vols., fts., illus., plates, maps. Written by the personal secretaries to the President, who were at the heart of his administration, this is one of the truly essential works on Abraham Lincoln, as much a history of the Civil War as a biography of the man who prosecuted it. Reprinted in 1904, 1914, 1917, and 1941.		Oates, Stephen B. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: THE MAN BEHIND THE MYTHS. New York: 1984. 160p. A biographical study, examining and comparing the mythical and historical Lincoln.		Oates, Stephen B. WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE: A LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. New York: 1977. 492p., illus. A truly great one-volume biography.
Paludan, Phillip Shaw. THE PRESIDENCY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Lawrence: 1994. 384p. An original, accurate, and fair minded one-volume history of the Lincoln administration, presenting a compelling portrait of a complex president and a nation at war.	Peterson, Merrill D. LINCOLN IN AMERICAN MEMORY. New York and Oxford: 1994. 482p., illus. A fascinating history of Lincoln’s place in the American imagination from the hour of his death to the present, tracing the changing image of Lincoln through time by exploring the reminiscences, biographies, memorials and myths.	Phillips, Donald T. LINCOLN ON LEADERSHIP: EXECUTIVE STATEGIES FOR TOUGH TIMES. New York: 1991. 188p., illus. A unique study of Lincoln’s strategies for keeping the Union intact and how these strategies might be applied today by executives whose organizations are facing hard times.
Phillips, Isaac Newton, ed ABRAHAM LINCOLN BY SOME MEN WHO KNEW HIM. [A] Bloomington, IL: 1910. 167p., illus. [B] Chicago: 1950. Ltd. ed., 123p., new Introduction by Paul Angle. A basic Lincoln title containing recollections by men who knew Lincoln in the Bloomington, Illinois vicinity.	Potter, David M. LINCOLN AND HIS PARTY IN THE SECESSION CRISIS. New Haven. 408p. Scholarly analysis of the critical period between Lincoln’s election and the outbreak of the Civil War.	Pratt, Harry E. PERSONAL FINANCES OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Springfield: 1943. ft., illus., plates. The only reliable source for information on the subject.
Quarles, Benjamin. LINCOLN AND THE NEGRO. New York: 1962. 275p., ft., illus. Examines Lincoln’s attitudes on racial matters as they evolved from childhood, to the Presidency, and eventually emancipation.	Randall, James G. CONSTITUTIONAL PROBLEMS UNDER LINCOLN. [A] New York: 1926. 580p. [B] Urbana: 1951. 2nd, ed., revised. 596p. Randall’s first important work on the Lincoln presidency, and a classic.	Randall, James G. LINCOLN THE LIBERAL STATESMAN. New York: 1947. 266p., illus. A collection of essays by “the greatest Lincoln scholar of all time” (Mark Neely).
Randall, James G. LINCOLN THE PRESIDENT: SPRINGFIELD TO GETTYSBURG; MIDSTREAM; LAST FULL MEASURE (with Current, Richard N.). New York: 1945-1955. 4 vols., fts., illus. Randall’s landmark, ground-breaking biography, one of the first to utilize the vast Robert Todd Lincoln collection, which changed the way scholars looked at Lincoln.	Randall, James G.; Current, Richard, ed. MR. LINCOLN. New York: 1957. 392p., ft., illus. A personal portrait of the human side of Lincoln from Randall’s writings.	Randall, Ruth Painter. LINCOLN’S SONS. Boston: 1955. 373p., illus. A sympathetic study of the lives of the Lincoln boys before, during, and after their father’s presidency. The presidential dog, Fido, is not ignored.
Randall, Ruth Painter. MARY LINCOLN: BIOGRAPHY OF A MARRIAGE. Boston: 1953. 555p., ft., illus. A sympathetic treatment, written in part to correct distortions in the Herndon biography.	Reck, W. Emerson. A. LINCOLN: HIS LAST 24 HOURS. Jefferson, N.C.: 1987. 232p., illus Probably the best book on the subject, with a fine bibliography.	Rice, Allen Thorndike, ed. REMINISCENCES OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN BY DISTINGUISHED MEN OF HIS TIME. [A] New York: 1886. 656p., illus. [B] New York: 1909. Revised ed., 428p., illus., facsims. A fine collection of recollections by people who personally knew Lincoln.
Riddle, Donald W. CONGRESSMAN ABRAHAM LINCOLN Urbana: 1957. 280p. Perhaps the best treatment of Lincoln during his one term in Congress.	Sandburg, Carl ABRAHAM LINCOLN: THE PRAIRIE YEARS and THE WAR YEARS. [A] New York: 1926; 1939; 6 vols., fts., illus.; facsims. [B] New York: 1940. 6 vols. [C] Pleasantville, NY: 1970. One-volume, Illustrated ed., 640p., illus., maps. Sandburg’s magnum opus and a fine narrative biography by this famous poet.	Sandburg, Carl, and Angle, Paul. MARY LINCOLN: WIFE AND WIDOW. New York: 1932. 357p., ft., plates, facsims, fold. chart. Two Lincoln scholars team up for a excellent, readable biography.
Searcher, Victor. LINCOLN’S JOURNEY TO GREATNESS: A FACTUAL ACCOUNT OF THE TWELVE DAY INAUGURAL TRIP. Philadelphia: 1960. 279p., ft., illus. The dramatic story of how Lincoln got to Washington.	Shenk, Joshua Wolf. LINCOLN’S MELANCHOLY: HOW DEPRESSION CHALLENGED A PRESIDENT AND FUELED HIS GREATNESS. Boston and New York: 2005. 350p. Drawing on years of research, Shenk reveals how Lincoln harnessed his depression to fuel his astonishing success, finding the solace and tactics he needed to deal with the nation’s worst crisis in the “coping strategies” he had developed over a lifetime of persevering through depressive episodes and personal tragedies.	Silver, David M. LINCOLN’S SUPREME COURT. Urbana: 1856. 272p. ft. An historical rather than a legalistic study, involving all aspects of this wartime court.
Simon, Paul. LINCOLN’S PREPARATION FOR GREATNESS: THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATIVE YEARS. Norman: 1965. 335p., illus. An extraordinarily fine study of these formative political years for Lincoln.	Steers, Edward, Jr. BLOOD ON THE MOON: THE ASSASSINATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Lexington: 2001. 360p., illus. The book on the assassination presents the most up-to-date research and makes clear the important role of Mudd and members of the Confederate Secret Service in Booth’s crime and escape, as Steers finally puts to rest the many myths and popular misconceptions and accurately depicts what really happened.	Steers, Edward, Jr. (With an Introduction by Harold Holzer) LINCOLN LEGENDS: Myths Hoaxes and Confabulations Associated With Our Greatest President, Lexington: (2007), 264p., index, notes, photos. Noted historian and Lincoln expert Edward Steers Jr. carefully scrutinizes some of the most notorious tall tales and distorted ideas about America 's sixteenth President.
Steiner, Mark E. AN HONEST CALLING: THE LAW PRACTICE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. DeKalb: 2006. 272p., ft. One of the first scholars to work in the vast collection of the Lincoln Legal Papers, Steiner depicts Lincoln's work for the railroads and his more typical cases, describes Lincoln's legal education, the economics of the law office, the changes in legal practice that Lincoln himself experienced, and highlights Lincoln's guiding principles as a lawyer, which embraced a professional ideal that cast the lawyer as a guardian of order.	Strozier, Charles B. LINCOLN’S QUEST FOR UNION: PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MEANINGS. New York: 1982. 271p. [B] LINCOLN'S QUEST FOR UNION: A PSYCHOLOGICAL PORTRAIT. Philadelphia: 2001. Revised edition, 298p., illus. This excellent psychohistory traces Lincoln development from childhood and youth to marriage and maturity. Through analysis of the recently published interviews conducted by Lincoln's longtime law partner William Herndon, the revised edition examines the curious duality that Lincoln felt abut his mother's illegitimacy, the rivalry between father and son, the importance of Ann Rutledge, and the failures of his early manhood.	Tarbell, Ida. IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE LINCOLNS. New York: 1924. 418p., ft., illus. One of the great Lincoln scholars traces Lincoln’s family from their 1617 migration to Hingham, Mass. down to his 1861 inauguration. Tarbell finds Lincoln’s success directly related to his family traditions.
Temple, Wayne C. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: FROM SKEPTIC TO PROPHET. 446p., illus. An insightful book about Lincoln’s religious views.	Thomas, Benjamin P. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: A BIOGRAPHY. New York: 1952. 548p., ft., illus A wonderfully written Lincoln classic.	.Thomas, Benjamin P. LINCOLN’S NEW SALEM. [A] Springfield: 1934. 128p., illus. [B] New York: 1954. Revised ed. 166p., illus. New Salem’s history, influence on Lincoln, Lincoln legends and the story of its restoration.
Thomas, Benjamin P. PORTRAIT FOR POSTERITY: LINCOLN AND HIS BIOGRAPHERS. New Brunswick, NJ: 1947. 329p., ft., illus. Unique work tells the story of every important early Lincoln biographer: Herndon, Nicolay and Hay, Lamon, Sandburg, et al.	Thomas, John L. ed. ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE AMERICAN POLITICAL TRADITION. Amherst: 1986. 162p. Collection of essays examines how Lincoln influenced and was influenced by the politics of his era. Contributors include Fehrenbacher, McPherson and Oates.	Tidwell, William A.; with Hall, James O., and Caddy, David Winfred. COME RETRIBUTION: THE CONFEDERATE SECRET SERVICE AND THE ASSASSINATION OF LINCOLN. Jackson: 1988. 510p., illus., maps. A major work, with startling revelations of how both John Wilkes Booth and the Confederate Secret Service were involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
Trefousse, Hans L. ”FIRST AMONG EQUALS”: ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S REPUTATION DURING HIS ADMINISTRATION. New York: 2005. 199p In myth and memory, Lincoln is always the Great Emancipator and savior of the Union, second in stature only to George Washington. But was he always so exalted? This fascinating book is a masterful portrait of Lincoln the President in the eyes of his fellow Americans, showing that the majority of the Northern people appreciated Lincoln and his leadership from the beginning.	Turner, Justin G and Linda Levitt, eds. MARY TODD LINCOLN: HER LIFE AND LETTERS. New York: 1972. 750p., ft., illus. All her available letters (609) are brought together to form a comprehensive picture of this complex woman.	Turner, Thomas R. BEWARE THE PEOPLE WEEPING: PUBLIC OPINION AND THE ASSASSINATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Baton Rouge: 1982. 265p., illus. Turner examines newspapers, diaries, letters, sermons and the trial of the conspirators to explain how and why the public and the military reacted as they did.
Warren, Louis A. LINCOLN’S PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD: A HISTORY OF THE KENTUCKY LINCOLNS SUPPORTED BY DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. New York: 1926. 392p., illus., facsims., maps eps. Fine, if orthodox, genealogical narrative of the Lincolns, the Hanks, and cognate ancestors.	Warren, Louis. LINCOLN’S YOUTH: INDIANA YEARS, SEVEN TO TWENTY-ONE 1816-1830. New York: 1959. 298p., ft., illus., map eps. An excellent study of Lincoln’s early formative period.	Waugh, John C. REELECTING LINCOLN: THE BATTLE FOR THE 1864 PRESIDENCY. New York: 1998. 452p., illus. The dramatic story of perhaps the most critical election campaign in American history.
Welles, Gideon. THE DIARY OF… Boston: 1911. 3 volumes, fts. [B] New York: 1960. Ed., with new Introduction by Howard K. Beale. 3 volumes, illus. Terrific observations on the inner workings of the Lincoln and Johnson administrations.	Wheeler, Tom. MR. LINCOLN'S T-MAILS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF HOW ABRAHAM LINCOLN USED THE TELEGRAPH TO WIN THE CIVIL WAR. New York : 2006. 227p., illus. Lincoln embraced technical advancements, such as the telegraph. He also supported the Henry repeating rifle, the transcontinental railroad, and gave an 1860 lecture, Discoveries and Inventions. Wheeler explores how Lincoln "modern" technology to his advantage.	White, Ronald C., Jr. THE ELOQUENT PRESIDENT: A PORTRAIT OF LINCOLN THROUGH HIS WORDS. New York: 2005. 348p., illus. Examining Abraham Lincoln’s astonishing oratory and explores his growth as a leader, a communicator, and a man of deepening spiritual conviction, White masterfully tracks the evolution of Lincoln’s rhetoric. Through the speeches and what surrounded them --- the great battles and political crises, the president’s private anguish and despair, the impact of his words on the public, the press, and the nation at war --- we see the full sweep and meaning of the Lincoln presidency.
White, Ronald C., Jr. LINCOLN'S GREATEST SPEECH: THE SECOND INAUGURAL. New York: 2002. 254p., illus. "Lincoln thought the Second Inaugural to be his greatest speech --- even more profound and powerful than the Gettysburg address. Ronald C. White's remarkable analysis …will convince readers that Lincoln was right. In lucid prose, White…places the speech in a broad historical and theological context." --- James M. McPherson.	Williams, Kenneth P. LINCOLN FINDS A GENERAL: A MILITARY STUDY OF THE CIVIL WAR. New York: 1949-59. 5 volumes, fts., plates, maps, map eps. The unfinished jewel in the crown of a fine historian, which remains a classic rendition of Lincoln’s problems in finding a general to lead the Federal armies and successfully prosecute the war.	Williams, T. Harry. LINCOLN AND THE RADICALS. 1941. 413p., illus. The vivid and dramatic story of the bitter struggle between Lincoln and the radicals in his own party to control the conduct of the war.
Williams, T. Harry. LINCOLN AND HIS GENERALS. New York: 1952. 363p., illus., map An excellent examination of Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief and his relationships with his field commanders.	Wills, Garry. LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG: THE WORDS THAT REMADE AMERICA. New York: 1992. 317p., illus. Lincoln was asked to memorialize the grisly battle at Gettysburg. Instead, he gave the whole nation “a new birth of freedom”. This brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the making of Lincoln’s masterpiece restores the Gettysburg Address, reminding us how daring was this act of intellectual revolution.	.Wilson, Douglas L. HONOR’S VOICE: THE TRANSFORMATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. New York: 1998. 448p., illus. Douglas L. Wilson lets us see how Abraham Lincoln transformed himself in the 1830s and 1840s from a kind of country bumpkin to a sophisticated political figure who would become our greatest president. A landmark piece of Lincolniana and historiography.
Wilson, Douglas L. LINCOLN BEFORE WASHINGTON: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE ILLINOIS YEARS Urbana: 1997. 190p. These provocative essays are an effort, in the light of new evidence and perspectives, to test the validity of some long-standing assumptions about certain Lincoln sources and to reopen some presumably settled questions about his early life.	Wilson, Douglas L., and Davis, Rodney, eds. HERNDON’S INFORMANTS: LETTERS, INTERVIEWS, AND STATEMENTS ABOUT ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Urbana: 1997. 600p. An invaluable, basic source that must be placed next to Herndon’s own work - for here is corroboration of his general reliability. There are over 600 primary sources covering Lincoln’s pre-political and pre-legal career. Included are annotations, a registry of the informants, and a detailed topic index. Also see Emanuel Hertz’s THE HIDDEN LINCOLN above	Wilson, Douglas L. LINCOLN'S SWORD: THE PRESIDENCY AND THE POWER OF WORDS New York: 2006. 343p. Winner of the 2007 Lincoln Prize, this book tells the story of how Lincoln developed his writing skills and how those skills progressed from a hidden, almost secret weapon, to playing a extremely important role in his presidency.
Wilson, Rufus Rockwell, comp. LINCOLN AMONG HIS FRIENDS: A SHEAF OF INTIMATE MEMORIES. Caldwell, Idaho: 1942. 506p. illus. Fifty-one intimate recollections of Lincoln by those who knew him and by contemporaries who personally saw him. Fascinating and insightful reading.	Wilson, Rufus Rockwell, comp. INTIMATE MEMORIES OF LINCOLN. Elmira, NY: 1945. 629p., ft. The limited sequel to the above, with 60 more fascinating and insightful recollections.	Wilson, Rufus Rockwell. LINCOLN IN CARICATURE: 165 POSTER CARTOONS AND DRAWINGS FOR THE PRESS. Elmira, NY: 1945. 331p., illus. Each with a fine historical perspective by Wilson.
Wilson, Rufus Rockwell. LINCOLN IN PORTAITURE. New York: 1935. Ltd. ed., 317p., illus. Excellent historical descriptions by Wilson of various photos, busts, and paintings of Lincoln --- each illustrated.	Winkle, Kenneth J. THE YOUNG EAGLE: THE RISE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Dallas: 2001. 395p., ft., illus., maps. Drawing on dozens of historical sources, Winkle reexamines the young adult life of Lincoln to fashion a more in-depth evaluation of his actions and their meaning, explores Lincoln's roles as husband, father, and politician, revealing details at odds with many other accounts, and placing Lincoln in his time and place.	Wolf, William. THE ALMOST CHOSEN PEOPLE: A STUDY OF THE RELIGION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. [A] Garden City, NY: 1959. 215p. [B] THE RELIGION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. New York: 1963. Revised ed., 219p. The author argues for Lincoln’s basic Christianity
Zall, P.M., ed. ABE LINCOLN LAUGHING: HUMOROUS ANECDOTES FROM ORIGINAL SOURCES BY AND ABOUT ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Berkley and Los Angeles : 1982. 193p., ft. (B) ABE LINCOLN'S LEGACY OF LAUGHTER: HUMOROUS STORIES BY AND ABOUT ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Knoxville : 2007. 146p. Revised; paperback. This remains the definitive critical edition of Lincoln anecdotes, enjoyable and well-produced, giving an excellent picture of Lincoln's storytelling art.	Zarefsky, David. LINCOLN, DOUGLAS, AND SLAVERY: IN THE CRUCIBLE OF PUBLIC DEBATE Chicago: 1990. 309p. Zarefsky, a professor of communications studies, provides a detailed account of the 1858 Debates and the arguments of each, revealing how public sentiment itself was (and is) transformed through debate.	Zornow, William F. LINCOLN AND THE PARTY DIVIDED. Norman: 1954. 264p., ft., illus. A study of the crucial events in the life of Lincoln in 1864.

With the exception of a few revised editions, we have only cited the first (in some cases there is only one) trade edition of each book. We will be happy to let you know about later printings and current availability, as well as the publication of new biographies worthy of inclusion in this list. You, the collector, can make your own rules: you may acquire these books for reading pleasure only, or you may wish to assemble a collection of first and limited editions, perhaps adding manuscript material as well.

Here, then, are the biographies of the men who have for over two hundred years dominated American history. We suggest that you download a copy of this guide, mark what you need, and return it to us as a "want list" for our files. We will then prepare a special quotation for you of the requested titles in stock, following up with future quotes as other desired books become available. Enjoy building your library!

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1. GEORGE WASHINGTON (Federalist, 1789-1797)
Flexner, James Thomas. GEORGE WASHINGTON. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1965-1972. 4 vols., fts., illus., illus. eps., maps, map eps.

THE FORGE OF EXPERIENCE (1732-1775). 1965.
IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1775-1783). 1968.
AND THE NEW NATION (1783-1793). 1970.
ANGUISH AND FAREWELL (1793-1799). 1972.

Freeman, Douglas Southall. GEORGE WASHINGTON: A BIOGRAPHY. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948-1957. 7 vols., fts., illus., maps, map eps.

Volumes One & Two. YOUNG WASHINGTON. 1948
Volumes Three & Four. PLANTER AND PATRIOT; LEADER OF THE REVOLUTION. 1951.
Volume Five. VICTORY WITH THE HELP OF FRANCE. 1952.
Volume Six. PATRIOT AND PRESIDENT. 1954.
Volume Seven. FIRST IN PEACE. By John Alexander Carroll and Mary Wells Ashworth. 1957.

Freeman, Douglas Southall. WASHINGTON: AN ABRIDGEMENT IN ONE VOLUME BY RICHARD HARWELL OF THE SEVEN VOLUME GEORGE WASHINGTON. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1968. 780p., ft., illus., illus. eps., maps.

Randall, Willard Sterne. GEORGE WASHINGTON: A LIFE. New York: Henry Holt, 1997. 548p., maps.

2. JOHN ADAMS (Federalist, 1797-1801)

Ferling, John. JOHN ADAMS: A LIFE. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1992. 535p., illus.

McCullough, David. JOHN ADAMS. New York: 2001. 751p., illus., illus. eps.

Smith, Page. JOHN ADAMS. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1962. 2 vols., 1170p., illus.

3. THOMAS JEFFERSON (Democratic-Republican, 1801-1809)

Cunningham, Noble E., Jr. IN PURSUIT OF REASON: THE LIFE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, 1987. 414p., illus.

Malone, Dumas. JEFFERSON AND HIS TIME. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1948-1981. 6 vols., fts., illus., maps.

Volume One. JEFFERSON THE VIRGINIAN. 1948.
Volume Two. JEFFERSON AND THE RIGHTS OF MAN. 1951.
Volume Three. JEFFERSON AND THE ORDEAL OF LIBERTY. 1962.
Volume Four. JEFFERSON THE PRESIDENT: FIRST TERM, 1801-1805. 1970.
Volume Five. JEFFERSON THE PRESIDENT: SECOND TERM, 1805-1809. 1974.
Volume Six. THE SAGE OF MONTICELLO. 1981.

Peterson, Merrill D. THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE NEW NATION: A BIOGRAPHY. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970. 1072p., ft., illus.

4. JAMES MADISON (Democratic-Republican, 1809-1809)

Brant, Irving. JAMES MADISON. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1941-1961. 6 vols., fts., illus.

Volume One. THE VIRGINIA REVOLUTIONIST. 1941.
Volume Two. THE NATIONALIST, 1780-1787. 1948.
Volume Three. FATHER OF THE CONSTITUTION, 1787-1800. 1950.
Volume Four. SECRETARY OF STATE, 1800-1809. 1953.
Volume Five. PRESIDENT, 1809-1812. 1956.
Volume Six. COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1812-1836. 1961.

Brant, Irving. THE FOURTH PRESIDENT: A LIFE OF JAMES MADISON. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1970. 681p.

Ketcham, Ralph Louis. JAMES MADISON: A BIOGRAPHY. New York: Macmillan, 1971. 753p., illus.

Ruland, Robert A. JAMES MADISON: THE FOUNDING FATHER. New York: Macmillan, 1987. 287p., illus.

5. JAMES MONROE (Democratic-Republican, 1817-1825)

Ammon, Harry. JAMES MONROE. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971. 706p., ft.

Cresson, William P. JAMES MONROE. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1946. 577p., ft., illus.

Styron, Arthur. THE LAST OF THE COCKED HATS: JAMES MONROE & THE VIRGINIA DYNASTY. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1945. 480p., ft., illus.

6. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS (Democratic-Republican, 1825-1829)

Bemis, Samuel F. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY; JOHN QUINCY ADAMS AND THE UNION. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949-56. 2 vols. (588p.; 546p.), ft., plates, maps, fold. maps.

Hecht, Marie B. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF AN INDEPENDENT MAN. New York: Macmillan, 1972. 682p., illus.

Parsons, Lynn Hudson. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. Madison: Madison House, 1998. 284p., illus., map

7. ANDREW JACKSON (Democrat, 1829-1837)

James, Marquis. ANDREW JACKSON: BORDER CAPTAIN; PORTRAIT OF A PRESIDENT. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1933-1937. 2 vols. (461p.; 627p.), fts., plates, maps, map eps.

Parton, James. THE LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. New York: Mason Brothers, 1859-60. 3 vols. (636p.; 672p.; 734p.), fts., fold. facsim.

Remini, Robert V. ANDREW JACKSON…. New York: Harper & Row, 1977-1984. 3 vols., illus., maps.

…AND THE COURSE OF AMERICAN EMPIRE, 1767-1821. 1977.
…AND THE COURSE OF AMERICAN FREEDOM, 1822-1832. 1981.
…AND THE COURSE OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, 1833-1845. 1984.

Remini, Robert V. THE LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON. New York: Harper & Row, 1988. 412p., illus., maps.

8. MARTIN VAN BUREN (Democrat, 1837-1841)

Alexander, Holmes. AMERICAN TALLEYRAND: THE CAREER OF MARTIN VAN BUREN. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1935. 430p., illus.

Lynch, Denis Tilden. AN EPOCH AND A MAN: MARTIN VAN BUREN AND HIS TIMES. New York: Horace Liveright, 1929. 566p., ft., plates.

Niven, John. MARTIN VAN BUREN AND THE ROMANTIC AGE OF AMERICAN POLITICS. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983. 736p., illus.

9. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON (Whig, 1841)

Cleaves, Freeman. OLD TIPPECANOE: WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON AND HIS TIME. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1939. 422p., ft., illus., maps.

Goebel, Dorothy B. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON: A POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY. Indianapolis: Indiana Library & Historical Dept., 1926. 456p., ft., plates.

10. JOHN TYLER (Whig, 1841-1845)

Chitwood, Oliver Perry. JOHN TYLER: CHAMPION OF THE OLD SOUTH. New York: Appleton-Century, 1939. 496p., ft

Seager, Robert, II. AND TYLER TOO: A BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN & JULIA TYLER. New York: McGraw Hill, 1963. 681p.

11. JAMES K. POLK (Democrat, 1845-1849)

McCormac, Eugene Irving. JAMES K. POLK: A POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1922. 746p.

Sellers, Charles Grier, Jr. JAMES K. POLK: JACKSONIAN; CONTINENTALIST. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1957-1966. 2 vols. (526p.; 513p.), illus., maps.

12. ZACHARY TAYLOR (Whig, 1849-1850)

Bauer, K. Jack. ZACHARY TAYLOR: SOLDIER, PLANTER, STATESMAN OF THE OLD SOUTHWEST. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1985. 348p., illus., maps.

Dyer, Brainerd. ZACHARY TAYLOR. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1946. 455p., ft., illus., maps.

Hamilton, Holman. ZACHARY TAYLOR: SOLDIER OF THE REPUBLIC; SOLDIER IN THE WHITE HOUSE. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1941-1951. 2 vols. (335p.; 496p.), fts., illus.

13. MILLARD FILLMORE (Whig, 1850-1853)

Rayback, Robert J. MILLARD FILLMORE: BIOGRAPHY OF A PRESIDENT. Buffalo: Buffalo Historical Society Publications, 1959. 470p., illus.

14. FRANKLIN PIERCE (Democrat, 1853-1857)

Nichols, Roy Franklin. FRANKLIN PIERCE: YOUNG HICKORY OF THE GRANITE HILLS. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1931. 615p., ft., plates. (Revised edition --- 1958, 625p.)

15. JAMES BUCHANAN (Democrat, 1857-1861)

Klein, Philip S. PRESIDENT JAMES BUCHANAN: A BIOGRAPHY. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 506p., illus.

16. ABRAHAM LINCOLN (Republican, 1861-1865)

For our Extensive Lincoln Bibliography, visit the Essential Lincoln Bookshelf

Donald, David Herbert. LINCOLN. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. 714p., illus.

Neely, Mark E., Jr. THE LAST BEST HOPE OF EARTH: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE PROMISE OF AMERICA. Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 1993. 214p., illus.

Oates, Stephen B. WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE: THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. New York: Harper & Row, 1977. 492p., illus.

Sandburg, Carl. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: THE PRARIE YEARS; THE WAR YEARS. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1926-1939. 6 vols. (PRARIE 2 vols.; WAR 4 vols.), fts., illus., maps.

Thomas, Benjamin P. ABRAHAM LINCOLN: A BIOGRAPHY. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1952. 548p., ft., illus., maps.

JEFFERSON DAVIS (President of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865)
Cooper, William J., Jr. JEFFERSON DAVIS, AMERICAN. New York: Knopf, 2000. 757p., illus., maps.

Davis, William C. JEFFERSON DAVIS: THE MAN AND HIS HOUR. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 784p., ft., illus.

Strode, Hudson. JEFFERSON DAVIS. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1955-1966. 4 vols., fts., map eps.

AMERICAN PATRIOT, 1808-1861. 1955.
CONFEDERATE PRESIDENT. 1959.
TRAGIC HERO, THE LAST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS, 1864-1889. 1964.
PRIVATE LETTERS, 1823-1889. 1966.

17. ANDREW JOHNSON (Democrat-Union, 1865-1869)

Stryker, Lloyd Paul. ANDREW JOHNSON: A STUDY IN COURAGE. New York: Macmillan, 1929. 881p., ft., plates.

Trefousse, Hans L. ANDREW JOHNSON: A BIOGRAPHY. New York and London: W.W. Norton, 1989. 463p., illus.

18. ULYSSES S. GRANT (Republican, 1869-1877)

Lewis, Lloyd. CAPTAIN SAM GRANT. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1950. 512p., ft. Catton, Bruce. GRANT MOVES SOUTH; GRANT TAKES COMMAND. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1960-1969. 564p; 556p., fts., maps.

McFeely, William S. GRANT: A BIOGRAPHY. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1981. 592p., ft., illus.

Perret, Geoffrey. ULYSSES S. GRANT: SOLDIER AND PRESIDENT. New York: Random House, 1997. 542p., illus., maps.

Simpson, Brooks D. ULYSSES S. GRANT: TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITY, 1822-1865. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. 533p., ft., illus., maps.

Smith, Jean Edward. GRANT. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. 781p., illus., maps.

19. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES (Republican, 1877-1881)

Barnard, Harry. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES AND HIS AMERICA. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merill, 1954. 606p., ft., illus.

Hoogenboom, Ari. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES: WARRIOR AND PRESIDENT. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1995. 626p., illus.

20. JAMES A. GARFIELD (Republican, 1881)

Peskin, Allan. JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1978. 716p., ft.

Taylor, John M. GARFIELD OF OHIO: THE AVAILABLE MAN. New York: W. W. Norton, 1970. 336p., ft., illus.

21. CHESTER A. ARTHUR (Republican, 1881-1885)

Reeves, Thomas C. GENTLEMAN BOSS: THE LIFE OF CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR. New York: Knopf, 1975. 500p., ft., illus.

22. GROVER CLEVELAND (Democrat, 1885-1889)

Brodsky, Alyn. GROVER CLEVELAND: A STUDY IN CHARACTER. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000. 436p., illus.

Nevins, Allan. GROVER CLEVELAND: A STUDY IN COURAGE. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1932. 832p., ft., plates.

23. BENJAMIN HARRISON (Republican, 1889-1893)

Sievers, Harry J. BENJAMIN HARRISON. 1952-1968. 3 vols., ft., illus., maps.

HOOSIER WARRIOR, 1833-1865. Chicago: Henry Regnery Co., 1952.
HOOSIER STATESMAN, FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO THE WHITE HOUSE, 1865-1888. New York: University Publishers, 1959.
HOOSIER PRESIDENT, THE WHITE HOUSE AND AFTER. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1968.

24. GROVER CLEVELAND (Democrat, 1893-1897)

See list for twenty-second president.

25. WILLIAM McKINLEY (Republican, 1897-1901)

Leech, Margaret. IN THE DAYS OF McKINLEY. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1959. 686p., illus.

Morgan, H. Wayne. WILLIAM McKINLEY AND HIS AMERICA. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1963. 595p., ft., illus.

26. THEODORE ROOSEVELT (Republican, 1901-1909)

Brands, H.W. TR: THE LAST ROMANTIC. New York: BasicBooks, 1997. 897p., illus.

Harbaugh, William H. POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1961. 568p.

Miller, Nathan. THEODORE ROOSEVELT: A LIFE. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1992. 624p., illus.

Morris, Edmund. THE RISE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1979. 886p., illus., maps. THEODORE REX. New York: Random House, 2001. 772p., illus., map.

Pringle, Henry F. THEODORE ROOSEVELT: A BIOGRAPHY. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1931. 627p., ft., illus.

27. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT (Republican, 1909-1913)

Duffy, Herbert S. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT: A BIOGRAPHY. New York: Minton, Balch & Co., 1930. 345p., ft., plates.

Pringle, Henry F. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT. New York: Farrar and Rinehart, 1939. 2 vols., 1106p., fts., illus.

28. WOODROW WILSON (Democrat, 1913-1921)

Baker, Ray Stannard. WOODROW WILSON: LIFE & LETTERS. New York: Doubleday, 1927-1939. 8 vols., fts., plates, facsims.

Volume One. YOUTH, 1856-1890. 1927.
Volume Two. PRINCETON, 1890-1910. 1927.
Volume Three. GOVERNOR, 1910-1913. 1931.
Volume Four. PRESIDENT, 1913-1914. 1931.
Volume Five. NEUTRALITY, 1914-1915. 1935.
Volume Six. FACING WAR, 1915-1917. 1937.
Volume Seven. WAR LEADER, APRIL 6,1917 - FEBRUARY 28,1918. 1939.
Volume Eight. ARMISTICE, MARCH - NOVEMBER 11, 1918. 1939.

Heckscher, August. WOODROW WILSON. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1991. 743p., illus.

Link, Arthur S. WILSON. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1947-1965. 5 vols., illus., plates.

THE ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE. 1947.
THE NEW FREEDOM. 1956.
THE STRUGGLE FOR NEUTRALITY, 1914-1915. 1960.
CONFUSIONS AND CRISES, 1915-1916. 1964.
CAMPAIGNS FOR PROGRESSIVISM AND PEACE, 1916-1917. 1965.

Walworth, Arthur. WOODROW WILSON: I AMERICAN PROPHET; II WORLD PROPHET. New York: Longmans, Green and Company, 1958. Revised edition, New York: W. W. Norton, 1978. 2 vols. (454p.; 438p.), fts.

29. WARREN G. HARDING (Republican, 1921-1923)

Russell, Francis. THE SHADOW OF BLOOMING GROVE: WARREN G. HARDING IN HIS TIMES. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968. 691p.

30. CALVIN COOLIDGE (Republican, 1923-1929)

McCoy, Donald R. CALVIN COOLIDGE: THE QUIET PRESIDENT. New York: Macmillan, 1967. 472p., illus.

White, William Allen. PURITAN IN BABYLON: THE STORY OF CALVIN COOLIDGE. New York: Macmillan, 1938. 460p., ft., illus.

31. HERBERT HOOVER (Republican, 1929-1933)

Burner, David. HERBERT HOOVER: A PUBLIC LIFE. New York: Knopf, 1979. 433p., illus.

Lyons, Eugene. HERBERT HOOVER: A BIOGRAPHY. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1964. 444p., illus. eps.

Nash, George H. THE LIFE OF HERBERT HOOVER. New York and London: W.W. Norton, 1983-96. 3 vols., illus.

THE ENGINEER, 1874-1914. 1983.
THE HUMANITARIAN, 1914-1917. 1988.
MASTER OF EMERGENCIES, 1917-1918. 1996.

32. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT (Democrat, 1933-1945)

Burns, James MacGregor. ROOSEVELT: THE LION AND THE FOX; THE SOLDIER OF FREEDOM. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1956-1970. 2 vols. (553p.; 722p.), illus.

Davis, Kenneth S. FDR: A HISTORY. New York: Random House, 1972-2000. 5 vols.

THE BECKONING OF DESTINY, 1882-1928. 1972.
THE NEW YORK YEARS, 1928-1933. 1985.
THE NEW DEAL YEARS, 1933-1937. 1986.
INTO THE STORM, 1937-1940. 1993.
THE WAR PRESIDENT, 1940-1943. 2000.

Freidel, Frank. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1952-1973. 4 vols., illus.

THE APPRENTICESHIP. 1952.
THE ORDEAL. 1954.
THE TRIUMPH. 1956.
LAUNCHING THE NEW DEAL. 1973.

Freidel, Frank. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT: A RENDEZVOUS WITH DESTINY. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1990. 710p., illus.

33. HARRY S. TRUMAN (Democrat, 1945-1953)

Ferrell, Robert H. HARRY S. TRUMAN: A LIFE. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1994. 501p., illus.

Hamby, Alonzo L. A MAN OF THE PEOPLE: A LIFE OF HARRY S. TRUMAN. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. 760p., illus.

McCullough, David. TRUMAN. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992. 1117p., illus.

34. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (Republican, 1953-1961)

Ambrose, Stephen E. EISENHOWER: SOLDIER, GENERAL OF THE ARMY, PRESIDENT-ELECT; THE PRESIDENT & ELDER STATESMAN. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983-84. 2 vols. (640p.; 752p.), illus., map eps.

Lee, R. Alton. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER: SOLDIER AND STATESMAN. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1981. 379p., illus.

Lyon, Peter. EISENHOWER: PORTRAIT OF THE HERO. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1974. 991p., illus.

35. JOHN F. KENNEDY (Democrat, 1961-1963)

Hamilton, Nigel. JFK: RECKLESS YOUTH. New York: Random House, 1992. 898p., illus.

Parmet, Herbert S. JACK: THE STRUGGLES OF JOHN F. KENNEDY; JFK: THE PRESIDENCY OF JOHN F. KENNEDY. New York: Dial Press, 1980-1983. 2 vols. (586p.; 407p.), illus.

Reeves, Thomas C. A QUESTION OF CHARACTER: A LIFE OF JOHN F. KENNEDY. New York: The Free Press, 1991. 510p., illus.

36. LYNDON B. JOHNSON (Democrat, 1963-1969)

Caro, Robert A. THE YEARS OF LYNDON JOHNSON: THE PATH TO POWER; MEANS OF ASCENT. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982-1990. 2 vols. (882p.; 506p.), illus.

Dallek, Robert. LONE STAR RISING: LYNDON JOHNSON AND HIS TIMES, 1908-1960; FLAWED GIANT: LYNDON JOHNSON AND HIS TIMES, 1861-1973. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991-98. 2 vols. (721p.; 754p.), illus.

Kearns, Doris. LYNDON JOHNSON AND THE AMERICAN DREAM. New York: Harper & Row, 1976. 432p.

37. RICHARD M. NIXON (Republican, 1969-1974)

Ambrose, Stephen E. N