1. Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer by
Fred Kaplan
Lincoln:The Biography Of A Writer
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 Americas 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 presid ents. 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 Lincolns mental and imaginative world; how his

2. 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 Lincolns life
and career highlights the shortcomings of the modern presidency,
reminding us, through Lincolns 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
Lincolns genius with language.
Features:
* ISBN13: 9780060773342
* Condition: NEW
* Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Personal Review: Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer by Fred
Kaplan
When I recently checked, Amazon offers more than 20,000 books in the
"Abraham Lincoln " category and about 8,900 in the "Abraham Lincoln
biography" category. Why another one? Hasn't everything already been
said about the 18th president whose leadership preserved the Union?
What more remains to be said? In the introductory section, Reading
Lincoln's Words, Fred Kaplan recalls William Deans Howells's claim that
Mark Twain was the "Lincoln of our literature." He suggests rephrasing
that with a focus on the 16th president of the United States: "Lincoln was
the Twain of our politics." Kaplan then observes, "Since Lincoln, no
president has written his own words and addressed his contemporary
audience or posterity with equal and enduring effectiveness...From an
early age, he began his journey into self-willed literacy, then into skill, and
eventually into genius as an artist with words. Lincoln is distinguishe d from
every other resident, with the exception of Jefferson, in that we can be
certain that he wrote every word to which his name is attached...Lincoln
was also the last president whose character and standards in the use of
language avoided the distortions and other dishonest uses of language
that have done so much to undermine the credibility of national leaders."
So yes, there is need of another book about Lincoln, one that -- as the
subtitle of this book suggests -- offers a biography of a great writer who
was an effective leader, not of a great leader who wrote well.
Early on, Kaplan establishes several critically important facts about young
Lincoln: he had an insatiable hunger for learning ("he read everything he
could lay his hands on"), he constantly asked questions ("he had an alert
interest in the world"), he was eager to be heard (being someone with a
"private personality who already had a stage persona, he began to think
about serious issues and connect them to his speaking and writing
performances"), and like Benjamin Franklin, he was convinced that he

3. would rise in the world (confident that "ambition and hard work would win
out") despite his humble circumstances, modest resources, and dim
prospects when, in 1821 at age 12, he became an avid rea der of poetry.
"The young man was at the beginning of an extraordinary education" that
would prepare him to become one of the most eloquent among history's
greatest leaders.
Others have their reasons for holding Kaplan's book in such high regard.
Here are two of mine. First, he brilliantly coordinates his analysis of the
development of Lincoln's skills as a writer with how those skills enabled
him to be a much more effective leader, notably when becoming a
distinguished attorney, campaigning as a candidate for public office, and
opposing Stephen Douglas in a series of debates in (1839 and 1858).
Later, when presenting his first and second inauguration addresses and
especially his brief address at Gettysburg, Lincoln explained with both
clarity and eloquence his commitment to preserving the Union and his
appreciation of those who shared that commitment. How many documents
created by other presidents before or since continue to be read and
discussed throughout the world in most of the major languages, both for
their ideas and for their literary merit? Lincoln was a passionate and
highly-disciplined student. His preparation to practice law and then later,
when president, to assume the duties of military commander after General
George McClelland and other generals-in-chief were stricken by "the
slows," clearly demonstrate that he was a tenacious and highly -disciplined
student. Thomas Edison once observed, "Vision without execution is
hallucination." Early in his life, Lincoln had a vision of what he wanted to
achieve in his life. His highly-developed skills as a writer played a major
role in helping him to make that vision a reality.
I also appreciate the wealth of insights Kaplan provides when discussing
the major influences on that process of development. Linco ln was an avid
student of the language as well as the content in The Bible, John Bunyan's
The Pilgrim's Progress, Mason Weems's Life of Washington, William
Grimshaw's History of the United States, and later James Riley's An
Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig "Commodore," and
various poets such as Thomas Gray, Alexander Pope, John Milton, and of
course William Shakespeare. While in school and then in subsequent
years, Lincoln completed countless exercises during which he emulated
various writing styles and, over time, he began to develop his own. Here is
composite of brief excerpts from Chapter 2:
"All the elements for a distinctive style were coming into place [in 1833
when Lincoln was a candidate for the Illinois state legislature]...Li ncoln's
argument for his candidacy was detailed, precise, and cohesive. Emotional
exhortation suited neither his temperament nor his models of public
address. He argued at length his case for internal
improvements...Enlightenment standards of good writing and logical
discourse influenced his sentence structure and his diction. And in the
shorthand of argument, he also revealed his conservative respect for the

4. `wisdom of mankind,' for the value of lessons that widespread human
experience has taught." I agree with Kaplan that a man who wrote as
Lincoln did does so purposefully. "He has a strategy. He wants to combine
a lucid public prose with an intellectual analysis of issues. And though the
analysis requires levels of logic and reason associated with the educated,
its effectiveness requires the presence of enough colloquial and common
diction to give it the feel of accessibility and to convey the writer's respect
for the larger audience." These brief excerpts offer a sense of the Kaplan's
own highly-developed skills as a thinker and writer.
In his second inaugural address, Lincoln urged reconciliation and
reconstruction: "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness
in the right, as God gives us the right, let us strive to finish the work we are
in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have born the
battle, and for his widow, and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and
cherish a just, and a lasting peace among our selves, and with all nations."
On April 11, 1865, after having returned from a visit to Richmond, Lincoln
spoke briefly to a crowd that had gathered outside the White House. He
again reaffirmed his heartfelt desire to do all he could to help complete the
process of reconciliation and construction, anticipating having numerous
opportunities to "speak and act on the subject in the months and years
ahead. Four days later his ability to exercise this gift for language and his
mastery of words on this and all other subjects ended." Were it not for this
book, I doubt if more than a few scholars would understand the truth of that
statement. For that, those who appreciate great writing are in Fred
Kaplan's debt.
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