Book Review: Lincoln: A Very Short Introduction by Allen Guelzo

Introduction

When Americans — including many students — hear the name Abraham Lincoln, the first things that come to mind are his effort to free the enslaved, his Gettysburg Address, his Emancipation Proclamation, and his untimely assassination. But there are sources of worthy and even fascinating biographical background available about the 16th president of the United States, and one of the best contemporary sources is the book by noted historian Allen C. Guelzo, Lincoln: A Very Short Introduction. The book is not organized in a chronological, timeline format; instead, the chapter titles clearly show that it is written around Lincoln's ideas that shaped his approach to leadership and government: Equality, Advancement, Law, Liberty, Debate, Emancipation, and Reunion. This paper summarizes and reviews the book, which is well-written prose, highly appropriate for young readers.

After reading the opening of Guelzo's book — in which he claimed that no man "could have loved fame more than Abraham Lincoln" — one can only imagine how prolific Lincoln's use of the 24-hour cable news cycle and social media would be if he were president today. Guelzo carries the notion of Lincoln's fame further, quoting the president after he issued the Emancipation Proclamation: "The name which is connected with this act will never be forgotten." Lincoln was absolutely correct in saying that, but there is much more to know about the man, and Guelzo, notwithstanding his title suggesting this is a "very short" book, has provided 160 pages packed with new and worthy information.

Lincoln's Background and Character

The author bemoans the fact that Lincoln never kept a journal, nor did he write any kind of memoir — he died too soon to pen a biography — even though in his era many leaders were "compulsive" in their "diary-keeping." Guelzo notes that author Roy P. Basler published eight volumes, called Collected Works, referencing Lincoln's life in 1953, but those pages contain "day-to-day ephemera" from which readers glean little about what actually shaped Lincoln's "thinking and values." All the information Guelzo gathered indicates Lincoln was generally secretive, difficult to approach, and hard to understand — albeit the president loved to read aloud to staffers from joke books — but on the other hand, Lincoln was in "heaven" when talking about politics and liberalism.

The background on Lincoln's family is well represented by Guelzo. Lincoln's ancestors arrived in the New World in the 1630s, and by the late 18th century Thomas Lincoln — son of the elder Abraham and regarded by neighbors as a "lazy and worthless" cabinet maker in Indiana — had a son named Abraham, born on February 12, 1809.

Equality, Language, and Political Development

In Chapter 1 (Equality), Guelzo offers a picture of Lincoln as a capable politician but one whose command of the English language needed refinement. Guelzo recalls that Lincoln, approaching his second run for a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1834, turned his attention to reading political biographies and newspapers. His advisor at the time, William Mentor Graham, suggested that Lincoln would "never be able to induce people to vote for him" if he could not master the rules of grammar well enough to deliver impressive speeches.

Conclusion

This is a book that offers readers a deeper understanding of how Lincoln thought, from an iconic author and professor of American history who clearly admired this great man and brings a unique perspective to Lincoln's leadership. Guelzo's thematic approach — organizing the biography around ideas rather than chronology — proves especially effective in illuminating why Lincoln remains the grand central figure of American history.